News

Award-winning novelist Linda Vigen Phillips has released her second young adult novel, “Behind These Hands,” about the life of a teenage girl turned upside down by a diagnosis of Batten disease. The story behind the book is based on an experience Phillips lived as a third-grade teacher, when a young boy…

Researchers have described how the CLN5 protein — the mutation of which underlies a type of Batten disease — turns into a mature soluble protein, information they hope can be used to identify new therapeutic strategies for the disease. The study, “CLN5 is cleaved by members…

Researchers have found common disease mechanisms between a type of Batten disease and a form of adult neurodegenerative disease. The study, “Individuals with progranulin haploinsufficiency exhibit features of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis,” was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. Batten disease, or neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCLs), is the…

Investigational therapies now in development — especially gene and cell therapies — are reason for fresh hope among Batten disease patients and their families, according to a recent review. Substantial advances are being made, particularly regarding potential gene/cell therapies, in targeting…

Researchers have identified a previously unknown function for the CLN3 protein, whose defective form underlies juvenile Batten disease. The study, “Role of the Lysosomal Membrane Protein, CLN3, in the Regulation of Cathepsin D Activity,” was published in the Journal of Cellular Biochemistry. Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCLs),…

The expression of two genes associated with neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, better known as Batten disease, was restricted to certain cells of the central nervous system in a fruit fly research model. Namely, these genes are mainly expressed in cells that form the blood brain barrier — a membrane that protects the…

Roche’s CellCept was safe, but lacked clinical benefits, during short-term use by patients with CLN3 disease, according to the results of a Phase 2 clinical trial. The study, “Short-Term Administration of Mycophenolate Is Well-Tolerated…

Researchers have developed a new newborn screening test that uses dried blood spots to more accurately diagnose late infantile Batten disease, along with six other lysosomal storage disorders. Findings were published in the study, “Multiplex Tandem Mass Spectrometry Enzymatic Activity Assay for Newborn Screening of the Mucopolysaccharidoses…

Researchers have identified five new mutations in the CLN8 gene — the genetic factor behind CLN8 disease, one of a group of conditions known as NCLs, collectively called Batten disease. The study, “CLN8 disease caused by large genomic deletions,” was published in the journal Molecular…

A new mouse model of late infantile Batten disease may help to efficiently investigate personalized  therapies, a study suggests. The research, “A tailored mouse model of CLN2 disease: A nonsense mutant for testing personalized therapies,” was published in the journal Plos One. Animal models are used often to…