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Childhood trauma can leave permanent epigenetic marks on DNA

Abused children are at high risk of anxiety and mood disorders, as traumatic experience induces lasting changes to their gene regulation. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich have now documented for the first time that genetic variants of the FKBP5 gene can influence epigenetic alterations in this gene induced by early trauma.

3 Dec 2012

Vitamin D receptor polymorphism may protect against osteoporosis

A polymorphism in the vitamin D receptor gene significantly influences risk for osteoporosis, suggest results from a meta-analysis of 26 studies.

3 Dec 2012

More to fetal alcohol exposure than previously thought

Children who have certain variants in alcohol metabolizing genes and whose mothers drank while pregnant may have a lower IQ than those whose mothers did not drink during pregnancy, researchers report.

20 Nov 2012

New genetic insight into Alzheimer’s disease

A rare mutation in the gene encoding the triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 has a potent effect on the risk for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, two studies published in The New England Journal of Medicine suggest.

20 Nov 2012

AGTR2 gene variant predicts risk for preeclampsia

Carriers of a variant of the angiotensin II receptor, type 2 gene have increased risk for preeclampsia during pregnancy if they are also overweight or obese, show study results published in Placenta.

19 Nov 2012

Vitiligo patients have low risk for skin cancer

Evidence suggests that patients with vitiligo have a reduced risk for both melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer.

16 Nov 2012

Taste receptor governs respiratory infection susceptibility

The bitter taste receptor TAS2R38 may play a role in innate defense, say researchers, who have found that variations in the TAS2R38 gene may regulate susceptibility to respiratory infection.

12 Nov 2012

Duration of ibuprofen use may reduce risk of bladder cancer in northern New England patients

Dartmouth researchers have found that duration of ibuprofen use was associated with a reduced risk of bladder cancer in patients in northern New England, which has a high mortality rate of this disease. In a 2012 collaborative project with the National Cancer Institute, Margaret Karagas, PhD, co-director, Cancer Epidemiology & Chemoprevention program at Norris Cotton Cancer Center, and Professor of Community and Family Medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, and Richard Waddell, D.Sc, Research Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine, looked for connections between ibuprofen use and bladder cancer.

7 Nov 2012

Study explores impact of IL1β on brain function alterations associated with schizophrenia

There are a growing number of clues that immune and inflammatory mechanisms are important for the biology of schizophrenia. In a new study in Biological Psychiatry, Dr. Mar Fatjó-Vilas and colleagues explored the impact of the interleukin-1β gene (IL1β) on brain function alterations associated with schizophrenia.

2 Nov 2012

Genetic underpinning of placebo effect identified

US researchers have identified a gene that appears to be responsible for the placebo effect.

1 Nov 2012

Gene variant predicts lymphoma treatment response

German researchers have identified a gene variant that significantly influences the outcome of methotrexate therapy for primary central nervous system lymphoma.

31 Oct 2012

C allele of rs1329650 may increase risk of both ADHD and smoking

A variation of a particular gene may link the behaviours typical of childhood attention hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD for short, and those associated with smoking, suggests research published online in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

30 Oct 2012

Genetic basis of uterine fibroids uncovered

A mutation located near the fatty acid synthase gene is associated with an increased predisposition for uterine leiomyomata or fibroids, suggest US study findings.

8 Oct 2012

GRID1 thalamo-cortical gene variations absent in schizophrenia

Genetic variation in the glutamate receptor delta 1 gene affects gray matter of the anterior thalamus and left lateral prefrontal cortex in healthy individuals but not among patients with schizophrenia, suggest findings published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research.

5 Oct 2012

Researchers identify genetic risk allele for uterine fibroids

Uterine fibroids are the most common type of pelvic tumors in women and are the leading cause of hysterectomy in the United States. Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) are the first to discover a genetic risk allele (an alternative form of a gene) for uterine fibroids in white women using an unbiased, genome-wide approach.

5 Oct 2012

Hormone and androgen receptor genes combined affect sperm motility

The combination of alleles for genes encoding the follicle-stimulating hormone receptor and androgen receptor has a significant impact on sperm motility, emphasising the importance of the genes in sperm quality, say Greek scientists.

1 Oct 2012

Genetic profile predicts postradiation erectile dysfunction

Scientists have identified a group of genetic markers that can predict the risk for erectile dysfunction after radiotherapy for prostate cancer.

1 Oct 2012

Genome-wide epigenomic screening can pinpoint thyroid disease-associated variants

Genome-wide epigenomic screening can pinpoint disease-associated variants and identify novel genetic-epigenetic interactions in autoimmune thyroid diseases, according to new data presented at the 82nd Annual Meeting of the American Thyroid Association (ATA) in Québec City, Québec, Canada.

24 Sep 2012

‘C’ variant disrupts brain connectivity in children with ASD

Over the past decade, researchers have made great strides in identifying genes that lead to an increased risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), which result in a continuum of social deficits, communication difficulties and cognitive delays. But it's still critical to determine how exactly these genetic risk factors impact the brain's structure and function so that better treatments and interventions can be developed.

15 Sep 2012

Allele’s scientists describe important advance in generation of human stem cells

This week in the journal Scientific Reports, scientists from Allele Biotechnology describe an important advance in the generation of stem cells capable of producing all the different tissues of the human body.

15 Sep 2012