Genetic News and Research

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Therapy Finder - Colorectal Cancer app now available for patients

No one wants to hear the words, "you have colon cancer." For patients diagnosed with an advanced form of the disease, these words can be particularly devastating. The five-year survival rate can be a little as 6 percent. The top-of-mind question becomes, "Which treatment or clinical trial will work for me?"

28 Mar 2012

UT Southwestern researcher wins prestigious award from International Atherosclerosis Society

Dr. Helen Hobbs, a preeminent researcher on the genetics of cholesterol metabolism at UT Southwestern Medical Center, has won a prestigious award from the International Atherosclerosis Society.

28 Mar 2012

CRG, Illumina partner for large-scale analysis of genetic variation and function

The Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) has recently signed a year-long collaboration agreement with Illumina, a leading developer and manufacturer of life sciences tools and integrated systems for large-scale analysis of genetic variation and function.

From Illumina, Inc. 28 Mar 2012

Experimental drugs from Sanofi and Regenron cut cholesterol in a new way

An experimental drug that acts in a novel way to lower cholesterol proved even more effective than statins and had few undesirable side effects, newly released data shows. The drug acts by modifying the way cholesterol levels are naturally controlled. A protein produced in the liver helps limit the amount of LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, that liver cells can remove from the bloodstream. The new drug, called REGN727, is a monoclonal antibody, made in a laboratory, that blocks the action of that protein.

27 Mar 2012

Obese youths with particular genetic variants may be more prone to fatty liver disease

Obese youths with particular genetic variants may be more prone to fatty liver disease, a leading cause of chronic liver disease in children and adolescents in industrialized countries, according to new findings by Yale School of Medicine researchers.

27 Mar 2012

Study reconfirms specific genetic risks associated with PTSD

A new study released by Geisinger Health System researchers and appearing in the journal Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment reconfirms specific genetic risks associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and hopes to identify better screening and treatment options for the condition.

27 Mar 2012

First study to explore differential gender effects of secondhand smoke exposure

The negative health effects of early-life exposure to secondhand smoke appear to impact girls more than boys-particularly those with early-life allergic sensitization, according to new research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine.

27 Mar 2012

IU biologist to genetically modify variants of chlamydia

An Indiana University biologist has been awarded over $2.3 million from the National Institutes of Health to genetically modify variants of the human pathogen chlamydia in hopes of finding a vaccine for the most commonly reported bacterial infectious disease in the United States.

27 Mar 2012

Defects in schizophrenia-risk genes and environmental stress lead to abnormal brain development

Working with genetically engineered mice and the genomes of thousands of people with schizophrenia, researchers at Johns Hopkins say they now better understand how both nature and nurture can affect one's risks for schizophrenia and abnormal brain development in general.

27 Mar 2012

Study identifies major gene affecting chronic pain sensitivity

Nearly one in five people suffers from the insidious and often devastating problem of chronic pain.

27 Mar 2012

Lowering LDL at younger age can reduce risk of CHD

Coronary atherosclerosis - a hardening of the arteries due to a build-up of fat and cholesterol - can lead to heart attacks and other forms of coronary heart disease (CHD). Lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad" cholesterol, reduces the risk of CHD, and researchers found that lowering LDL beginning early in life resulted in a three-fold greater reduction in the risk of CHD than treatment with a statin started later in life, according to research presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 61st Annual Scientific Session.

27 Mar 2012

Mayo Clinic researchers join expedition to Everest

It's a natural laboratory for studying heart disease, lung problems, muscle loss, sleeping disorders and new medical technologies. It's also the highest mountain in the world. Mount Everest's extreme altitude puts climbers under the same conditions experienced by patients suffering from heart disease, obesity or advanced age. To take advantage of that, Mayo Clinic researchers are joining an expedition to Everest with National Geographic, The North Face and Montana State University.

26 Mar 2012

Gene fault linked to flu risk for hospitalization: Study finds

Researchers have found a genetic flaw that may explain why some people get more ill with flu than others. The study was reported in the journal Nature this Sunday, where researchers said the variant of the IFITM3 gene was much more common in people hospitalized for flu than in the general population. It controls a malformed protein, which makes cells more susceptible to viral infection. Experts said those with the flaw could be given the flu jab, like other at-risk groups.

26 Mar 2012

Well-balanced diet and exercise can prevent colorectal cancer

When Dessa Ledet repeatedly experienced pain on the right of her body, she never dreamed she would hear the words "you have cancer" when she woke up from a colonoscopy. In fact, she didn't believe that almost three years after her diagnosis she would run in MD Anderson's seventh annual Sprint for Colorectal Oncology Prevention and Education (SCOPE) Run on Saturday, March 24.

26 Mar 2012

Unique clinic gives new lease of life – solves a family mystery

Isobel Dickinson, 62, of Wadsley, Sheffield, suffers from gluten ataxia – a neurological condition that can affect balance, co-ordination and speech. Until her diagnosis six years ago, little did she know that her difficulty balancing was being caused by sensitivity to gluten.

26 Mar 2012

Mutational profiling could determine which AML patients will benefit from dose-intensive chemotherapy

An international group of researchers, including those from Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., have published a paper in the March 14 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine reviewing the results of a study that analyzed mutations in 18 genes of 398 patients who had acute myeloid leukemia.

26 Mar 2012

Strong link between telomere shortening and heart disease risk

No one really wants the short end of the stick, in this case the short end of a chromosome. Telomeres, which are DNA-protein complexes at the ends of chromosomes, can be thought of as protein "caps" that protect chromosomes from deteriorating and fusing with neighboring chromosomes.

26 Mar 2012

Researchers identify gene that influences how we respond to flu infection

A genetic finding could help explain why influenza becomes a life-threating disease to some people while it has only mild effects in others. New research led by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute has identified for the first time a human gene that influences how we respond to influenza infection.

26 Mar 2012

MicroRNAs linked to imminent threat of heart attack

Researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute have, for the first time ever, made a connection between tiny genetic molecules called microRNAs and the imminent threat of a heart attack, according to a new study.

26 Mar 2012

Obesity in later life linked to decreased mental faculties

The study found said out of 250 test subjects involving people over 59 years old, people between 60 and 70 who had the highest BMIs also had the lowest cognitive function. There was also a connection between visceral fat -- otherwise known as the belly fat around the torso - and poor mental abilities. The study, which was published in the British journal Age and Aging, measured the subjects fat-related measures including BMI, waist circumference and the amount of visceral - which could be close to organs - and subcutaneous -under the skin - fat using a abdominal CT scan. Cognitive ability was determined by a test called a Mini-Mental State Examination.

25 Mar 2012