Charles Sabine talks us through the highlights from the CHDI conference that took place between 24 - 27 April 2023.

This annual CHDI conference is a special event for the Huntington's community that brings researchers together for three days of innovation, inspiration and hope. 

The highly anticipated featured presentation at the conference was from global leader in the field of biomarkers, Henrik Zetterberg. Henrik talked about Neurofilament light (NFL). Biomarkers are a way of measuring whether a drug works through tests such as blood samples. They can detect both beneficial effects and also side effects making this a valuable tool for pharmaceutical companies working on Huntington's disease treatments.

NFL is just one of the biomarkers used in Huntington's disease. We know that MRI scans are used in clinical trials but some of the new innovations are looking at things such as cholesterol. Charles spoke to William J Griffiths PhD about how cholesterol is converted in the brain into molecules. One molecule in particular is called oxysterols which act as a marker for brain health which can be quite easily measured.

Charles reiterates the key takeaway from last year's conference which is that:

"We shouldn't rely on a single drug, but multiple therapies for our disease."

With pharmaceutical companies known within the community such as Roche and uniQure to new start-up companies looking into innovative ways of combatting Huntington's disease. Both of these rely on the participation of Huntington's disease patients and families across the globe. We want to say thank you to those who commit their time to helping us get one step closer to finding new treatments.

You can watch the full video below.