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Genetics and Health

Archive for the ‘Genetics of Disease’ 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 23rd, 2008

Allergies - first born at increased risk

(Image credit www.about.com) 
A University of Carolina study monitoring 1200 newborns from the ‘Isle of Wight cohort’ found that first borns were more likely to carry a gene variant which raised their risk of developing an allergy before the age of 10.  The study suggested that a first born experienced different conditions in the uterus from subsequent siblings.
The […]

By Elaine -- 2 comments

May 18th, 2008

Sun-induced skin cancer - starting point discovered

Different types of skin cancer
(Photo credit: http://melanoma.blogsome.com/category/skin-image-processing)
University of Minnesota researchers looking to answer the question ‘why does ultraviolet light induce skin cancer?’ believe they have found how sun-induced skin cancer starts.  They found the cancer starts in receptor molecules or molecular “hooks” on the outer surface of cells that also pull cannabinoid compounds found in marijuana out […]

By Elaine -- 0 comments

May 18th, 2008

Insomnia - body clock ‘reset button’ found

Cambridge University researchers have identified a small molecule that appears to play a major role in making our body clocks tick.  Studies in mice have shown cAMP - a common signalling molecule - is involved in keeping the body clock “rhythms” going (circadian rhythms).
The body’s internal clock is a highly sensitive mechanism able to anticipate changes in the […]

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 5th, 2008

Weight gain, diabetes, expanding waist line and a gene sequence

 
Scientists from Imperial College London and other international institutions have discovered a gene sequence that is associated with a 2cm expansion in waist circumference, a 2kg gain in weight, and a tendency to become resistant to insulin, which can lead to type 2 diabetes. The sequence is found in 50% of the UK population.
The study shows that the […]

By Elaine -- 2 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

Leukemia - risk of which patients could relapse, identified

(Photo courtesy www.leukemia101.com) 
Researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center may have discovered a better way to distinguish acute leukemia patients who require aggressive treatment to prevent recurrence from those who need only standard therapy for cure.
About 13,300 new cases of AML and 8,200 deaths from the disease are expected this year in the […]

By Elaine -- 0 comments

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