Methods for Inhibiting the Development of Huntington's Disease

Abstract

This invention relates to Huntington's disease and more specifically to methods for inhibiting the development of or treating Huntington's disease by administering estrogen, testosterone, precursors thereof or combinations thereof.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of treating an individual having a trinucleotide repeat disorder, the method comprises:
 a. selecting the individual having the trinucleotide repeat disorder; and   b. administering to the individual an amount of 17β-estradiol or testosterone, wherein the amount of administration to an individual ranges from about 0.2 mg to about 10 mg of 17β-estradiol for a female individual or about 1 mg to about 35 g of testosterone for a male individual;   wherein one or more symptoms associated with the trinucleotide repeat disorder in the individual are reduced, as compared to the same in an individual with the trinucleotide repeat disorder not subjected to step b.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the individual having the trinucleotide repeat disorder has between about 36 and about 120 repeats. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a trinucleotide repeat disorder comprises Huntington's Disease (HD), Dentatorubropallidoluysian atrophy, Kennedy disease, Spinocerebellar ataxia (SA) Type 1, SA Type 2, SA Type 3, SA Type 6, SA Type 7, and SA Type 17. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising measuring levels of 17β-estradiol in the female individual or measuring levels of testosterone in the male individual. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the individual has greater than 40 repeats. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein one or more of the symptoms are reduced by between about 5% and about 100%. 
     
     
         7 . A method of reducing one or more symptoms associated with a trinucleotide repeat disorder in an individual, wherein the method comprises:
 a. selecting the individual having the trinucleotide repeat disorder; and   b. administering to the individual an amount of 17β-estradiol or testosterone, wherein the amount of administration to an individual ranges from about 0.2 mg to about 10 mg of 17β-estradiol for a female individual or about 1 mg to about 35 g of testosterone for a male individual;   wherein one or more symptoms associated with the trinucleotide repeat disorder in the individual are reduced, as compared to the same in an individual with the trinucleotide repeat disorder not subjected to step b.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein one or more symptoms are reduced by an amount between about 5% and about 100%. 
     
     
         9 . A method of treating an individual having Huntington's Disease (HD) or an individual having an HD gene having a number of CAG repeats greater than or equal to about 36; the method comprising:
 a. selecting the individual having HD; and   b. administering to the individual an amount of estrogen or testosterone, wherein the amount of administration to an individual ranges from about 0.2 mg to about 10 mg of estrogen for a female individual or about 1 mg to about 35 g of testosterone for a male individual;   wherein one or more symptoms associated with HD in the individual are reduced, as compared to the same in an individual with HD not subjected to step b.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the symptoms of HD comprise weight loss, loss of fine motor function, loss of gross motor function, a loss in cognitive function, chorea, loss of brain tissue, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein one or more symptoms are reduced by an amount between about 5% and about 100%. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising measuring levels of estrogen in the female individual. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the female individual has greater than 40 CAG repeats. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the female individual has between about 36 and about 120 CAG repeats. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein one or more symptoms of HD is reduced, wherein the symptoms of HD comprise weight loss, loss of fine motor function, loss of gross motor function, a loss in cognitive function, chorea, loss of brain tissue, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein one or more of the symptoms are reduced by between about 5% and about 100%. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) score remains about the same or does not increase. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein selecting a female individual having HD comprises assessing the presence or absence of a mutant HD gene having between about 36 and 120 CAG repeats.