Gene variations explain drug dose required to control seizures
Determining which variants of particular genes patients with epilepsy carry might enable doctors to better predict the dose of drugs necessary to control their seizures, suggest basic findings by researchers at the Duke University Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy (IGSP) and the University College London. Patients often undergo a lengthy process of trial and error to find the dose of ant...Genetic Variation Visualization - From EMBL
"Because up to 75 percent of breast cancerpatients have an abnormality in a specific cell signaling pathway,drugs that target different molecules along that pathway may beespecially effective for treating the disease, says a researcher fromThe University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center." A clearer picture is now emergingabout the importance of the phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase...Variation in women's X chromosomes may explain differences among individuals, between sexes
The first comprehensive survey of gene activity in the X chromosomes of women has revealed an unexpected level of variation among individuals, according to new work by researchers at the Duke University Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy (IGSP) and Pennsylvania State University. The results may have important implications for understanding the differences in traits among women and...Variation in HIV's ability to disable host defenses contributes to rapid evolution
One of the reasons HIV is so difficult to contain and treat is its rapid evolution. Understanding how host defenses and viral countermeasures contribute to that evolution is vital. Vif is full o...Survival of heart patients on beta-blockers varies greatly with genetic variation
Survival of heart attack and unstable angina patients placed on beta-blocker therapy corresponds to specific variations in their genes, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City. The study appears in the September 28, 2005 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. "In our i...Lifestyle variation can cut diabetes hazard
According to researchers reducing weight and increasing exercise cut the risk of diabetes by over half. People who have elevated blood sugar are known to be at increased risk of developing diabetes.// Given that diabetes has serious even life-threatening complications, it would be very useful if there was some way of helping 'at risk' individuals avoid the disease. Researchers for the D...Gene variation simulates cholesterol response to oestrogen
According to a new study shows that women with a specific gene variant have a dramatic increase in 'good' cholesterol when they take oestrogen.// Previous research suggests that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) might protect women from heart disease. Now doctors at Forest University have discovered a strong genetic influence in how a woman's cholesterol profile responds to HRT. An an...Risk Of Schizophrenia due to Gene Variation
Researchers have found that two overlapping genes responsible for bipolar disorder. In previous study researchers found the genes increases risk for schizophrenia. This leads to the idea that the genes may be responsible for both disorders. Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes shifts in a person's mood, with spurts of high energy and elation al...Variations In ingredients From Brand to Brand
According to a recent study by Taiwanese experts , people buying the popular herbal medicine may be actually getting virtually none. St John's Wort, or Hypericum, can have mild antidepressant effects, although doctors warn it can interfere with the effects of other medicines.// None of the tablets tested had as much of the active ingredient as claimed, said the researchers. Two ch...Gene Chips to Detect CYP Variations: A New Step Toward Customized Medical Therapy.
The FDA approval of BiDil for heart failure in African American patients has underscored the concept that two patients can respond differently to the same medication. This concept holds true for a wide variety of everyday medications, and in many cases is due to individual gen...