A new brain-imaging approach could give researchers a more sensitive way to track Huntington’s disease, revealing microscopic changes in brain tissue before they are fully captured by conventional measurements of brain volume. The findings suggest that the technique may eventually help clinical trials determine whether experimental treatments are slowing or preventing damage to brain cells. Huntington’s disease is caused by an inherited mutation and gradually damages regions of the brain involved in movement, learning, habits and cognition. Researchers at Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre tested the model using MRI data from 56 people with Huntington’s disease and 57 healthy volunteers. (CC BY 4.0)Keywords: Huntington’s disease, neurodegeneration, brain imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, diffusion MRI, SANDI, soma density, striatum, basal ganglia, disease progression, neurological disorders, clinical trials