McLaughlin hosts Friday seminar on brain diseases

McLaughlin Research Institute on Friday will host speakers who will discuss two inherited, rare and fatal diseases. The seminar will be held at 11 a.m. at the MRI auditorium, 1520 23rd St S.

Jeff Carroll, Ph.D., of Western Washington University, will present "My Life in Huntington's Disease." Carroll studies the systemic metabolic effects of Huntington's disease and is exploring gene silencing as an HD therapeutic. Huntington's disease is a neurodegenerative genetic disorder caused by a mutation in a gene called Huntingtin. Symptoms of Huntington's disease include uncoordinated, jerky body movements and dementia.