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Genetics and Health

Archive for the ‘Genetic Testing’ Category

June 8th, 2008

Elite athletes who died of enlarged hearts may have a genetic mutation

Enlarged hearts are found often, but not exclusively, in those who are obese, have diabetes or high blood pressure. People with none of these underlying problems can be affected, as can elite athletes.  For example, a post-mortem diagnosed the problem in Cameroon football midfielder Marc-Vivien Foe, who died in 2003 after collapsing during an international match […]

By Elaine -- 0 comments

May 29th, 2008

Gene therapy increases survival for head and neck cancer

Thank you to Jennifer Texada at MD Anderson for bringing this great cancer treatment discovery to my attention….
(Image courtesy Introgen Therapeutics)
A gene therapy invented at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center is the first to succeed in a U.S. phase III clinical trial for cancer.  Introgen Therapeutics, Inc a spin out from MD […]

By Elaine -- 1 comment

May 24th, 2008

Infertility, heart disease, osteoporosis and genetic mutations

Mutations in a gene called FIGLA cause premature ovarian failure in at least 1% of women who suffer from the disorder, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and Shandong University in China in a report that appears online in the American Journal of Human Genetics. Premature ovarian failure, which means that the ovaries […]

By Elaine -- 1 comment

May 22nd, 2008

President Bush Signs Landmark Genetic Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) Into Law

Thank you to Alyssa Friedland  from Genetic Alliance for this press release - a momentous occasion in the field of genetics.  I have decided to issue the press release in its entire form.  You may think me biased but the arguments put forward in the statement are cogent, well thought out and they echo my own […]

By Elaine -- 0 comments

May 18th, 2008

Sexual transmission of HIV by a handful of virus variants

A team from The University of Alabama (UAB) have found that among billions of HIV variants only a few lead to sexual transmission.
George M. Shaw Professor in the UAB departments of Medicine and Microbiology and senior author on the report, said the research sheds new light on potential vulnerabilities in the virus at a time when […]

By Elaine -- 0 comments

May 8th, 2008

Suicide - genetic changes in brain as a result of childhood abuse

Researchers have found marked genetic differences between brains of men who committed suicide and the brains of men who did not. Of those individuals studied, all had been victims of child abuse.
Even though the genetic sequence was the same in the suicide and non-suicide brains, researchers at the McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, led by Moshe Szyfa, […]

By Elaine -- 4 comments

May 7th, 2008

CFS and ME, Chronic fatigue syndrome - genetic origin not only psychological

(Image source:  www.livingwithcfs.wordpress.com) 
Researchers from St George’s Hospital, University of London have identified a biological basis for 7 different genetic types of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).
The St George’s study looked at 55 patients from the US and UK with the condition, and carried out a genetic analysis of them and 75 healthy blood donors.
It identified the seven […]

By Elaine -- 0 comments

May 4th, 2008

Osteoporosis - finding the genetic fingerprint

 
Osteoporosis 
(Image source: www.soylabs.com) 
An extensive genome-wide search has been undertaken to find the genes linked to osteoporosis and fracture. Five regions of interest have been identified that appear to warrant further scientific investigation.
The Garvan Institute for Medical Research collaborated with the Icelandic genetics company, deCode, in a project that looked at 1500 women from Garvan’s Dubbo Osteoporosis […]

By Elaine -- 1 comment

May 4th, 2008

Female hair loss - new genetic test available

(Photo source: www.female-alopecia.com)
Until now, Female Hair Loss has been difficult to predict and diagnose. That changes with today’s announcement that HairDX, LLC pioneers of consumer-friendly genetic tests for hair loss, has introduced a screening test using genetic markers strongly associated with Female Hair Loss (Female Androgenetic Alopecia).
The easy to understand test, which costs US$149, provides an accurate and […]

By Elaine -- 3 comments

April 23rd, 2008

Gene signature found for breast cancer survival

(Photo: Breast cancer cell , courtesy www.hopeforcancer.com)
Scientists believe they have identified a gene that may be able to limit the growth of breast cancer tumors.
The US National Cancer Institute, led by geneticist Kent Hunter found in tests on mice that tumors containing the bromodomain 4  or Brd4 gene ended up 10 times smaller than ones that did […]

By Elaine -- 0 comments