Inherit News and Research

RSS

Prozac helps learning and memory in people with Huntington's disease

People with Huntington's disease have progressive motor problems, cognitive deficits (dementia) and psychiatric symptoms (the most common is depression) that usually start to appear in mid-life. There is no cure and death usually results within 10 to 20 years of symptom onset, or faster in the childhood-onset form of the disease.

9 Oct 2005

New information regarding the genetic, cellular and neurological bases of susceptibility to autism and schizophrenia

Two New Jersey research teams are reporting discoveries about the biological nature of psychiatric disorders that may bring them closer to the ultimate goal of finding cures for complex diseases, such as autism and schizophrenia.

9 Oct 2005

Common form of thalassaemia can be managed without blood transfusion

Haemoglobin E â thalassaemia - the commonest form of severe thalassaemia in many Asian countries - can be managed without transfusion in many patients, suggests a research letter published online today (Thursday September 29, 2005) by The Lancet.

28 Sep 2005

First-of-its-kind test on a microchip array will help diagnose retinitis pigmentosa

Rapid genetic testing for eye disease is becoming a reality, thanks to a technology developed at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center.

19 Sep 2005

Animal model of Parkinson's disease reveals striking sensitivity to common environmental toxins

In findings that support a relationship between agricultural chemicals and Parkinson's disease, two groups of researchers have found new evidence that loss of DJ-1, a gene known to be linked to inherited Parkinson's disease, leads to striking sensitivity to the herbicide paraquat and the insecticide rotenone.

7 Sep 2005

British Heart Foundation gene research helped by thousands of brothers and sisters

An unusual British Heart Foundation (BHF) 'DNA database' from brothers and sisters across the UK has enabled researchers to pinpoint six genetic 'hotspots' that can double the risk of developing early heart disease.

6 Sep 2005

Unique Internet test to test genetic disposition to depression

The team, based at the Neuroscience and Psychiatry Unit (NPU), in the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences, has set up a website (www.newmood.co.uk) where would-be volunteers can see how prone they may be to depression by identifying the emotions on people's faces and taking a gambling test.

From The University of Manchester 30 Aug 2005

First proof of how the rare disorder Fanconi anemia causes chromosomal instability

The scientists found a gene mutation not previously known to be related to Fanconi anemia, and they say that BRIP1 is the first gene associated with the disease whose protein has a known function.

22 Aug 2005

Discovery may lead to new diagnostic tests for immunoglobulin A (IgA) deficiency and common variable immunodeficiency (CVID)

Defects in a single gene can result in two immune system disorders that leave affected individuals vulnerable to frequent or unusually severe infections, according to new findings reported in the August issue of Nature Genetics.

4 Aug 2005

Scientists have identified the first genetic mutations that cause the aorta to widen, tear and rupture

Finding biological markers that flag aneurysm, a bulging of the aorta that leads to dissection, a lengthwise separation of tissues in the artery wall, is critically important for early diagnosis.

25 Jul 2005

Study offers a unique perspective on the beginnings of the alcohol experience and usage patterns of 12-year-olds

Clues looking into the root causes of alcoholism are emerging from new findings that center on the genetic patterns of young drinkers, with particular focus on why adolescents are more likely to drink large quantities of alcohol even if they need more alcohol to get the effects they desire.

25 Jul 2005

Specific genetic linkages to bipolar disorder

Despite an intensive effort, researchers have yet to identify the genes that cause bipolar disorder, yet the practical benefits of such a discovery could reap rich rewards for those suffering from the mental illness.

16 Jun 2005

Role of toxins in inherited disease

A disease you are suffering today could be a result of your great-grandmother being exposed to an environmental toxin during pregnancy.

3 Jun 2005

Exposure to pharmaceutical estrogen during fetal development can permanently "reprogram" tissue in a way that determines whether tumors will develop in adulthood

Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center may have uncovered the reason why some people who are genetically predisposed to hormone-dependent cancers develop the disease as an adult, while others who are similarly susceptible don't.

30 May 2005

Protein, called "eed," crucial to the regulation of genes in embryonic stem cells

New research from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows how a protein may be crucial to the regulation of genes in embryonic stem cells.

26 May 2005

Bald men can blame mum!

Despite an enormous range of treatments, obscure lotions and tinctures there appears to be very few successful counter-measures for hair loss in men. Beginning with receding hairlines, every second man suffers from hair loss to some degree, and it has always been suspected that hereditary factors are important in causing hair loss.

22 May 2005

EraGen Biosciences and Bayer announce agreements for new cystic fibrosis (CF) assay

EraGen Biosciences, a rapidly growing molecular diagnostics company and Bayer HealthCare LLC, Diagnostics Division, announced today that EraGen has licensed its patented MultiCode-PLx® System to Bayer HealthCare in an exclusive worldwide agreement for Cystic Fibrosis.

18 May 2005

Suspect gene may increase susceptibility to anxiety and depression

People with the depression-linked gene variant showed less gray matter and weaker connections in the mood-regulating circuit. How well the circuit was connected accounted for nearly 30 percent of their anxious temperament

8 May 2005

Mosaic Analysis with Double Markers (MADM) - A powerful new tool to study diseases and genetics

A powerful laboratory technique used by fruit fly geneticists for more than a decade is now available to scientists studying genes and diseases in mice.

5 May 2005

Clues about the causes of dementia in Huntington's disease

Scientists at Melbourne's Howard Florey Institute have uncovered a clue about the causes of dementia in Huntington's disease, one of the disease's symptoms, by showing that mice susceptible to Huntington's disease have problems with learning and memory before the diseases' typical movement problems appear.

27 Apr 2005