The development of the genetic disorder Huntington's disease may be slowed by an active and interesting lifestyle, researchers have found.

They have discovered that mice with Huntington's disease live for longer if they are provided with a lot of interesting activities.

Neuroscientists from Oxford University took mice which had been genetically engineered to be predisposed to the condition and put them in cages with "plenty of opportunities for exercise, climbing and exploring".

They found that in these mice there was a "dramatic delay" in the onset of the disease.

In people with Huntington's, brain cells, or neurons, die causing them to lose control of their movements.

It also leads to severe cognitive and behavioural deterioration.

Pole test

Mice that have been genetically engineered to have a predisposition to the disease develop a motor impairment which prevents them turning when they are walking along a pole.

Mice which did not have climbing and investigating opportunities fell off the pole by the time they were 18 weeks old.

However, only 15% of mice who had lived in cages where the tunnels and boxes were regularly moved around, fell off at the same age. They also performed better in other tests for Huntington's.

The findings, which were presented at the Australian Neuroscience Society in Melbourne last week, and reported in New Scientist, gives hope that external factors may have an influence on the development of the disease in humans.

Richard Faul, and expert in Huntington's at the University of Aukland, said: "It's the first evidence that by manipulating the environment you can delay the onset - and possibly the severity - of the disease."

Tony Hannan, who ran the study, said: "We didn't expect this dramatic delay". But he warned that the effects may be less pronounced in humans, saying "an enriched mouse is more like a normal human".

The mice that had been kept busy also showed changes in the striatum region of the brain, which helps to co-ordinate movement. More of their striatal cells contained a protein called albindin which is know to protect neurons from damage.

Cath Stanley, of the UK's Huntington's Disease Association said she was not surprised by the findings.

She said: "There is evidence that if people remain involved in their families and their interests that they remain active for longer.

"Their remaining active also depends on them getting appropriate treatment for their symptoms.

"But it is also very important that they retain their position within the family and that they maintain their interests - or take up new interests if their old ones are no longer appropriate."

She added that it was important to make an effort to remain active as soon into the onset of the disease as possible, as one of its symptoms is that the patient can become very fixed and inflexible in their ideas.