Mena Farag
@drmfarag.bsky.social
Neurology south London trainee 🧠 (OOP-R; ST6) ⋅ Clinical Research Fellow & PhD candidate based at UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology — #HD-YAS https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0679-0117
Pinned
Mena Farag
@drmfarag.bsky.social
· Sep 26
Cerebrospinal Fluid Proenkephalin Predicts Striatal Atrophy Decades before Clinical Motor Diagnosis in Huntington's Disease
Background Huntington's disease (HD) is characterized by early, selective, progressive vulnerability of striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs). Proenkephalin (PENK), a precursor of opioid peptides abu...
movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Amid this week’s huge milestone in #HD treatment, I’m excited to share part of my PhD thesis + our paper published today in @movedisorder.bsky.social on CSF #PENK predicting striatal atrophy decades before clinical motor diagnosis 🔗 movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Reposted by Mena Farag
A secondary analysis of the TEMPO-2 RCT found no significant improvement in outcomes for minor ischemic stroke patients treated with intravenous tenecteplase, regardless of the presence of disabling deficits. ja.ma/3WT9IHi
October 27, 2025 at 3:30 PM
A secondary analysis of the TEMPO-2 RCT found no significant improvement in outcomes for minor ischemic stroke patients treated with intravenous tenecteplase, regardless of the presence of disabling deficits. ja.ma/3WT9IHi
Reposted by Mena Farag
Cerebrospinal Fluid Proenkephalin Predicts Striatal Atrophy Decades before Clinical Motor Diagnosis in Huntington's Disease movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 1, 2025 at 9:09 AM
Cerebrospinal Fluid Proenkephalin Predicts Striatal Atrophy Decades before Clinical Motor Diagnosis in Huntington's Disease movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Amid this week’s huge milestone in #HD treatment, I’m excited to share part of my PhD thesis + our paper published today in @movedisorder.bsky.social on CSF #PENK predicting striatal atrophy decades before clinical motor diagnosis 🔗 movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Cerebrospinal Fluid Proenkephalin Predicts Striatal Atrophy Decades before Clinical Motor Diagnosis in Huntington's Disease
Background Huntington's disease (HD) is characterized by early, selective, progressive vulnerability of striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs). Proenkephalin (PENK), a precursor of opioid peptides abu...
movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
September 26, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Amid this week’s huge milestone in #HD treatment, I’m excited to share part of my PhD thesis + our paper published today in @movedisorder.bsky.social on CSF #PENK predicting striatal atrophy decades before clinical motor diagnosis 🔗 movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Reposted by Mena Farag
A major milestone was reached yesterday in neurodegenerative medicine, advancing hope for those affected by Huntington’s disease🧵
Huntington's disease successfully treated for first time
One of the most devastating diseases finally has a treatment that can slow its progression and transform lives, tearful doctors tell BBC.
eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
September 25, 2025 at 9:49 AM
A major milestone was reached yesterday in neurodegenerative medicine, advancing hope for those affected by Huntington’s disease🧵
Reposted by Mena Farag
🧵 BREAKING: Gene therapy shows promise in slowing Huntington’s disease progression. A major milestone in neurodegenerative disease research. @uclqsion.bsky.social @ucl-hd.bsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Huntington's disease successfully treated for first time
One of the most devastating diseases finally has a treatment that can slow its progression and transform lives, tearful doctors tell BBC.
www.bbc.co.uk
September 24, 2025 at 2:25 PM
🧵 BREAKING: Gene therapy shows promise in slowing Huntington’s disease progression. A major milestone in neurodegenerative disease research. @uclqsion.bsky.social @ucl-hd.bsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Mena Farag
Open Access UCL Research: Bias in HD-ISS staging introduced by the FreeSurfer cross-sectional stream: Insights from the Huntington's Disease Young Adult Study (HD-YAS) discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10...
Bias in HD-ISS staging introduced by the FreeSurfer cross-sectional stream: Insights from the Huntington's Disease Young Adult Study (HD-YAS)
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UCL Discovery
UCL Discovery is UCL's open access repository, showcasing and providing access to UCL research outputs from all UCL disciplines.
discovery.ucl.ac.uk
August 22, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Open Access UCL Research: Bias in HD-ISS staging introduced by the FreeSurfer cross-sectional stream: Insights from the Huntington's Disease Young Adult Study (HD-YAS) discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10...
Reposted by Mena Farag
The oncogenic KRAS mutation has been the subject of intense investigation. In The Lancet, a new phase 3 trial reports on adagrasib versus docetaxel in KRASG12C-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer.
This and more in our latest issue 👉 bit.ly/4mi7T1y
This and more in our latest issue 👉 bit.ly/4mi7T1y
August 8, 2025 at 7:51 AM
The oncogenic KRAS mutation has been the subject of intense investigation. In The Lancet, a new phase 3 trial reports on adagrasib versus docetaxel in KRASG12C-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer.
This and more in our latest issue 👉 bit.ly/4mi7T1y
This and more in our latest issue 👉 bit.ly/4mi7T1y
In 2015, just out of medical school, I’d never have imagined seeing my name in @thelancet.com! Our review on vesicular monoamine transport (#VMAT) inhibitors is published today. @uclqsion.bsky.social @uclbrainscience.bsky.social
🔗 Read the full article here: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
🔗 Read the full article here: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Vesicular monoamine transport inhibitors: current uses and future directions
Advancements over the past decade in understanding vesicular monoamine transporter
2 (VMAT2) inhibitors highlight their key role in the treatment of movement and neuropsychiatric
disorders. VMAT2 is c...
www.thelancet.com
August 8, 2025 at 7:30 AM
In 2015, just out of medical school, I’d never have imagined seeing my name in @thelancet.com! Our review on vesicular monoamine transport (#VMAT) inhibitors is published today. @uclqsion.bsky.social @uclbrainscience.bsky.social
🔗 Read the full article here: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
🔗 Read the full article here: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Reposted by Mena Farag
Here's an open access link to full text of our paper shared last week! rdcu.be/evKF9
Evaluating finger-prick blood collection for remote quantification of neurofilament light in neurological diseases
rdcu.be
July 14, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Here's an open access link to full text of our paper shared last week! rdcu.be/evKF9
Reposted by Mena Farag
Important paper on accessible biomarkers from @hob-lab.bsky.social. Well done Annabelle Coleman @drl-bo.bsky.social and all.
New paper from the @hob-lab.bsky.social just published in Journal of Neurology. A step toward more accessible biomarker testing 🩸 link.springer.com/article/10.1... @drl-bo.bsky.social @uclbrainscience.bsky.social @uclqsion.bsky.social
Evaluating finger-prick blood collection for remote quantification of neurofilament light in neurological diseases - Journal of Neurology
Promising blood-based biomarkers of neuropathology have emerged with potential for therapeutic development and disease monitoring. However, these tools will require specialist tertiary services for in...
link.springer.com
July 11, 2025 at 8:31 AM
Important paper on accessible biomarkers from @hob-lab.bsky.social. Well done Annabelle Coleman @drl-bo.bsky.social and all.
Reposted by Mena Farag
I am unbelievably proud to have my first senior author paper published today! It was a long slog through multiple review cycles but we got there!
A big thank you to my lab members and all the collaborators and participants who contributed to this work! 🥲
A big thank you to my lab members and all the collaborators and participants who contributed to this work! 🥲
We are delighted to present the first publication out of the lab, available online today, titled ‘Evaluating finger-prick blood collection for remote quantification of neurofilament light in neurological diseases’ link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Evaluating finger-prick blood collection for remote quantification of neurofilament light in neurological diseases - Journal of Neurology
Promising blood-based biomarkers of neuropathology have emerged with potential for therapeutic development and disease monitoring. However, these tools will require specialist tertiary services for in...
link.springer.com
July 10, 2025 at 4:46 PM
I am unbelievably proud to have my first senior author paper published today! It was a long slog through multiple review cycles but we got there!
A big thank you to my lab members and all the collaborators and participants who contributed to this work! 🥲
A big thank you to my lab members and all the collaborators and participants who contributed to this work! 🥲
Reposted by Mena Farag
We are delighted to present the first publication out of the lab, available online today, titled ‘Evaluating finger-prick blood collection for remote quantification of neurofilament light in neurological diseases’ link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Evaluating finger-prick blood collection for remote quantification of neurofilament light in neurological diseases - Journal of Neurology
Promising blood-based biomarkers of neuropathology have emerged with potential for therapeutic development and disease monitoring. However, these tools will require specialist tertiary services for in...
link.springer.com
July 10, 2025 at 4:42 PM
We are delighted to present the first publication out of the lab, available online today, titled ‘Evaluating finger-prick blood collection for remote quantification of neurofilament light in neurological diseases’ link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Mena Farag
New paper from the @hob-lab.bsky.social just published in Journal of Neurology. A step toward more accessible biomarker testing 🩸 link.springer.com/article/10.1... @drl-bo.bsky.social @uclbrainscience.bsky.social @uclqsion.bsky.social
Evaluating finger-prick blood collection for remote quantification of neurofilament light in neurological diseases - Journal of Neurology
Promising blood-based biomarkers of neuropathology have emerged with potential for therapeutic development and disease monitoring. However, these tools will require specialist tertiary services for in...
link.springer.com
July 10, 2025 at 3:14 PM
New paper from the @hob-lab.bsky.social just published in Journal of Neurology. A step toward more accessible biomarker testing 🩸 link.springer.com/article/10.1... @drl-bo.bsky.social @uclbrainscience.bsky.social @uclqsion.bsky.social
Super fun first 5K #RUN4HDYO! 🏃 💨 🏃♀️
Over £2500 raised for the Olivia (Liv) Martinez Scholarship Fund for HDYO - honouring an amazing ambassador I met at #HDYO Congress in Glasgow in 2023. Liv's kindness and passion touched so many. @ucl-hd.bsky.social @uclqsion.bsky.social
Over £2500 raised for the Olivia (Liv) Martinez Scholarship Fund for HDYO - honouring an amazing ambassador I met at #HDYO Congress in Glasgow in 2023. Liv's kindness and passion touched so many. @ucl-hd.bsky.social @uclqsion.bsky.social
June 28, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Super fun first 5K #RUN4HDYO! 🏃 💨 🏃♀️
Over £2500 raised for the Olivia (Liv) Martinez Scholarship Fund for HDYO - honouring an amazing ambassador I met at #HDYO Congress in Glasgow in 2023. Liv's kindness and passion touched so many. @ucl-hd.bsky.social @uclqsion.bsky.social
Over £2500 raised for the Olivia (Liv) Martinez Scholarship Fund for HDYO - honouring an amazing ambassador I met at #HDYO Congress in Glasgow in 2023. Liv's kindness and passion touched so many. @ucl-hd.bsky.social @uclqsion.bsky.social
Reposted by Mena Farag
A series of digital tests carried out via a smartphone app could enhance the detection of disease progression in #HuntingtonsDisease and improve the efficiency of clinical trials, finds research led by scientists at @uclqsion.bsky.social @ucl-hd.bsky.social and Roche including @profwild.bsky.social
Smartphone tests could accelerate drug development for Huntington’s disease
A series of digital tests, carried out via a smartphone app, could enhance the detection of disease progression in Huntington’s disease and improve the efficiency of clinical trials, finds research le...
www.ucl.ac.uk
June 10, 2025 at 3:25 PM
A series of digital tests carried out via a smartphone app could enhance the detection of disease progression in #HuntingtonsDisease and improve the efficiency of clinical trials, finds research led by scientists at @uclqsion.bsky.social @ucl-hd.bsky.social and Roche including @profwild.bsky.social
Reposted by Mena Farag
New paper in BRAIN from Team Wild and Roche: A digital motor score for sensitive detection of progression in Huntington’s disease (open access)
doi.org/10.1093/brai...
doi.org/10.1093/brai...
A digital motor score for sensitive detection of progression in Huntington’s disease
Giboin et al. introduce a new motor score that can be used to monitor Huntington’s disease progression. Co-designed by people with Huntington’s disease and
doi.org
June 10, 2025 at 5:06 AM
New paper in BRAIN from Team Wild and Roche: A digital motor score for sensitive detection of progression in Huntington’s disease (open access)
doi.org/10.1093/brai...
doi.org/10.1093/brai...
Check out the March 2025 edition of the #HD Clinical Trials Update, now available online in the Journal of Huntington's Disease @profwild.bsky.social 🔓 Open access link: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... @ucl-hd.bsky.social @uclbrainscience.bsky.social @uclqsion.bsky.social
April 30, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Check out the March 2025 edition of the #HD Clinical Trials Update, now available online in the Journal of Huntington's Disease @profwild.bsky.social 🔓 Open access link: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... @ucl-hd.bsky.social @uclbrainscience.bsky.social @uclqsion.bsky.social
Reposted by Mena Farag
Hot off the press! Check out the second edition of the @ehdn-news.bsky.social Imaging Working Group (#iWG) newsletter! #HD #neuroimaging @drmichelaleocadi.bsky.social @rachiscahill.bsky.social @nicolahobbs.bsky.social ehdn.org/wp-content/u...
ehdn.org
April 1, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Hot off the press! Check out the second edition of the @ehdn-news.bsky.social Imaging Working Group (#iWG) newsletter! #HD #neuroimaging @drmichelaleocadi.bsky.social @rachiscahill.bsky.social @nicolahobbs.bsky.social ehdn.org/wp-content/u...
Thank you HDYO for the opportunity to talk about HD-YAS at #HDYO Congress 2025! Truly an inspiring community and family — and this absolutely drives all the work we do! @ucl-hd.bsky.social @uclqsion.bsky.social
March 15, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Thank you HDYO for the opportunity to talk about HD-YAS at #HDYO Congress 2025! Truly an inspiring community and family — and this absolutely drives all the work we do! @ucl-hd.bsky.social @uclqsion.bsky.social
Reposted by Mena Farag
Neuroimaging Techniques in #Huntington's Disease: A Critical Review 🧠
#Neurology #movedisorder #MedEd
movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
#Neurology #movedisorder #MedEd
movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Neuroimaging Techniques in Huntington's Disease: A Critical Review
Background Huntington's disease (HD) is a hereditary neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cognitive, neuropsychiatric and motor symptoms caused by a CAG trinucleotide repeat expansion in the ...
movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
February 24, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Neuroimaging Techniques in #Huntington's Disease: A Critical Review 🧠
#Neurology #movedisorder #MedEd
movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
#Neurology #movedisorder #MedEd
movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Curious about brain imaging in HD? Our latest review summarises key findings from structural, diffusion and fMRI, plus emerging techniques like 7T MRI, MEG and novel mHTT PET ligands. movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... @rachiscahill.bsky.social @carlosestevezfraga.bsky.social
Neuroimaging Techniques in Huntington's Disease: A Critical Review
Background Huntington's disease (HD) is a hereditary neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cognitive, neuropsychiatric and motor symptoms caused by a CAG trinucleotide repeat expansion in the ...
movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
February 21, 2025 at 8:30 AM
Curious about brain imaging in HD? Our latest review summarises key findings from structural, diffusion and fMRI, plus emerging techniques like 7T MRI, MEG and novel mHTT PET ligands. movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... @rachiscahill.bsky.social @carlosestevezfraga.bsky.social
Reposted by Mena Farag
ICYMI: New online! Degeneration decades before disease onset https://bit.ly/3D6Bt8Y
February 19, 2025 at 9:21 PM
ICYMI: New online! Degeneration decades before disease onset https://bit.ly/3D6Bt8Y
Reposted by Mena Farag
academic.oup.com/braincomms/a... delighted to finally see this out. We asked the question - could we identify different subtypes of CBS using SuStaIn algorithm applied to a baseline structural MRI scan and if so did these associate with underlying pathology? Read the paper to find out!
Distinct spatiotemporal atrophy patterns in corticobasal syndrome are associated with different underlying pathologies
Scotton et al. report distinct subtypes of atrophy progression in corticobasal syndrome identified using machine learning analysis of structural MRI scans.
academic.oup.com
February 12, 2025 at 7:38 AM
academic.oup.com/braincomms/a... delighted to finally see this out. We asked the question - could we identify different subtypes of CBS using SuStaIn algorithm applied to a baseline structural MRI scan and if so did these associate with underlying pathology? Read the paper to find out!
Reposted by Mena Farag
Prof Tabrizi: “I want to thank the participants in our young adult study as their dedication and commitment over the last 5 years mean we hope clinical trials aimed at preventing #HD will become a reality in the next few years." @rachiscahill.bsky.social @drmfarag.bsky.social @uclqsion.bsky.social
Somatic CAG repeat expansion in blood associates with biomarkers of neurodegeneration in Huntington’s disease decades before clinical motor diagnosis www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Somatic CAG repeat expansion in blood associates with biomarkers of neurodegeneration in Huntington’s disease decades before clinical motor diagnosis - Nature Medicine
A comprehensive longitudinal analysis of individuals with preclinical Huntington’s disease identifies biomarkers of neurodegeneration and somatic expansion in blood DNA, detectable years before sympto...
www.nature.com
February 6, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Prof Tabrizi: “I want to thank the participants in our young adult study as their dedication and commitment over the last 5 years mean we hope clinical trials aimed at preventing #HD will become a reality in the next few years." @rachiscahill.bsky.social @drmfarag.bsky.social @uclqsion.bsky.social