The gene coding for PGC-1α modifies age at onset in Huntington's disease

Huntington's disease (HD) is one of the most common autosomal dominant inherited, neurodegenerative disorders. It is characterized by progressive motor, emotional and cognitive dysfunction. In addition metabolic abnormalities such as wasting and altered energy expenditure are increasingly recognized as clinical hallmarks of the disease. HD is caused by an unstable CAG repeat expansion in the HD gene (HTT), localized on chromosome 4p16.3. The number of CAG repeats in the HD gene is the main predictor of disease-onset, but the remaining variation is strongly heritable. Transcriptional dysregulation, mitochondrial…