Hereditary in Biological News

Study looks at psychological impact of gene test for breast cancer

... beliefs about inconclusive DNA testing for hereditary breast cancer are associated with cancer-related ... women cope with the results of BRCA testing for hereditary breast canceran increasingly used genetic test in ... testing for BRCA gene mutations associated with hereditary breast cancer. Of these, 147 womenmore than ...

Should embryos with a hereditary disorder be transferred if no unaffected embryos are available?

... diet). "Things are less clear where PGD for hereditary cancer syndromes is concerned. Debate about this ... targeted mutation (e.g. BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes for hereditary breast cancer) in cases where no non-affected ... said Dr Dondorp. "In the case of PGD for hereditary cancer, room for manoeuvre will depend on a ...

Inherited cancer mutation is widespread in America

... cause in North America of Lynch syndrome, a hereditary cancer syndrome that greatly increases a persons ... the mutation. Lynch syndrome, also known as hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer, is responsible for about one third of hereditary colon cancers, and almost 3 percent of colon ...

Columbia geneticists uncover new gene involved in determining hair texture and density in humans

... that mutations in a gene, known as P2RY5, cause hereditary "woolly hair" hair that is coarse, dry, tightly ... indicate that mutations in the P2RY5 gene cause hereditary woolly hair. This is significant as it represents ... six families of Pakistani origin, who all shared hereditary woolly hair. The cause ...

Mutation may cause inherited neuropathy

... some forms of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease and hereditary sensory neuropathy. Charcot-Marie-Tooth ... the limbs and internal organs are affected. hereditary sensory neuropathy affects predominantly sensory ... says Popko. It has been previously suggested that hereditary sensory neuropathy might be connected with ...

Scientists discover gene mutation responsible for hereditary neuroendocrine tumor

... and their colleagues have identified the gene that is mutated in a hereditary form of a rare neuroendocrine tumor called paraganglioma (PGL). The gene, ... hSdh5," explains Rutter. "Previous genetic studies have shown that the hereditary paragangliomas PGL1, PGL3, and PGL4 are associated with mutations causing ...

Y chromosome and surname study challenges infidelity 'myth'

... chromosome and usually change their surname through marriage. hereditary surnames were introduced to Britain by the Normans at the time of the conquest. The practice of using hereditary surnames filtered down from Norman noble families to all classes of ...

CSHL scientists discover a new way in which epigenetic information is inherited

... hereditary information flows from parents to offspring not just through DNA but also ... guided to DNA by small RNA molecules. These guides themselves do not carry hereditary information, but they do mark the spots where DNA is to be modified. A ...

Jefferson Department of Surgery announces new pancreas tumor registry

... familial breast-ovarian cancer, familial melanoma, familial colon cancer, hereditary pancreatitis and Peutz-Jegher's syndrome (a rare hereditary condition that results in gastrointestinal polyps). "While we have not ...

To fight the cancer before the tumor grows

... at the Heidelberg University Hospital, studied the most frequent form of hereditary colon cancer, the HNPCC syndrome (Hereditary Non-Polyposis Colorectal ... significant for patients who suffer from the most frequent form of hereditary colon cancer, the HNPCC syndrome (Hereditary Non-Polyposis Colorectal ...

Europe's most common genetic disease is a liver disorder

... cause problems. The exact origin of the genetic iron overload disorder hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) has remained elusive. In a joint effort, researchers ... as it promotes the formation of toxic radicals that lead to tissue damage. hereditary hemochromatosis is an iron overload disorder that, affecting about one in ...

Rheumatologists win $1.2M for arthritis research

... or halt the disease. Another feature of UABs research will be to identify hereditary and biological differences between some arthritis patients, and whether ... rheumatoid arthritis patients. Researchers want to determine if there is a hereditary or biological link to arthritis severity and the gene that encodes ...

Women often opt to surgically remove their breasts, ovaries to reduce cancer risk

... risk, timing and age. Rate of increase was measured among 211 women with known unaffected BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers. BRCA1 and BRCA2 are hereditary gene mutations that indicate an increased risk for developing breast cancer. Additionally, more than 3,500 women at greater than 25 percent lifetime ...

Stem cell 'daughters' lead to breast cancer

... for breast cancers that develop in women carrying mutations in the gene BRCA1. BRCA1 gene mutations are found in 10-20 per cent of women with hereditary breast cancer. Women with BRCA1 mutations often develop 'basal-like' breast cancer, which is a particularly aggressive form of the disease. A team ...

Parasites ready to jump

... Transposons are mobile genetic elements found in the hereditary material of humans and other organisms. They can replicate and the new copies can insert at novel sites in the genome. Because this threatens the ...

Little-known protein found to be key player

... the foundation for a deeper understanding of both basic biological processes and disease. "We hope the findings lead to a better understanding of hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP), the genetic disorder that atlastin has been linked with," Daga said. HSP is a rare genetic condition that affects fewer ...

'Show me the money!' MDA greenlights grants

... barrier contribute to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease. Ilieva hopes to find a way to use genetic therapy to treat hereditary ALS. "It will also enable my final phase postdoctoral training; thereby providing me what I hope is a major career development opportunity that ...

22nd Congress of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, Sept. 12-16, 2009, Turkey

... genetic manipulation in animal studies has elucidated mechanisms involved in mental disorders. Breakthroughs in molecular genetics shed light on hereditary diseases, i.e. Huntingtons disease and other life-threatening disorders. The interaction between nerve cells that underlies complex mental ...

Work in mice will contribute to the study of hereditary diseases that lead to blindness

... degeneration neuronal for intense light exposure in the mouse's retina that will be helpful for the study of retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a group of hereditary diseases which lead to blindness and affect more than one million persons a year all over the world. In addition, the results of this research work ...

ICSI or IVF: Babies born from frozen embryos do just as well

... and medications or both did not significantly impair offspring outcome." The malformations ranged from heart defects to defects caused by hereditary factors and sporadic genetic mutations or interactions. However, Ms Neri said: "They were within the spectrum of malformations observed in newborns ...

The faster they come

... 2009. The scientists are currently trying to better characterize the physiological differences between the two groups to find out whether they are hereditary or acquired. They are also planning to address this question by conducting breeding studies designed to distinguish between underlying genetic ...

Pushmi-pullyu of B-cell development discovered

... two meters of DNA inside a tiny cell nucleus is wrapped around millions of tiny spools, linked together like a string of pearls, which help keep the hereditary molecule from becoming irretrievably tangled. When wrapped tightly around these spools, individual genes are inaccessible to the molecules that bind ...

Huntington's disease deciphered

... by a loss of signaling between neurons, a slow dying back of neurons, and eventual neuron death -- to damage to the transport system in several other hereditary adult-onset neurodegenerative diseases and to Alzheimer's disease. "There is a common theme and a common Achilles heel of the neuron that ...

Liver disease 'shrunk' by blood-pressure drug

... and they now want to carry out several much larger studies initially involving patients with liver disease caused by obesity and then later alcohol, hereditary and autoimmune diseases. Mechanism Liver damage, known as fibrosis, is caused by the unwanted accumulation of excess fibrous connective ...

A new mouse model provides insight into genetic neurological disorders

... altering a protein-making molecule, a mouse was made with symptoms similar to the nervous system diseases, Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) and hereditary motor neuropathy (HMN). In CMT and HMN, neurons that signal and maintain muscle cells become defective, which causes weakening and loss of muscle ...

Genetic testing for breast or ovarian cancer risk may be greatly underutilized

... Although a test for gene mutations known to significantly increase the risk of hereditary breast or ovarian cancer has been available for more than a decade, a new study finds that few women with family histories of these cancers are even ...

Association for Molecular Pathology joins ACLU to challenge gene patents

... be invalidated. Individuals with certain mutations along these two genes, known as BRCA1 and BRCA2, are at a significantly higher risk for developing hereditary breast and ovarian cancers. The lawsuit, Association for Molecular Pathology, et al. v. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, et al., was filed May ...

Study finds novel genetic risk factors for kidney disease

... as novel risk genes for reduced kidney function and chronic kidney disease. "Previous research showed that rare mutations in the UMOD gene cause hereditary forms of severe kidney disease. Our research indicates that a common genetic variant with a frequency of 18 percent in populations of European ...

Moving gene therapy forward with mobile DNA

... promising technology to treat or even cure several fatal diseases for which there is no attractive alternative therapy. Gene therapy can be used for hereditary diseases, but also for other diseases that affect heart, brain and even for cancer. Indeed, recent results suggest that gene therapy can be ...

Cystic fibrosis testing -- next steps

... advances in cystic fibrosis genetic testing appear in the May 2009 issue of The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics . Cystic fibrosis is a hereditary disease that affects mucus secretions in the lungs, liver, pancreas, and intestines. Approximately 1 in 4000 children born in the United States is ...

Covering the bases: Quantum effect may hold promise for low-cost DNA sequencing, sensor applications

... to every individual will require new, affordable technologies to help mine the wealth of information DNA can provide concerning morphology, hereditary traits and predisposition to disease. Various techniques for sequencing DNA have been used to determine the identities of the four nucleotide ...

A paradigm shift in immune response regulation

... of NEMO mutations in patients suffering from X-linked ectodermal dysplasia and immunodeficiency", Ivan Dikic points out. Ectodermal dysplasia is a hereditary disease, which affects 1 to 5 children in 10,000 newborn. It causes the skin to be very thin and the perspiratory glands to malfunction. In some ...

Why 'lazy Susan' has a weak heart

... When young, apparently healthy athletes suddenly collapse, it can be due to hereditary cardiac disease. Researchers at the Heidelberg University Hospital have now discovered a genetic modification that leads to cardiac weakness in an ...

New discovery paves the way for new diagnosis of serious lung disease

... like bacteria or viruses. The discovery also provides new avenues for developing new diagnostic methods. The researchers used an unusual hereditary autoimmune disorder, autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 1 (APS-1), as a model. Patients with this disease are afflicted by the immune system ...

Statins may treat blood vessel disorder that can lead to fatal strokes

... us, including prominent athletes such as the Olympic superstar, Florence Griffith Joyner, and the Tour De France champion, Alberto Contador. In its hereditary form, it is especially prevalent in members of the original Hispanic families that settled the American Southwest." Although the precise number of ...

Biologists discover link between CGG repeats in DNA and neurological disorders

... process but also thwarts the cell's capacity to repair and restart it. The researchers focused on this CGG repeat because it is associated with hereditary neurological disorders such as fragile X syndrome and FRAXE mental impairment. In a study to be published in the January 2009 issue of the ...

House Ear Institute, TGen and Belgian researchers identify gene in age-related hearing loss

... role in presbycusis, but until now genetic research has lagged behind compared to other important diseases," said Guy Van Camp, director of the hereditary Deafness Laboratory and professor, University of Antwerp, Belgium. "The identification of GRM7 is a very exciting result, as it may provide insights ...

American Chemical Society's Weekly PressPac -- Nov. 19, 2008

... of ACS' weekly Journal of the American Chemical Society . In the study, Benjamin Miller and colleagues point out that MMD differs from typical hereditary diseases. They result from mutated DNA in genes that encodes an erroneous message that RNA picks up and passes along. As a result, cells produce ...

Seasonal affective disorder may be linked to genetic mutation, study suggests

... to the depressive symptoms of SAD. About 29 percent of SAD patients come from families with a history of the disorder, suggesting a genetic or hereditary link. "The finding suggest that melanopsin mutations may predispose some people to SAD, and that if you have two copies of this mutation, there is ...

Genes may make some people more prone to anxiety

... offer a biochemical explanation for why some people find it harder to regulate emotional arousal. Their sensitivity may, in combination with other hereditary and environmental factors, make them more prone to anxiety disorders. Researchers including Martin Reuter, PhD, of the University of Bonn, ...