Genetic News and Research

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Certain genetic variations increase risk of the vision disorder age-related macular degeneration

The combination of a certain genetic variation, along with inflammatory factors and smoking, significantly increases the risk of the vision disorder age-related macular degeneration.

19 Jul 2006

New research shows how 'genetic fingerprinting' can be used to track the spread of STDs

New research shows it could be possible to follow the spread of bacterial sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) through the population by tracking the individuals in a city infected with the same strain of the bacterium.

19 Jul 2006

Donepezil slows brain shrinkage in some patients with mild cognitive impairment

According to a new study, the drug donepezil measurably slows the rate of brain shrinkage in some patients with mild cognitive impairment, a pre-Alzheimer's disease condition. The shrinkage was measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

18 Jul 2006

Researchers isolate rare cancer stem cells that cause leukemia

Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital Boston and their colleagues have isolated rare cancer stem cells that cause leukemia in a mouse model of the human disease.

18 Jul 2006

Crohn's disease - possible genetic cause found

Patients with Crohn's disease of the colon have one copy less than healthy persons of the beta-defensin 2 gene, a gene coding for an important defense molecule of the body.

17 Jul 2006

New genetic clues to dementia with Lewy bodies

Researchers have found that genetic alterations originally identified in people suffering from a rare disease may also be an important risk factor for the second most common form of dementia among the elderly.

17 Jul 2006

Gene screen for breast cancer better than pathologist's "eye"

Johns Hopkins scientists have found that a method they developed to screen body fluids for certain kinds of cells and some of their genetic blueprint is twice as accurate at spotting breast cancer cells as a pathologist's view with a microscope.

17 Jul 2006

Researchers find cause of frontotemporal dementia

Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) is the second major form of dementia.

17 Jul 2006

Long, healthy life tends to run in some families

Long, healthy life tends to run in some families, and researchers on a project supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) want to learn more about the factors that contribute to it.

13 Jul 2006

Parents not to blame for late talking toddlers

New research findings from the world's largest study predicting children's late language emergence has revealed that parents are not to blame for late talking toddlers.

12 Jul 2006

Study shows high survival for patients with torn aortas who get surgery

Nearly three years ago, actor John Ritter collapsed on the set of his sitcom, the victim of a rare but often deadly condition called aortic dissection - a tear in the largest blood vessel in the body.

11 Jul 2006

Determining the genetic composition of brain cancers informs treatment, predicts outcome

Research confirms that determining the genetic composition of brain cancers can better inform doctors and patients for treatment options and prognosis.

11 Jul 2006

Latest March of Dimes Newborn Screening Report Card

Nearly two-thirds of all babies born in the United States this year will be screened for more than 20 life-threatening disorders - at nearly twice the rate as in 2005, according to the latest March of Dimes Newborn Screening Report Card.

11 Jul 2006

Scientists unravel breast cancer risk gene mystery

The risk of developing breast cancer is doubled in women who inherit a damaged version of a gene called ATM, according to a study published by Cancer Research UK funded scientists and collaborators in Nature Genetics.

10 Jul 2006

Don't smoke and eat fish to keep your sight later in life

New research from Australia and the U.S. into Age-related Macular Degeneration, has found that cigarette smoking increases the risk but eating fish protects against it, and hormone replacement therapy makes no difference whatsoever.

10 Jul 2006

World-first stem cell research may help male infertility

Scientists have shown for the first time that sperm grown from embryonic stem cells can be used to produce offspring.

10 Jul 2006

Cell survival depends on chromosome integrity

UCLA researchers report that thousands of genes behave differently in the same organs of males and females - something never detected to this degree.

9 Jul 2006

Discovery of gene mutation gives hope for Down syndrome and Alzheimer's victims

Researchers in the U.S. have discovered a gene mutation that shrivels brain cells which they suspect is responsible for the mental retardation seen in Down syndrome.

6 Jul 2006

Scientists identify overactive protein that plays a key role in cystic fibrosis

A team led by Johns Hopkins Children's Center scientists has identified and successfully tamed an overactive protein that plays a key role in cystic fibrosis (CF), a genetic disorder that interferes with the body's ability to transport chloride in and out of cells.

5 Jul 2006

Dog DNA provides clues to combating diseases such as diabetes and multiple sclerosis in humans

Melbourne researchers are examining the DNA of dogs in a research project aiming at determining the genetic causes of common pet diseases - and to provide a model for combating diseases such as diabetes and multiple sclerosis in humans.

5 Jul 2006