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TREND-HD Press Release
Contact: Leslie Briner
(585) 273-4147
Leslie.Briner@CTCC.Rochester.Edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 14, 2005

HSG to Conduct Research Study in Adults with Mild to Moderate Huntington’s Disease

The Huntington Study Group (HSG) will be conducting a clinical study (TREND-HD) of the research medication – Ethyl-EPA – in persons 35 years of age or older who have mild to moderate Huntington’s disease (HD). The HSG is a worldwide, not-for-profit group of physicians and other clinical researchers who are experienced in the care of Huntington’s disease patients and dedicated to clinical research of Huntington’s disease. The study is sponsored by Amarin Neurosciences in Scotland, U.K., a subsidiary of Amarin Corp., PLC in London.

Huntington’s disease (HD) is an inherited disease of the brain that usually begins between the ages of 30 to 50, and includes motor, cognitive and behavioral signs and symptoms. While there are medications to help relieve some of the disease symptoms, there is no known treatment to slow the progression of HD, which affects about 30,000 people in North America.

Ethyl-EPA is a research (experimental) medication that is thought to stabilize nerve cell membranes and improve neurological functioning, although the exact mechanism of how ethyl-EPA works is not known. A preliminary study of ethyl-EPA in subjects with HD indicated that ethyl-EPA at 2 grams daily was well tolerated over 12 months. This current study is designed to determine the effect of this daily dose of ethyl-EPA on motor (movement) signs and symptoms of HD.

The current 12-month study includes a 6-month placebo-controlled phase with research subjects being randomly assigned (like the flip of a coin) to receive treatment with either active ethyl-EPA (2 grams per day total daily dose) or a matching placebo. This will be followed by another 6-month observation phase in which all participants will receive active ethyl-EPA. Researchers at 43 sites in the United States and Canada will each enroll approximately 7-8 research subjects with early signs of HD who are independently ambulatory (walking) and fully self-sufficient in activities of daily living, such as eating, dressing, and bathing.

There is no cost to participate in the study. Participants will be followed as “out-patients” at regular intervals for 12 months. Individuals with mild to moderate Huntington’s disease who are interested in participating in this study should visit the Huntington Study Group website at: www.Huntington-Study-Group.org or call the toll-free number at 1 (800) 487-7671.

 

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