Strenuous, intensive, long-term exercise does not prevent or delay the onset of Huntington's disease.
Recent work in mice has suggested that an enriched environment can delay disease onset in models of Huntington's disease (HD). The component of an enriched environment most likely able to be translated to humans is increased exercise. But here I note that a recently reported case of HD in a marathon runner who had, for many years before becoming symptomatic with HD, been running at an advanced amateur/semiprofessional level, suggests that in humans exercise is not able to prevent or even delay onset of HD. In general study of marathon runners may be useful to study if exercise can prevent or delay onset of genetic diseases.
Altschuler
Eric Lewin
EL
Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey, 30 Bergen Street, ADMC 1, Suite 101, Newark, NJ 07101, United States. eric.altschuler@umdnj.edu
D017668:Age of Onset; D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018450:Disease Progression; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D051379:Mice; D008954:Models, Biological; D010807:Physical Endurance / Q000502:physiology*