Economic burden of Huntington's disease in Peru.

Background: Huntington's disease (HD) is a devastating and fatal neurodegenerative disorder that leads to progressive disability, and over time to total dependence. The economic impact of HD on patients living in developing countries like Peru is still unknown. This study aims to estimate the economic burden by estimating direct and indirect costs of Huntington's disease in Peru, as well as the proportion of direct costs borne by patients and their families.

[Neurogenetics in Peru, example of translational research].

Neurogenetics is an emerging discipline in Peru that links basic research with clinical practice. The Neurogenetics Research Center located in Lima, Peru is the only unit dedicated to the specialized care of neurogenetic diseases in the country. From the beginning, neurogenetics research has been closely linked to the study of Huntington’s Disease (HD), from the PCR genotyping of the HTT gene, to the current haplogroup studies in HD.

Neurogenetics in Peru: clinical, scientific and ethical perspectives.

Neurogenetics, the science that studies the genetic basis of the development and function of the nervous system, is a discipline of recent development in Peru, an emerging Latin American country. Herein, we review the clinical, scientific and ethical aspects regarding the development of this discipline, starting with the first molecular diagnosis of neurogenetic diseases, to family and population-based genetic association studies. Neurogenetics in Peru aims to better explain the epidemiology of monogenic and complex neurodegenerative disorders that will help in implementing public health policies for these disorders.