Assessment of disease progression in the zQ175 Heterozygous Huntington’s mouse model

Motivation: Suitable mouse models of Huntington's disease are crucial for the evaluation and translation of potential new treatments. Goal(s): We studied the zQ175 heterozygous model for Huntington's disease in comparison to wildtype controls. Approach: We compared brain MRI and behavioral readouts over a large part of the lifespan to characterize and quantify phenotypes. Results: The model only developed a mild brain atrophy phenotype, part of the size difference was shown to be due to reduced growth rather than atrophy. Impact: This study can help researchers to make better informed decisions on mouse model selection for evaluation of potential treatment efficacy in translational studies of Huntington's disease.