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FDA approves Berinert for adults and adolescents with HAE

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Berinert, the first treatment for acute abdominal attacks and facial swelling associated with a rare and potentially life-threatening genetic disease called hereditary angioedema (HAE).

27 Oct 2009

Clinical trial helps improve prognosis and changes the standard of care for patients with colorectal cancer

In a review article published this month in The Oncologist, UNC's Dr. Richard M. Goldberg and a team of colleagues catalogue how the data collected in a single large comparative clinical trial testing combination chemotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer has been used not only to benefit the patients that enrolled but also patients who subsequently developed the disease.

27 Oct 2009

School to college transition can trigger eating disorders in young adults

Research shows that the transition to college, with its inherent pressures and changes, can increase the likelihood of eating disorders in young adults. While college students are empowered with newfound independence, this freedom can also trigger unhealthy and dangerous behaviors.

27 Oct 2009

National Cancer Institute awards Johns Hopkins $14.8 million for cancer research

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Institute for NanoBioTechnology have been awarded $14.8 million from the National Cancer Institute to launch a research center aimed at unraveling the physical underpinnings of the growth and spread of cancer.

26 Oct 2009

Wound Management Technologies signs distribution agreement with Biocure S.r.l. of Milan

Wound Management Technologies, Inc., through its subsidiary, Wound Care Innovations, announced today that it has reached an agreement with Biocure S.r.l. of Milan, Italy for the distribution of WNDM's patented molecular form of activated collagen, CellerateRx®.

26 Oct 2009

Phase 2a clinical trial in nonsense mutation hemophilia A and hemophilia B initiated

PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (PTC) today announced it is expanding the development of ataluren, an investigational new drug, to a third indication with the initiation of a Phase 2a clinical trial in nonsense mutation hemophilia A (nmHA) and hemophilia B (nmHB).

26 Oct 2009

Pritzker Olsen to represent 3-year-old child sickened with an E. coli O157:H7 infection

Pritzker Olsen law firm has been retained to represent a 3-year-old child sickened with an E. coli O157:H7 infection and hemolytic uremic syndrome. The child is believed to have contracted the illness at a local apple orchard/ petting zoo in the Twin Cities (MN) area. Preliminary testing indicates that the genetic fingerprint of the E .coli O157:H7 obtained from the child’s stool sample matches the genetic fingerprint of E. coli from llama feces tested at the petting zoo.

26 Oct 2009

Novel protein responsible for changing DNA structure and silencing the expression of genes identified

A study published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) by a team of scientists headed by Professors Hélène Bierne and Pascale Cossart from the Pasteur Institute, in collaboration with colleagues form the CNRS and the French Agricultural Research Institute (INRA), identified a novel protein, BAHD1, which is responsible for changing DNA structure and silencing the expression of genes.

26 Oct 2009

Cancer cells fueled by the mutant KRAS oncogene can be killed by blocking its genetic partner

Cancer cells fueled by the mutant KRAS oncogene, which makes them notoriously difficult to treat, can be killed by blocking a more vulnerable genetic partner of KRAS, report scientists at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT.

26 Oct 2009

Gene therapy may help improve congenital blindness in children

Born with a retinal disease that made him legally blind, and would eventually leave him totally sightless, the nine-year-old boy used to sit in the back of the classroom, relying on the large print on an electronic screen and assisted by teacher aides. Now, after a single injection of genes that produce light-sensitive pigments in the back of his eye, he sits in front with classmates and participates in class without extra help. In the playground, he joins his classmates in playing his first game of softball.

26 Oct 2009

Rare form of testicular tumour provides new insight into how genetic changes arise in children

A rare form of testicular tumour has provided scientists with new insights into how genetic changes (mutations) arise in our children. The research, funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Danish Cancer Society, could explain why certain diseases are more common in the children of older fathers.

26 Oct 2009

$Cardiovascular disease may increase hip fracture incidence$

Cardiovascular disease may increase hip fracture incidence

A study that includes twins finds that the risk of hip fracture was significantly increased following a diagnosis of cardiovascular disease (CVD), with analysis also suggesting a genetic predisposition to the development of CVD and fractures, according to a study in the October 21 issue of JAMA.

26 Oct 2009

Professor Suzanne Cory receives award for her work in cancer and immunogenetics

Professor Suzanne Cory, the former director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne, Australia, has been named the recipient of the 2009 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize.

24 Oct 2009

CAP commends SACGHS stand against human health-related gene patents

The College of American Pathologists today expressed its support for a key government advisory group's recommendation to create an exemption from liability for infringement of gene patent claims when used for patient care purposes.

24 Oct 2009

Bioethicist honored with March of Dimes Distinguished Lectureship in Perinatal Bioethics award

A bioethicist who specializes in moral dilemmas families face when making medical decisions for critically-ill newborns was honored with the first-ever March of Dimes Distinguished Lectureship in Perinatal Bioethics.

24 Oct 2009

John Muir Health earns Network Cancer Program accreditation

John Muir Health’s Walnut Creek and Concord campuses have earned a three-year accreditation with commendation as a Network Cancer Program (NCP) from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer (CoC), a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to improving survival and quality of life for cancer patients. John Muir Health is one of only two hospitals in California and the only one in the San Francisco Bay Area to receive the recognition.

24 Oct 2009

Physicians' recognize benefits of genetic testing; say formal education required to put it into practice

Medco Health Solutions, Inc.(NYSE: MHS) and the American Medical Association (AMA) today announced the findings of a national benchmark survey on physicians' acceptance, use and education regarding pharmacogenomic testing.

23 Oct 2009

Modified NAGA: New enzyme for enzyme replacement therapy

A new study uses a creative structure-based remodeling strategy to design a therapeutic protein that exhibits significant advantages over currently available treatments for a rare disease that often leads to cardiac and renal failure. The research, published by Cell Press on October 22nd in the American Journal of Human Genetics, describes a new and highly promising candidate for enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) for Fabry disease.

23 Oct 2009

Follow healthy lifestyle to overturn genetic predisposition to heart disease

When it comes to heart disease, lifestyle usually trumps genetics, says noted genetic researcher Dr. Robert Hegele, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada Lecturer at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2009.

23 Oct 2009

New technique developed to transform regular body cells into artificial stem cells

Scientists have overcome a key barrier to the clinical use of stem cells with a technique which transforms regular body cells into artificial stem cells without the need for introducing foreign genetic materials, which could be potentially harmful. The research, published in STEM CELLS, suggests that cells taken from a patient's eye can be "reprogrammed" to replace or restore cells lost to degenerative diseases.

23 Oct 2009

Genetic News and Research

FDA approves Berinert for adults and adolescents with HAE

Clinical trial helps improve prognosis and changes the standard of care for patients with colorectal cancer

School to college transition can trigger eating disorders in young adults

National Cancer Institute awards Johns Hopkins $14.8 million for cancer research

Wound Management Technologies signs distribution agreement with Biocure S.r.l. of Milan

Phase 2a clinical trial in nonsense mutation hemophilia A and hemophilia B initiated

Pritzker Olsen to represent 3-year-old child sickened with an E. coli O157:H7 infection

Novel protein responsible for changing DNA structure and silencing the expression of genes identified

Cancer cells fueled by the mutant KRAS oncogene can be killed by blocking its genetic partner

Gene therapy may help improve congenital blindness in children

Rare form of testicular tumour provides new insight into how genetic changes arise in children

Cardiovascular disease may increase hip fracture incidence

Professor Suzanne Cory receives award for her work in cancer and immunogenetics

CAP commends SACGHS stand against human health-related gene patents

Bioethicist honored with March of Dimes Distinguished Lectureship in Perinatal Bioethics award

John Muir Health earns Network Cancer Program accreditation

Physicians' recognize benefits of genetic testing; say formal education required to put it into practice

Modified NAGA: New enzyme for enzyme replacement therapy

Follow healthy lifestyle to overturn genetic predisposition to heart disease

New technique developed to transform regular body cells into artificial stem cells

Genetics & Genomics - Second Edition eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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