Glutamate and Huntington's disease.

Very small injections of kainate (an analogue of the neurotransmitter, glutamate) into rat neostriatum have been shown to duplicate remarkably well neural and behavioural abnormalities seen in Huntington's disease (HD). This experimental procedure provided an excellent model system for investigating the pathogenesis and treatment of HD. Work with the animal model has suggested that abnormal glutamate neurotransmission may underline the neuropathological changes found in HD. At present, research is being performed on all aspects of this hypothesis in order to find possible beneficial treatments for sufferers of the disease.