http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/authors/149/heena-mulchandani Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Fri, 15 May 2026 09:03:42 -0400 Fri, 15 May 2026 09:03:42 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/203/neuropsychological-and-behavioural-aspects-of-huntingtons-disease By Heena Mulchandani - Huntington’s disease, one of several polyglutamine (PolyQ) diseases, is a genetic disorder attributable to a single autosomal, dominant gene. HD is well known for being one of the first inherited genetic diseases for which an accurate test can be performed and as a result its genetic characteristics are now well known (Albin & Tagle, 1995). The test was facilitated in 1993 by the work of Nancy Wexler and a conglomerate of researchers, who, under the US-Venezuela HD Collaborative Research Project deduced the genetic make up of the HD gene. From analysis of the world’s largest HD... Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:41 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/203/neuropsychological-and-behavioural-aspects-of-huntingtons-disease http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/199/using-stem-cell-and-gene-therapy-technologies-to-treat-parkinsons-disease By Heena Mulchandani - The sudden onset of Parkinsonism in drug addicts consuming the heroin- analogue MPTP in the 1980’s, led to its discovery as a potential cause of sporadic PD; indeed several chemical agents such as Rotenone have also received considerable attention (2). Although its etiology is still incompletely understood, the role of genetics in the pathogenesis of PD has been hotly debated for decades. The recent discovery of at least five genes (such as a-synuclein and parkin (Park-2))(3) together with animal lesion models (6-OHDA, MPTP, Rotenone) and human post mortem tissue analysis has polarized belief... Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:45 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/199/using-stem-cell-and-gene-therapy-technologies-to-treat-parkinsons-disease http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/195/mitochondria-and-brain-disease By Heena Mulchandani - Mitochondria are eukaryotic, membrane-enclosed, 1-10um sized organelles, described as “cellular power plants” as they are responsible for the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and oxidative phosporylation. Signal transduction (buffering and storage of intracellular calcium), control of cell cycle and cell growth, as well as programmed cell death (apoptosis) are other important homeostatic processes governed by mitochondria. It is not surprising therefore that, despite extensive research efforts at elucidating the still un-established pathophysiology of neurological disease... Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:39 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/195/mitochondria-and-brain-disease http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/193/recent-advances-in-neural-stem-cell-research-how-stem-cells-in-the-brain-are-altered-by-a-changing-environment By Heena Mulchandani - Our current knowledge indicates that the production of new cells in the brain follows a multi-step process during which newborn cells are submitted to various regulatory factors that influence cell proliferation, maturation, fate determination and survival. Progenitor cells isolated from the forebrain can differentiate into neurons in vitro, as was demonstrated by Reynolds and Weiss in 1992 (Gage, 2000). Since then NSCs have been isolated from various areas of the adult brain, including non-neurogenic areas such as the spinal cord. Today we know that there are two discrete regions - the Subgranular... Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/193/recent-advances-in-neural-stem-cell-research-how-stem-cells-in-the-brain-are-altered-by-a-changing-environment