Spinal fluid movement in Huntington’s disease
Cerebrospinal fluid dynamics in Huntington's disease
This project looks at how spinal (cerebrospinal) fluid is made and moves through the brain in adults with Huntington’s disease to help explain why some people respond differently to injected ASO treatments.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Vanderbilt University Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Nashville, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11251564 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
As a participant, you would get advanced brain imaging that maps how cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is produced, travels through brain tissue, and is cleared. The team will combine MRI techniques and clinical measures to compare CSF circulation in adults with Huntington’s disease to patterns linked to changes seen after intrathecal antisense-oligonucleotide (ASO) treatments. They will look for links between CSF flow differences and markers like neurofilament light and ventricular enlargement that have appeared after ASO delivery. The work is done at Vanderbilt by neurologists, neuroradiologists, and imaging scientists and may involve lumbar puncture or repeated imaging visits.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Adults (age 21 and older) with a diagnosis of Huntington’s disease, especially those considering or enrolled in intrathecal ASO treatment trials, are the ideal candidates.
Not a fit: People without Huntington’s disease, children or adolescents under 21, or individuals who cannot undergo MRI or lumbar puncture are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help doctors predict who is most likely to benefit from or have side effects from intrathecal ASO therapies and guide safer, more personalized treatment decisions.
How similar studies have performed: ASO treatments in Huntington’s have produced mixed clinical signals and some biomarker changes, and applying advanced CSF imaging to explain those differences is a relatively new and emerging approach.
Where this research is happening
Nashville, United States
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center — Nashville, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Claassen, Daniel Oliver — Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Claassen, Daniel Oliver
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.