Genes

New Way to "See" Genes, Evaluate Effectiveness of Gene Therapies Discovered

This technology essentially renders the body transparent and will allow physicians to determine whether gene therapies reach targeted cells and work as they should. "The technology is expected to help patients with cancer and other illnesses, such as cardiovascular disease. The discovery is outlined in the August 2000, issue of the journal Nature Medicine. UCLA researchers plan to tes...

Genes for lung disease

Researchers in the US have found that genes contribute to the risk of chronic lung disease, along with smoking. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the name given to chronic bronchitis and emphysema - is very disabling, because it leads to increasing shortness of breath. It's linked with gradual destruction of lung tissue and smoking is a major cause of the problem.// Howeve...

Genesis of SUPAC

Scale-UP and Post Approval Changes (SUPAC) is an integral part of pharmaceutical product development but till a few years ago, no guidance was available, to assure a smooth scale-up operation. US FDA was the first regulatory body to address this issue. // Any pharmaceutical product developed by R&D team has to undergo various stages of scale-up from ‘laboratory-scale’ to ‘pilot-scale’...

Cirrhosis linked to genes

A group of UK doctors suggest that genetic factors may determine those at increased risk of developing liver disease from drinking alcohol.Researchers at the University of Newcastle believe that certain genes trigger a strong immune reaction in response to alcohol which then damages the liver. Dr Vander West, who is leading the research, says the work suggests directions for the devel...

Altering genes through calories

It's never too late to diet. Cutting calories for only a few weeks late in life causes anti-aging changes in mouse genes.Even those averse to weight watching might have their cake and eat it if researchers can find drugs that mimic dieting’s effects. Cutting calories is known to increase lifespan and reduce age-related disease in experimental mammals. Researchers at the University of C...

Predictable genes

A team of UK scientists has found six genes which may play a role in breast cancer development. They hope that eventually, doctors will be able to gauge an individual woman's risk of developing cancer by looking closely at her genetic makeup.Only a small proportion of breast cancer cases are currently thought to be caused by inherited genetic factors. Two genes have already been firml...

Genes for Vision discovered

Harvard Medical School researchers have discovered nearly all the genes responsible for vision, which could help in diagnosing and treating blinding diseases.Macular degeneration affects 20 per cent of people over age 75. Discovery of the full set of photoreceptor genes expressed int he retinal cells, which was made in mice, could also lead to new methods for preserving and restoring the vision o...

Endometriosis coalesced with genes

The scientists, from deCODE genetics and Iceland's National University Hospital, ascertained that having a cousin with endometriosis raises a woman's risk by more than 62 per cent.//Endometriosis is a painful condition where endometrial tissue, which is normally found only in the lining of the uterus, develops outside the womb. The tissue attaches itself to ligaments and organs in the abdomin...

Birth weight may be influenced by genes

According to a new research in monkeys, they provide compelling evidence that DNA, particularly a type inherited only from the mother, plays an important role in determining a newborn's birth weight. Based on genetic analysis of six generations of macaque monkeys,// a team led by Dr. James C. Ha at the University of Washington in Seattle assessed that genes account for 45% of the inconsistency in...

New breast cancer genes discovered

According to a recent study, a rare genetic condition has uncovered an unexpected link to breast cancer. Fanconi anaemia is an unusual childhood genetic disorder marked by bone marrow failure. If the child survives to adulthood,// they are at high risk of a number of cancers, including brain, head and neck, and breast. Researchers at the Faber Cancer Institute and the Children's Hospi...

Altitude sickness connected to genes

Altitude sickness is one of the most common encountered among the mountaineers. Doctors have new findings into why some mountain climbers are affected by altitude sickness and others are not. They say two changes in a gene related to lung function may increase the risk of high altitude sickness.// The illness, high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE), can result when people climb higher tha...

Miracle Baby Boy from a Type 3 osteogenesis imperfecta, Mother

Calif : A woman who is just three feet tall and 37 pound in weight prior to pregnancy, has delivered a healthy baby boy. This baby is her first child. // Eloysa Vasquez, confined to a wheel chair because of Type 3 osteogenesis imperfecta , a disorder that has rendered her bones soft and brittle . She has had two miscarriages as well. During the pregnancy, Vasquez gained 20 po...

Jumping genes eliminate sections of DNA

A recent study reveals that jumping genes appear to be able to delete sections of DNA, an effect that could cause disease and have profound implications for the evolution of the human genome. It was known previously that components of DNA called Line 1 elements jumped around, inserted themselves in the middle of genes and had disruptive effects,// but this is the first time it has been shown they...

Multiple organ disease cured by genes

Researchers University of Pennsylvania report the first ever use of gene therapy, in dogs, to cure a gene involving multiple body organs.// Mucopolysaccharidosis VII (MPS) is one of a group of rare genetic disorders called lysosomal storage diseases. Other examples include Tay Sachs disease and Gaucher disease. MPS involves an enzyme defect, leading to blindness, heart disease, and loss of mobili...

Function of genes in heart failure

According to a research, genes may partially determine the percentage of developing the most common form of heart failure among people.// Researchers from Wake Forest University and other universities studied more than 500 groups of siblings. They used ultrasound to measure the efficiency of participants' hearts, specifically diastolic function. Diastolic function measures how efficiently the hea...

Discovering cholesterol-absorbing genes

According to researchers in a recent study on both mice and humans are showing why some people absorb more cholesterol into their body than others. Did you know that if you eat a fatty meal or snack - a fried egg sandwich, say, //or a doughnut - the amount of cholesterol you absorb is strongly influenced by your genes. Experts know that high cholesterol is linked to heart disease, and that a high...

Colon cancer risk linked to genes causing Hemochromatosis

A recent study at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill that was published in the Jan. 15 Journal of the National Cancer Institute suggests that two genes - C282Y and H63D, which are linked to the iron overload disorder hemochromatosis may also lead to an increased risk of developing colon cancer. For the research, the genes of more than 1,300 subjects were studied, out// of which, more...

Y chromosome uses trick to repair its own genes

Scientists have discovered that the Y chromosome uses a neat trick to repair its most crucial genes, a strategy that apparently helps keep it from rotting away over evolutionary time. The Y chromosome, of course, is best known for supplying the biological signal that makes males rather than females. Some scientists have suggested it might disappear millions of years from now becaus...

Genes Found To Help Leukemia Treatment

When devising a treatment plan for Leukemia , doctors rely on indicators to decide how aggressive the cancer is likely to be, // including how the cancer cells look under a microscope, the patient’s age, and disease history. However, for some patients, those indicators are not enough to place them in a high-risk or low-risk group. Doctors may be left guessing which treatments to try. Res...

Cardiac Valve Disease Linked To Genes

A new study suggests that death from cardiac valve disease might be predominant in certain families. Researchers analyzed // death certificates and genealogy data of people who died of aortic and mitral valve disease . Results show deaths from nonrheumatic mitral and aortic diseases are clustered among close and distant relatives, which suggests a genetic link. Deaths from these condit...

Genes Linked To Cigarette Addiction

A new study suggests young people are more likely to become addicted to cigarettes if they carry a specific form of a gene // that helps clear nicotine out of the liver. Those with the inactive form of the CYP2A6 gene were about three-times more likely to get hooked on the habit than those with the normal form. The study authors say the interesting thing is they were also less likely to...

Risk for Diabetes type II may be in the genes

Obesity has always borne the risk of diabetes. Obese people may be a t a higher risk of having diabetes than non-obese people. // A study by UT Southwestern Medical Center of US suggests that the higher risk of diabetes associated with obesity do have a genetic component. The study had evaluated the role played by ENPP1 K121Q polymorphism in predicting diabetes type II in people. The...

Enlarged waistline may predict atherogenesis for postmenopausal women

A recent study had suggested that an increasing waistline, along with the elevated levels of triglycerides may// be a strong predictor for atherogenesis and cardiac problems for post menopausal women. The study had looked into 557 women for 8.5 yrs to estimate the risk of cardiovascular mortality and the progression rate atherogenesis. Atherogenesis is the process of plaques etc formi...

Genes from saliva may predict oral and breast cancer

The scientists from UCLA have reported that genes from the saliva may be the biomarkers that can predict the //onset of oral and breast cancer in people. These biomarkers are called salivary transcriptomes can be used to detect cell carcinoma. The researchers have been able to successfully predict the oral cancer growths in nine out of ten people. The UCLA team has developed ways to i...

Artificially made protein to inhibit angiogenesis

Researchers of Medical College of Georgia had successfully made a protein// that will stop the process of angiogenesis. Angiogenesis is the abnormal growth of blood vessels that may lead to obstructed vision or growth of a tumor. The new protein, when applied to animals suffering from corneal injury or skin cancer called melanoma, reduced the blood vessel proliferation by...

Testing genes for disease does not cause harm to children of people with Alzheimers

Testing for risk of Alzheimers disease in children of patients with Alzheimers// was thought to be harmful to them. It was suggested that such genetic testing might increase the anxiety or depression in children of the parents with Alzheimers. A new study points out that this may not be true. Genetical testing has no effect on the mental health of offsprings of patients with Alzheimers. Often the...

Arsenic poisoning reactions can be traced to genes

The reaction to a common water pollutant called arsenic may not be the same in all people. Researchers have // pointed out to a gene called CYT19 in people, particularly in children, that may be responsible for varied reactions to the metal called arsenic. Arsenic exposure had long been associated with health hazards like cancer of the skin, lungs or bladder, circulatory problems, and...

Possible location of lung cancer genes found

Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and collaborating institutions have found sections of the // chromosomes of lung cancer cells where cancer-related genes may lurk. In a study in the July 1 issue of the journal Cancer Research, the researchers used single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array technology, which focuses on the building blocks of individual genes, to identify...

Genes More Important Than Exercise for Bad Cholesterol

Genes may be the determining factor and may play a more dominant role than exercise// for increasing bad cholesterol as per recent study. Now we know why some people never gain weight or increase their cholesterol despite eating all the sweets and butter laden food to their hearts content!! The July 8, 2005, issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Reports a...

Genes responsible for social behavior of us

Researchers have been able to unearth the gene responsible for controlling the part of the brain// that is responsible for behaving according to a norm in the social circumstances. In a revealing study, researchers from National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have been able to establish the neural pathway that decides the social behavior in people. Researchers results came as they w...

Genes to Extend Longevity Discovered

Calorie restriction seems to be the key to extend the lifespan of many species through Sir2 gene.// Researchers from Harvard Medical School, Boston and University of California, Davis, screened for genes that could increase yeast lifespan via Sir2 gene. According to the study published today in the advance online edition of Science, “Yeast and Drosophila lacking the Sir2 gene do not l...

Moles become cancerous due to genes

According to new study, researchers have identified a gene that causes benign moles on the skin to become cancerous. This could allow doctors to treat more effectively patients with early stages of melanoma. A team of scientists lead by Dr. Rhoda Alani of Johns Hopkins University, found a gene known as Id1 that causes cancer cells to grow in melanoma. Id1 blocks a tumor suppressor gene that ordin...

Genes responsible for cancer in women associated with increased cancer risk in men

Looks like it is time men got their share from women in the inheritance of cancer as well. A genetic mutation linked with a greater risk of breast and ovarian cancers also significantly increases the danger of some cancers in men according to a new research. // Genetic mechanisms have been examined in the familial inheritance of breast cancer among women and the mutation in the BRCA2 g...

Risk Of Pre-eclampsia May Be In The Genes Of The Parents.

The risk of pre-eclampsia in pregnant women may be genetical and both the parents’ genes of the pregnant lady may have the gene expressions that can trigger this // condition in her. The report is published in the online edition of BMJ. Pre-eclampsia is a serious condition where abnormally high blood pressure and other disturbances develop in the second half of pregnancy. It occurs i...

Therapeutic Genes Transferred By Viral Vector Through T Cell Masking

Dr. Richard Vile, Mayo Clinic Molecular Immunologist and his team has found a new virus based gene therapy delivery system for the treatment of cancer, inflammation and autoimmune diseases. The new delivery system acts as a “T // cell Therapeutic hitchhiker”, by which the Therapeutic virus containing the required genes are transferred into the T cells in the immune system, as the T cells are the...

Chronic Pain Syndrome May Be In The Genes

Researchers have found that gene mutation is associated with the neurological disorder called hereditary neuralgic amyotrophy (also called HNA) that generally is associated with chronic pains. // HNA episodes are often triggered by an infection, an immunization, childbirth, or overworking the arms and shoulders. Nerve inflammation and changes in the blood suggest that problems with th...

Cabbage And Genes May Protect Against Lung Cancer

Dr Paul Brennan and his team from International Agency for Cancer Research scientists (IACR) have reported in the Lancet// that eating cabbages reduces the incidence of lung cancer. The study was conducted in 2,141 patients with lung cancer and 2,168 healthy individuals from Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Romania, Russia and Hungary, where cruciferous vegetables are a normal part of t...

Vision Loss in Elderly Caused By Combined Effect of Genes and Bacterium

A definitive link has been established between age-related macular degeneration and the genetic mechanisms underlying the disease process. The finding has been confirmed by the identification of a bacterium //called Chlamydia pneumoniae in the diseased tissue of the affected individuals. It is also notable that the microorganism is associated with chronic inflammation and heart disease....

Food Habits Could Change Your Genes

Eating specific food could change your genes, say researchers after success in a rodent study.Researchers Moshe Szyf, Michael Meaney and colleagues at McGill University in Montreal have found that nutrients // and supplements changed genetics by switching on or off certain genes in rodents, reports science portal EurekAlert. The new research was conducted in the lines of a two-year-o...

Healthy Brains Depend Upon Survival Genes

A healthy brain can be maintained by a person at old age through activities that exercise the brain like a daily crossword puzzle. The University of Edinburgh’s scientists are doing further research on this subject// with the object of identifying the ‘survival genes’ in the brain. The awakened genes add capacity to the brain to resist the after effects of drugs, strokes, and also con...