A group of newly discovered genetic diseases that strike people in midlife - causing uncontrolled movements, loss of cognitive function and emotional disturbances - may soon be cured thanks to the help of fruit flies and a Hong Kong biochemist.
According to the Department of Health, polyglutamine diseases - nine conditions caused by stretches of DNA in a gene that contain the same trinucleotide sequence repeated many times - started appearing in Hong Kong in 2000.
The most common versions include Huntington's Disease, Kennedy's Disease and various types of spinocerebellar ataxia. They all have different symptoms, but share the same cause. Mild forms of the disorders become more severe as they pass from one generation to the next.
'Multiple members in more than 90 families have been found to suffer from the diseases. We believe, as people live longer, more cases will be discovered - especially with the way DNA testing has developed,' said a Department of Health spokesman.
'It happens to adults. People start to lose their motor skills and sense of balance. It keeps getting worse over time. It cannot be cured or controlled by drugs.'
There may be no cure, but Chinese University biochemist Edwin Chan Ho-yin is close to finding a way to stop the disease progressing, with the help of a genus of fruit fly called Drosophila. It shares more than 60 per cent of human disease genes.
