Paper Published on Study of Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor for Use in NPC

A paper claiming a breakthrough in the fight against Niemann-Pick Disease Type C (NPC) appeared in a recent issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The paper, coauthored by Olaf Wiest and Paul Helquist of the University of Notre Dame and Frederick Maxfield of Cornell University, says the use of an unspecified histone deacetylase inhibitor corrects the damage done by the genetic disorder NPC and allowed once-diseased cells to function normally.

To help understand the press release issued by Notre Dame on March 21, the NNPDF consulted three respected experts in Niemann-Pick Disease Type C: Dr. Dan Ory of Washington University, Dr. Marc Patterson of Mayo Clinic, and Dr. Denny Porter of the National Institutes of Health. These experts caution against jumping to premature conclusions.

For more details, including links to the press release and the article abstract, along with statements from the experts consulted by the NNPDF, please visit our Latest Research page.

Future Blood Test for Niemann-Pick C

Diagnosis of NPC May Soon be Done Via Blood Test

Niemann-Pick Disease Type C (NPC) may soon be diagnosed with a simple blood test, according to a report from the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, published recently in Science Translational Medicine.

Dr. Dan Ory of Washington University, and the chair of the NNPDF's Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), is one of the report's authors, along with Dr. Forbes "Denny" Porter, of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), also on the NNPDF's SAB; and Nicole Yanjanin, R.N., NIH, and on the NNPDF's Board of Directors; and others.

Visit Newswise for the complete story and video clip, which features Dr. Ory along with Nancy and Art Sullivan, parents of Karen Sullivan, who passed away from NPC in 2004, at the age of 33.

For more information about Niemann-Pick Disease and recent research news, visit the National Niemann-Pick Disease Foundation at www.nnpdf.org.