UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center/Nature Medicine

At left, image shows white blood cells (red) from one of the X-CGD clinical trial participants before gene therapy. At right, after gene therapy, white blood cells from the same patient show the presence of the chemicals (blue) needed to attack and destroy bacteria and fungus.

UCLA researchers are part of an international team that reported the use of a stem cell gene therapy to treat nine people with the rare, inherited blood disease known as X-linked chronic granulomatous disease, or X-CGD. Six of those patients are now in remission and have stopped other treatments. Before now, people with X-CGD which causes recurrent infections, prolonged hospitalizations for treatment, and a shortened lifespan had to rely on bone marrow donations for a chance at remission.

With this gene therapy, you can use a patients own stem cells instead of donor cells for a transplant, said Dr. Donald Kohn, a member of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA and a senior author of the new paper, published today in the journal Nature Medicine. This means the cells are perfectly matched to the patient and it should be a much safer transplant, without the risks of rejection.

People with chronic granulomatous disease, or CGD, have a genetic mutation in one of five genes that help white blood cells attack and destroy bacteria and fungus using a burst of chemicals. Without this defensive chemical burst, patients with the disease are much more susceptible to infections than most people. The infections can be severe to life-threatening, including infections of the skin or bone and abscesses in organs such as lungs, liver or brain. The most common form of CGD is a subtype called X-CGD, which affects only males and is caused by a mutation in a gene found on the X-chromosome.

Other than treating infections as they occur and taking rotating courses of preventive antibiotics, the only treatment option for people with CGD is to receive a bone marrow transplant from a healthy matched donor. Bone marrow contains stem cells called hematopoietic, or blood-forming, stem cells, which produce white blood cells. Bone marrow from a healthy donor can produce functioning white blood cells that effectively ward off infection. But it can be difficult to identify a healthy matched bone marrow donor and the recovery from the transplant can have complications such as graft versus host disease, and risks of infection and transplant rejection.

Patients can certainly get better with these bone marrow transplants, but it requires finding a matched donor and even with a match, there are risks, Kohn said. Patients must take anti-rejection drugs for six to 12 months so that their bodies dont attack the foreign bone marrow.

In the new approach, Kohn teamed up with collaborators at the United Kingdoms National Health Service, France-based Genethon, the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, and Boston Childrens Hospital. The researchers removed hematopoietic stem cells from X-CGD patients and modified the cells in the laboratory to correct the genetic mutation. Then, the patients own genetically modified stem cells now healthy and able to produce white blood cells that can make the immune-boosting burst of chemicals were transplanted back into their own bodies. While the approach is new in X-CGD, Kohn previously pioneered a similar stem cell gene therapy to effectively cure a form of severe combined immune deficiency (also known as bubble baby disease) in more than 50 babies.

The viral delivery system for the X-CGD gene therapy was developed and fine-tuned by Professor Adrian Thrashers team at Great Ormond Street Hospital, or GOSH, in London, who collaborated with Kohn. The patients ranged in age from 2 to 27 years old; four were treated at GOSH and five were treated in the U.S., including one patient at UCLA Health.

Two people in the new study died within three months of receiving the treatment due to severe infections that they had already been battling before gene therapy. The seven surviving patients were followed for 12 to 36 months after receiving the stem cell gene therapy. All remained free of new CGD-related infections, and six of the seven have been able to discontinue their usual preventive antibiotics.

None of the patients had complications that you might normally see from donor cells and the results were as good as youd get from a donor transplant or better, Kohn said.

An additional four patients have been treated since the new paper was written; all are currently free of new CGD-related infections and no complications have arisen.

Orchard Therapeutics, a biotechnology company of which Kohn is a scientific co-founder, acquired the rights to the X-CGD investigational gene therapy from Genethon. Orchard will work with regulators in the U.S. and Europe to carry out a larger clinical trial to further study this innovative treatment. The aim is to apply for regulatory approval to make the treatment commercially available, Kohn said.

Kohn and his colleagues plan to develop similar treatments for the other forms of CGD caused by four other genetic mutations that affect the same immune function as X-CGD.

Beyond CGD, there are also other diseases caused by proteins missing in white blood cells that could be treated in similar ways, Kohn said.

The research was supported by grants from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine; the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, both at the National Institutes of Health; the Wellcome Trust; Boston Childrens Hospital; the National Institute for Health Research Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre; the Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and University College London; the Great Ormond Street Hospital Childrens Charity; the AFM-Tlthon, French Muscular Dystrophy Association; and the European Commission through the Net4CGDconsortium.

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Parkinsons disease is an illness that most often affects older people, but new research suggests it may actually be present in the brain right from birth and even earlier. Scientists from Cedars-Sinai have now found that in the brains of young-onset Parkinsons patients, malfunctioning neurons are always there but it takes 20 to 30 years for the symptoms to accumulate. Thankfully, a drug thats already on the market could help prevent the disease from taking hold if caught early enough.

Parkinsons disease primarily affects neurons in the brain that produce dopamine, eventually causing muscle weakness and stiffness, tremors, and balance problems. Most of the time, the disease is diagnosed in older people over the age of 60, but around 10 percent of cases occur in those aged between 21 and 50.

In a new study, scientists from Cedars-Sinai set out to investigate whether there were any early warning signs in the neurons of patients whod been diagnosed with Parkinsons before they turned 50. To do so, they created induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs) from young-onset Parkinsons patients, which can then be turned into almost any other cells in the body.

The researchers used the IPSCs to grow dopamine neurons in lab dishes. As they watched them develop, the team noticed that cell structures called lysosomes were malfunctioning. These structures are responsible for breaking down unneeded or worn-out proteins so when they dont work as well as they should, proteins begin to pile up. And one such protein that the team spotted in higher amounts is called alpha-synuclein, which is implicated in many forms of Parkinsons.

"Our technique gave us a window back in time to see how well the dopamine neurons might have functioned from the very start of a patients life, says Clive Svendsen, senior author of the study. "What we are seeing using this new model are the very first signs of young-onset Parkinsons. It appears that dopamine neurons in these individuals may continue to mishandle alpha-synuclein over a period of 20 or 30 years, causing Parkinsons symptoms to emerge.

Next up, the team investigated whether the condition could potentially be treated or even prevented. After testing a series of drugs, they found one that looked promising PEP005, which has already been approved by the FDA for use against skin precancers. The researchers found that PEP005 works to reduce the levels of alpha-synuclein, as well as another abnormally-abundant enzyme called protein kinase C, whose role in Parkinson's remains unclear.

The treatment looks promising, but for now its only been shown to work in mice and lab-grown cells, so it wont necessarily translate to human trials. The team plans to continue working on this, as well as figuring out how to adapt PEP005 for use in the brain at the moment, its only available as a topical gel, since it's for treating skin cancer.

The research was published in the journal Nature Medicine.

Source: Cedars-Sinai

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APPLETON, Wis. (NBC26) -- Genetic testing kits have grown in popularity.

Doctors say there's a time where it is appropriate to use them and a time when the information might not be sufficient.

At 59-years-old, Robin Vandermoss was diagnosed with cancer.

"It has tracked through my father and his father," said Vandermoss. "I just kind of want to put the puzzle together."

Now more than 6 months later he's undergoing genetic testing at ThedaCare.

"Hopefully we end up with some results that can be useful for my children and their children going on," said Vandermoss.

He's taking a route that doctors say is best under his circumstances.

As direct-to-consumer genetic testing kits grow in demand, doctors are informing people there are times to use them and times to seek an alternate route.

"If anybody has a strong personal or family history of cancer, heart disease or other conditions running in their family, then they really need a more formal evaluation," said Bobby McGivern, a Genetic Counselor with ThedaCare Regional Cancer Center.

Here's how these tests work.

You send a saliva sample in the mail. Your sample is tested in a lab and you receive your results revealing a plethora of new information about yourself.

Some examples of traits you can learn from a direct-to-consumer kit are:

Doctors say if you choose to use a gene testing kit that you've ordered online it's best to read the fine print.

Make sure you understand the capabilities of the test and look closely at the privacy information so you know what the lab is doing with your DNA.

Overall doctors say direct-to-consumer genetic testing kits have inspired a valuable trend.

"Families are talking more about family history," said McGivern. "They're asking some of the older relatives what is in the family, or maybe they're initiating some conversations with primary care doctors that they wouldn't have otherwise."

Use the kits wisely and seek a genetics referral from your primary care doctor if you have risk factors or a family history.

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Medicare will pay for certain genetic tests for people with inherited ovarian and breast cancer while allowing Medicare administrative contractors (MACs) flexibility to decide whether to cover these tests for other uses.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Monday released an update of its payment rules for diagnostic tests using next-generation sequencing (NGS).

It was just in 2018 that Medicare issued its first national coverage policy for this kind of testing, opting to cover NGS for recurrent, relapsed, refractory, metastatic, or advanced cancers (stage III or IV). But the giant federal health program has faced calls to revise its coverage of NGS, even as researchers continue to try to prove strong clinical benefits for this testing.

"The evidence for ovarian and breast cancer suggests that using NGS to identify germline mutations can lead to better stratification of patients in the physician management of inherited cancers of the breast and ovary," CMS staff wrote in the decision memo.

The American Society of Breast Surgeons recommends that all patients with breast cancer be offered universal genetic testing. However, the question of whether all breast cancer patients should be tested with multigene panels remains controversial, as reported previously by Medscape Medical News, with critics arguing that "more genes create more problems." A pertinent issue, until now, has been the question of who should pay for this testing.

That issue has now been resolved, at least for Medicare patients.

As part of this mandated coverage, Medicare will require use of NGS tests that have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In these cases, results must be provided to physicians for management of the patient using a report template to specify treatment options, CMS said.

Medicare covers about 60 million Americans who are aged 65 years or older or who have disabilities. Its policies can influence those of other insurers, even beyond its role as the largest single purchaser of healthcare in the United States. Many groups and individuals asked CMS during its reconsideration of the NGS payment policy to mandate national coverage of other cancers. For now, the agency has rebuffed those requests while allowing MACs discretion in setting payment policies for NGS tests.

"At this time, there is insufficient evidence of clinical utility for other cancer types including male breast cancer, colorectal, lung, pancreatic and prostate cancer," CMS staff wrote in the memo while stressing that "evidence in this field is rapidly developing."

In the memo, CMS officials said the agency's intent is "to expand coverage" of NGS.

With this aim, CMS made several revisions to its draft coverage decision.

These included clarifying language to emphasize MACs' ability to consider coverage "for any cancer diagnosis including tests that are not FDA approved or cleared for breast and ovarian cancer provided all the criteria is met."

The memo also spelled out that MACs have discretion even for uses outside the scope of the national coverage decision.

The contractors have discretion to determine coverage of diagnostic laboratory tests using NGS "for any non-cancer (eg, infectious disease and heart disease)," CMS staff wrote.

CMS also said it changed its stance about cases of repeated NGS testing for patients.

"In response to public comments and to support further innovation and patient access, we have clarified our decision to include coverage for appropriate repeat NGS testing for germline (inherited) cancer and somatic cancers when criteria are met," CMS said.

However, agency staff noted limitations with the current body of evidence about use of NGS testing. These include a lack of meta-analyses and randomized controlled trials that specifically addressed NGS testing. The available studies "varied in quality for a number of reasons," including small samples of patients, agency staff wrote.

"Of all of the different types of cancers associated with germline mutations, only studies of breast and ovarian cancer had high quality evidence, and were able to demonstrate clinical utility through the use of NGS," CMS staff said.

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White-nose syndrome, an often-fatal disease of hibernating bats, has been confirmed for the first time in a fringed myotis (Myotis thysanodes) in King County. This finding brings the total number of bat species confirmed with the disease in North America to 13.

First seen in North America in 2006 in eastern New York, white-nose syndrome is a fungal disease that has killed millions of hibernating bats in eastern North America and has now spread to 33 states and seven Canadian provinces. The disease does not affect humans, livestock or other wildlife.

According to the release, the disease is caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, which attacks the skin of hibernating bats and damages their delicate wings, making it difficult to fly. Infected bats often leave hibernation too early, which causes them to burn through their fat reserves and become dehydrated or starve to death.

The Cedar River Education Center near North Bend reported a dead bat outside its facility in April 2017. A biologist with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) retrieved the dead bat and did a field test using ultraviolet (UV) light to detect the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome. Under UV light, bats with white-nose syndrome usually have an orange glow on their wings.

The North Bend bat was later confirmed to have white-nose syndrome by the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. To identify its bat species, the Northern Arizona Universitys bat ecology and genetic lab tested the bat and although the results did not show a conclusive identification, scientists were able to narrow it down to two closely-related bat species long-eared myotis and fringed myotis.

With the possibility of a new bat species affected by white-nose syndrome, we explored ways to confirm the species using additional genetic testing, Abby Tobin, white-nose syndrome coordinator for WDFW said in the release. Fortunately, our partners at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin stepped up to the challenge.

Jeff Lorch, a microbiologist at the USGS National Wildlife Health Center, used nuclear DNA testing to confirm the bat as a fringed myotis in December 2019.

There are two parts of a cell that carry DNA the nucleus and the mitochondria, Lorch said in the release. Most bat genetic testing has used mitochondria DNA, which does not allow us to distinguish the long-eared bat from the fringed bat. By using nuclear DNA, we were able to get more accurate results.

According to the release, fringed bats are widely dispersed in dry forests throughout western North America from Mexico to British Columbia. However, there is a lack of data on the bats population size, health trends, or where they hibernate in winter.

Tracking white-nose syndrome and its effects on bat populations is challenging when little is known about bats in Washington, and this species in particular, Tobin said in the release. The confirmation of white-nose syndrome in another bat species is a reminder of how much we still have to learn about this devastating disease.

In 2016, scientists first documented white-nose syndrome in Washington near North Bend in King County. Since then, WDFW has confirmed 46 cases of the disease and/or the fungus in four bat species in the state. A timeline of fungus and white-nose syndrome detections in Washington is available online atwdfw.wa.gov/bats.

WDFW staff urge people to not handle wild animals, and to not touch bats that appear sick or are found dead. Even though the fungus is primarily spread by bats themselves, humans can unintentionally spread it as well. People can carry fungal spores on clothing, shoes, or recreation equipment that touches the fungus.

Those who find sick or dead bats, or notice bats acting strangely, such as flying outside during the day or in freezing weather, can report their sightings online at wdfw.wa.gov/bats or call the WDFW at (360) 902-2515. WDFW also seeks reports of groups of healthy bats.

To learn more about the disease and the national white-nose syndrome response, and to get the most updated decontamination protocols and other guidance documents, visit whitenosesyndrome.org.

For more information on Washington bats, visit https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/living/species-facts/bats.

WDFW

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The real privacy risks are DNA kits

Insurers want your genetic info | Jan. 13

As at-home genetic testing kits grow in popularity, some lawmakers in Florida are raising important concerns about the privacy risks facing consumers. But the bill recently brought forward by Rep. Chris Sprowls a proposal that met significant pushback in the Senate last year would fail to hold the companies that sell these tests accountable, and worse, let government tell Floridians what they can and cannot do with their own genetic code. Sprowls proposal attempts to prevent a hypothetical future in which life, long-term care or disability insurers all strictly regulated somehow access genetic information without a persons consent. Sprowls says it is conceivable that the alternate reality he sets up could come true and asks people to imagine what it would be like. He invents a scenario albeit extreme, in his words where certain types of insurance are only available to a genetic superclass. This is the stuff of science fiction, not the basis of a policy that could disrupt the life, long-term care and disability insurance markets and affect millions of Floridians.

Lawmakers should focus on the real threat consumers face, as direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies operate in a Wild West environment. Instead of trying to thwart an imagined future by making a preemptive strike on insurers, Florida should set clear rules for these companies.

Lawmakers should develop a solution that actually addresses the root problem: Many at-home genetic testing companies are roping consumers into exploitative agreements they do not understand and then sharing their private information far and wide.

Wanda Grubbs Schwerer, Belleair Bluffs

East Lake fights Tarpon annexation | Jan. 27

Tarpon Springs and Pinellas County officials should oppose any annexations of East Lake and Lake Tarpon areas for development. These areas should remain rural and natural. There is a greater benefit to the environment and the culture of our county by leaving these properties zoned agricultural and low density. The annexation plan proposed by Pioneer Homes would greatly add to suburban sprawl, which has already been detrimental to the character of Tarpon Springs, once a scenic small town surrounded by rural areas and wilderness. It will further isolate the wildlife at Brooker Creek Preserve, and endanger wildlife with heavy automobile traffic. What Pioneer Homes is achieving in short-term profit for its owners will come at a severe cost to everyone else. The loss of our rural areas, our wilderness and the character of our communities is irreplaceable.

Joseph Weinzettle, Tarpon Springs

Senate must hear Bolton | Column, Jan. 28

Does anyone believe that John Boltons testimony would sway enough Republican senators? Many dont believe the president committed an impeachable offense even if the accusation turns out to be true. Its time for the Republicans to high-five. This ones over.

Hal Batey, St. Petersburg

At least one important witness is absent from the impeachment trial of Donald J. Trump. Not John Bolton. The missing witness is someone who would call upon the senators who sit in judgment of the president to reflect upon his background as a person, businessman and politician, and ask themselves: Is Donald Trump capable of this wrongdoing? Or is he simply incapable of such treachery? Does such a credible character witness exist anywhere?

Fred Kalhammer, Sun City Center

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A new analysis of available data has convinced a panel genomic experts that nine genes previously believed to be associated with a rare, genetic heart conditionlong QT syndromewere an erroneously linked to the condition, as revealed in a new study funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Geneticists and heart specialists around the world had previously reported 17 genes to cause long QT syndrome. However, the Clinical Genome Resources (ClinGen) expert panel has critically reevaluated the scientific evidence for all 17 reported genes, and has concluded at least nine of the genes cannot be linked to the disease, and only three of the genes can be definitively associated with the most common form of the disease.

Long QT syndrome is caused by mutations in genes that regulate the hearts electrical activity. These mutations can cause the heart to have sudden, irregular heart rhythms, or arrhythmias. People with long QT syndrome can have arrythmias that are both unprovoked or as a result of stress and exercise. These arrythmias can be fatal.

Many people with long QT syndrome may be unaware they have the condition, unless they get an unrelated electrocardiogram, know their family history, and have undergone genetic testing.

Ever since the syndrome was described in 1957, researchers have engaged in a genetic race to identify the genes associated with it, which currently includes the 17 genes. By using such a standardized, evidence-based framework, the international ClinGen panel experts on long QT syndrome were able to classify the 17 genes into specific groups.

Three genes, KCNQ1, KCNH2 and SCN5A, had sufficient evidence to be implicated as definitive genetic causes for typical long QT syndrome. Four other genes had strong or definitive evidence supporting their role in causing atypical forms of long QT syndrome, particularly if they presented in the newborn period with associated heart block, seizures or delays in development.

The remaining ten genes were deemed to not have sufficient evidence to support a causal role in the syndrome. In fact, nine of these 10 remaining genes were placed in the limited or disputed category. The study authors suggest that these genes not be routinely tested in clinical settings when evaluating patients and families with long QT syndrome, because they lack sufficient scientific evidence as a cause for the condition.

This removal of genes from the testing list impacts genetic testing providers, who use research papers to determine which genes to include in their testing panels for diagnostic reporting to physicians. Published papers reporting gene-disease associations vary widely in their study design and strength of evidence to support their conclusions. Until recently, standard guidelines that can differentiate between genes found with strong and valid scientific approaches versus those with insufficient evidence did not exist. Clearly, this is a problematic approach, and led to several studies drawing early conclusions.

ClinGens expert panels include researchers, clinicians, and genetic counselors who apply an evidence-based framework in evaluating the available data from research papers to place gene-disease relationships into definitive, strong, moderate, limited, disputed, or refuted categories.

ClinGen is an impressive community effort. With over 1,000 researchers and clinicians from 30 countries volunteering their time and expertise, ClinGen is providing much needed clarity for the clinical genomics community regarding which gene-disease pairs have sufficient evidence to be used clinically, said Erin Ramos, Ph.D., project scientist for ClinGen and program director in the Division of Genomic Medicine at NHGRI.

Our study highlights the need to take a step back and to critically evaluate the level of evidence for all reported gene-disease associations, especially when applying genetic testing for diagnostic purposes in our patients. Testing genes with insufficient evidence to support disease causation only creates a risk of inappropriately interpreting the genetic information and leading to patient harm, says Michael Gollob, M.D., senior author of the paper and researcher at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute.

Moreover, testing for genes not definitively associated with long QT syndrome can result in inappropriate and costly medical interventions such as implanting of a cardioverter-defibrillator.

This is not the first time a team at ClinGen has clarified published research for clinicians. The same team of researchers published a similar study in 2018, covering another heart condition called Brugada syndrome. In 2019, the American Society of Human Genetics considered the paper as one of the top 10 advances in genomic medicine.

ClinGen is an NHGRI-funded resource created to define the clinical relevance and validity of genes associated with various genetic disorders. It comprises more than 20 expert panels working on a variety of genetically influenced diseases, ensuring the reliability of gene-disease linkage. This work is also instrumental in determining which specific genes should be targeted for further study in precision medicine and research.

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I immediately called my mom and said, Mom, is it possible that I have random siblings out there somewhere?' said Woock, of Indianapolis. She recalled her mom responded, No, why? Thats ridiculous.

But the messages continued, and some of them mentioned an Indianapolis fertility practice that she knew her mom had consulted when she had trouble conceiving.

Woock researched and finally learned the truth. Dr. Donald Cline, the fertility doctor her mother saw in 1985, is her biological father.

I went through an identity crisis, she said. I couldnt look in the mirror and think about, Where did my eyes come from? Where did my hair color come from? I didnt even want to think about any of that.

A photo of Larry Hobson holding his daughter, Heather Woock, as an infant. Woocks mother consulted with a fertility doctor when she was having trouble getting pregnant. Leah Klafczynski for NPR

Woock hadnt known that her mom had used artificial insemination to conceive her, and neither of them knew the doctor had used his own sperm.

We now know Cline used his own sample and squirted it into my mom, Woock said.

In the 1970s and 80s, Cline deceived dozens of patients and used his sperm to impregnate them. He has more than 60 biological children and counting.

For Woock, as the story of her parentage sunk in, it was distressing for another reason: She wanted to start her own family and was having trouble conceiving. And now she needed to turn to the fertility industry that had so badly betrayed her mom.

We were doing all of the calendaring everything that is out there to help you get pregnant, we were doing that, Woock recalled.

But after six months, when she still wasnt pregnant at 32, she went to a fertility clinic for some tests.

I had to fill out all this paperwork, and theres a slot that says kind of like, Is there anything else youd like to share? Woock said.

Yes, there most certainly was.

New allegations of doctors using their own sperm keep coming to light because of genetic-testing services like Ancestry revealing networks of half siblings in states like Idaho, Ohio, Colorado and Arkansas.

But those doctors performed artificial inseminations decades ago. Could what happened to Woocks mom happen in a modern fertility clinic?

Dr. Bob Colver, a fertility specialist in Carmel, Ind., said its a question many of his patients have asked. But its unlikely, he said. These days, there are more people involved in the process, and in vitro fertilization happens in a lab, not an exam room.

Unless youre in a small clinic where theres absolutely no checks and balances, I cant even imagine that today, Colver said.

A 1985 photo of Kimberly Hobson, left, pregnant with her daughter, Heather. Kimberly is photographed alongside her husband, Larry Hobson, as well as relatives who were also expecting. Leah Klafczynski for NPR

Its now illegal in Indiana, Texas and California for a doctor to use his sperm to impregnate his patients. But theres no national law criminalizing whats called fertility fraud.

Fertility medicine has advanced a lot since the 1980s, but women trying to get pregnant today with the help of medicine face a baffling array of treatment options that can be hard to navigate and can be hugely expensive. And some critics say the growing, multibillion-dollar fertility industry needs more regulation.

For example, sperm banks may not get accurate medical histories from their donors, who could pass along genetic diseases. And theres no limit on how many times a donors sperm can be used, which some donor children worry could increase the chance of inbreeding. Sperm donation guidelines from organizations like the American Society for Reproductive Medicine are voluntary. There was a contestant on The Bachelorette last year who said his sperm had helped father more than 100 kids.

When Woock decided to get her first fertility treatment, she set preconditions with the clinic. She insisted on having a female doctor and insisted that a doctor be in the room for all appointments and oversee everything that happened.

Her experience with her clinic was very different from her mothers with Cline, but nonetheless there were surprises along the way.

The clinic told her that her problems conceiving could be because of husband Robs low sperm count and motility (meaning his sperm werent great swimmers). They advised a form of in vitro fertilization that involved injecting one sperm directly into one of her eggs in a petri dish.

When doctors told Woock she needed IVF, she felt pretty optimistic.

Im thinking going into this that our chances of success are 70, 75%, Woock said.

Fertility treatment can be really expensive, and patients may start treatment with unrealistic expectations. Thats because success rates are complicated, and some clinics use only the best numbers in their advertising.

For example, clinics can advertise high fertilization rates. But a 70% fertilization rate doesnt mean 70% of eggs turn into babies plenty can go wrong after the lab combines egg and sperm.

An exam table at Midwest Fertility Specialists, a fertility clinic in Carmel, Indiana. Lauren Bavis / WFYI

Success depends on your age, your clinic and the type of procedure you need. But most of the time, assisted reproduction procedures such as IVF dont work. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which tracks assisted reproduction rates in the U.S., reports only about 24% of attempts result in a baby.

When Woock started her first IVF cycle, she gave herself shots, a couple a day, to stimulate her ovaries to get multiple eggs ready at once. Multiple eggs means more chances for fertilization.

But the drugs have side effects. They gave her headaches and made her moody and less patient.

I was actually allergic to one of the medications, which just means that you keep taking it and deal with the itching and rash, Woock said.

But she hung on until it was time for a doctor to surgically retrieve her eggs, at which point patients can face even more choices. Because the couples fertility problem appeared to be with Robs sperm, the clinic offered to use a special device to help pick the best sperm for IVF.

We were kind of like, Yeah, why wouldnt you?' Woock said. If its gonna give us a better chance, do it.

A device like that is called an add-on. Add-ons are often new technology, described as cutting-edge, which can appeal to patients. Examples of add-ons include genetic testing for chromosomal abnormalities in embryos which some specialists argue improves the odds of a live birth and assisted hatching and endometrial scratching, both methods claiming to facilitate implantation.

Jack Wilkinson, a biostatistician at the University of Manchester in England, researches add-ons, which he has found can increase costs and, he said, they may not work.

We quite often see theres no benefit at all, Wilkinson said. Or, possibly even worse, that theres a disadvantage of using that treatment.

Wilkinson said the device Woocks clinic offered could work, but the evidence supporting it is thin.

The clinic called Woock the morning after her egg retrieval. None of Woocks eggs fertilized. The procedure revealed that her husbands sperm quality wasnt the only fertility issue the couple faced.

They immediately saw that there was something wrong with my eggs, Woock said. My eggs are just total crap.

She underwent a second round of IVF with the same result no fertilization.

Getting that news the second time felt even more set in stone that this was going to be a very long, challenging road, Woock said.

Challenging and expensive. Most states, including Indiana, dont require insurers to cover fertility treatment. Without insurance, a round of IVF can cost more than $10,000 even more than $20,000 with no guarantee the patient will get pregnant.

Woock was lucky that her employer-provided insurance covered a lot. But it still wasnt cheap. She had to pay for some medications, plus, you have to pay lab and facility fees that insurance doesnt pay, Woock said.

Donor sperm and eggs arent generally covered, either. Those can be tens of thousands of dollars.

Woock faced a hard choice: After two failed attempts, did she want a kid enough to go through IVF again? She and her husband decided they did. So Woock did a third round of IVF. And then a fourth. When that didnt work, she gave up on using her own eggs.

What I expected as I was growing up and picturing my children is not what I will see, Woock said.

Woock and her husband decided to try donor eggs. If all goes according to plan, she could still carry a child. She wants to keep trying.

I realize that pregnancy is incredibly challenging on your body and your mental state, she said. If I can make it through a year of IVF, I can make it through morning sickness.

This story is part of a partnership that includes Side Effects Public Media, NPR and Kaiser Health News. The story was adapted from Episode 6 of the podcast Sick. You can hear more about the fallout from Dr. Donald Clines deception on Sicks first season, at sickpodcast.org.

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Conceived through 'fertility fraud,' she now needs fertility treatment - West Central Tribune

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Dive Brief:

Genetic testing company Naterasaid Monday it filed a lawsuit alleging next generation sequencing assay maker ArcherDXs cell-free DNA-based oncology products infringe a Natera patent.

In a statement, San Carlos, California-based Natera claimed it has the exclusive rights to perform personalized monitoring and minimal residual disease (MRD) testing in oncological indications using its multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology.

ArcherDX and Natera are both working in cancer care through the use of technologies such as PCR. Last year, ArcherDX raised $60 million to fund work to apply its technology to the assessment of MRD, thereby enabling physicians to detect the recurrence or progression of disease earlier and intervene accordingly.

Nateraasserts ArcherDXs work infringes on its patent. The patent, which was issued last week, covers "methods for simultaneously amplifying multiple nucleic acid regions of interest in one reaction volume."

Natera believes the patent gives it the exclusive rights to perform and license personalized monitoring and MRD testing in oncology using its patented multiplex PCR technology," andfiled a lawsuit against ArcherDX seeking injunctive relief and monetary damages. Natera filed the complaint in the District Court of Delaware.

The lawsuit is part of a broader, ongoing dispute over who has the right to use certain technologies that enable noninvasive testing. Natera is involved in some of the legal cases, both as a plaintiff and defendant.

Last year, CareDx filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Natera. The lawsuit accused Natera of infringing a patent covering the use of cell-free DNA analysis in the noninvasive monitoring of organ transplant rejection. CareDx went on to accuse Natera of making false and misleading advertising claims. Both sides claimed victory when a court considered whether to dismiss the advertising case.

Earlier this year, Natera hit back against CareDx, filing a lawsuit accusing its rival of infringing on one of its patents. That suit is focused on a patent covering cell-free DNA analysis in contexts including transplant patients.

The legal cases have played out against a backdrop of rising expectations for Natera. Over the past year, Nateras share price has risen more than 150% as the company has achieved double-digit sales growth.

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Natera takes ArcherDX to court over cancer testing patent - MedTech Dive

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Courtesy Jen B.

In 2012, Bev Michel found a large lump in her breast. This discovery started a medical odyssey that led to a cancer diagnosis and ultimately unraveled the mystery of a variety of health issues that had plagued her for more than eight years.

Following up on the lump with a mammogram and biopsy, Michel got the startling news that she had cancer. The West Chester, Pennsylvania resident immediately jumped into a chemotherapy regimen, undergoing six sessions of chemo and two lumpectomiesonly to find later after genetic testing that her type of cancer, lobular breast cancer, doesn't respond to chemotherapy. She then requested and underwent a double mastectomy, hoping to ensure the cancer was gone for good. But the cancer recurred in 2016near the nodes. So she again had surgery, this time to remove lymph nodes that she later learned were benign.

Michel felt there had to be more to her troubles, and she went to her general practitioner for guidance. "I told her how I was always tired, and how much my joints ached," Michel recalls. "She ran a couple of blood tests, and when she received the results she didn't believe them. She said my iron levels were sky-high, so she retested them. They were even higher." Michel's doctor diagnosed her with hemochromatosis, a metabolic disorder that leads to abnormally high iron levels in the body.

The mineral deposits itself into organs like the heart, liver, and pancreas, and in the joints; it can raise the risk of cancer and other diseases. A normal human absorbs about 8 to 10 percent of the iron they get from their diet; people with hemochromatosis absorb four times as much. The condition is inherited, and people with northern European ancestry have an elevated risk, according to the Genetics Home Reference. Experts estimate that 16 million Americans have elevated iron levels. Michel's diagnosis helped shed light on her family's medical history. "My mom died of breast cancer, had macular degeneration, and heart issueswhich are all signs of the disorder. When I had genetic testing, my results showed that both of my parents had the gene mutation, so of course, I would, too." (Here, doctors reveal the rarest conditions they've ever diagnosed.)

About one in 227 of people of Northern European descent have the condition, and about 10% of white people in the U.S. are carriers, according to National Organization for Rare Disorders. That means they have one copy of the gene mutation that causes hemochromatosis. You need to inherit two copies of the gene, one from each parent, to have the condition, although not everyone with both genes develops it. It's most often diagnosed in men after age 40 and in women after 60, in the postmenopausal years. While it's one of the most common genetic diseases in the U.S., it's less common in African Americans, and people who are of Hispanic, Asian, or Native American descent.

Michel was told she would need to donate blood every few weeks for the rest of her life, as giving blood regularly helps reduce iron levels. The prospect of this sent her to the internet to research other possible treatments. "What I found was that high iron is correlated to cancer, and I'm convinced it's what caused cancer for both my mom and me," she says."I found a doctor at the University of Maryland, Abulkalam M. Shamsuddin, MB, BS, PhD, who had studied the use of something called IP6 for treatment of cancer and iron overload." IP6 stands for inositol hexaphosphate: It's basically a carbohydrate substance that behaves like a vitamin, and it binds with extra iron in the body, explains Michael. "Once I began taking it, I haven't had a blood draw in two years, and my cancer has not recurred. My doctors are amazed."

Through her journey, Michel has found a passion for educating others about this relatively common yet underdiagnosed disorder. "I think there needs to be more open-mindedness among the medical community regarding treatments for conditions like this. Instead of treating only symptoms, look for the cause," she says.

If you have suspicious symptoms and you're not finding answers, Michel advises you be direct: "Ask to be tested for hemochromatosis. It's not an expensive test. If you have cancer, look for a possible correlation to your iron levels. If you test positive, then consider genetic testing for your children's sake. If you have it, they might, too."

Don't miss the 50 everyday habits that reduce your risk of breast cancer.

Gallery: 50 everyday habits that can reduce your risk of breast cancer

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My 'Tiredness' Turned Out to Be a Genetic Condition That Raises Cancer Risk - msnNOW

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PORTLAND, Maine Kenzie Dickinson is a 5-year-old spitfire. Her favorite things are animals, Minnie Mouse, the Spice Girls, and sports.

She loves baseball. She's a huge Slugger fan Kenzies parents Kevin and Cyndi Dickinson said.

She also loves to make people laugh.

She'll yank her sock off and stick it in her mouth and wait for you to notice and start laughing," Cyndi said.

When Kenzie turned one year old her parents thought something wasnt right. She wasnt hitting her milestones.

We went through a litany of what they thought it was which it wasnt, Rett Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy. They went through round after round trying to eliminate the possibilities until finally it was 'were coming up empty,' Kevin said.

Kenzies parents decided to try genetic testing. They both supplied DNA samples, including Kenzies and doctors were finally able to narrow it down.

"We've isolated this gene that doesn't have a name other than the name of the gene itself, Kevin said.

VPS13D disorder is so rare Kevin says, only 19 people in the world have it.

Because of the disorder, Kenzie has experienced growth delays. She can't walk and struggles with speech and seizures. She also suffers from several conditions, like Spasticity, Dystonia, and Chorea that cause her muscles to contract uncontrollably, leading to extreme tightness in her arms and legs and keeps her entire body in constant motion.

"Her arms are constantly moving so when she tries to do a task she has to really work at it to get it. And those constant movements have been burning calories off," Kevin said.

For two years Kenzie's weight stayed at 25 pounds, but thanks to a feeding tube she is now up to 32 pounds.

She also takes nine different medications and regularly sees a team of six specialists in Boston. Doctors who can provide few answers for Kenzie's parents.

"We don't have an idea of life expectancy. Life span, is it affected? We imagine it is," Kevin said.

Today though, Kenzie is making great strides. She attends Pre-K, can crawl, and is learning sign language.

Like most parents, Kenzie's mom and dad just want their youngest daughter to be happy and to be able to experience as much joy as she can.

"I love her the way she is and I just want to be able to provide for her the best life I can," Kevin said.

"I want her to be able to do as much as possible, get out as much as possible because we don't know," Cyndi said.

This family's priority, after all the hospital visits are done, is simply spending quality time together.

You will literally see her vibrating, her whole body is shaking, she just is so happy and excited," Kevin said.

And Kenzie is all about sharing that love.

Cyndi says, "you have to remind her that not everyone wants a hug because she'll try to hug strangers."

All the trips to Boston Children's Hospital have taken a toll on the family's car. It broke down last week.

As Kenzie continues to grow and gain weight the Dickinsons are hoping to be able to purchase a wheelchair accessible van to make their travels easier.

A fundraiser for Kenzie and her family is being held Friday, Jan. 31 at the Portland Elks Lodge to help raise money for the Dickinson Family. There will be a cash bar, appetizers, and music provided by DJ Jim Fahey. There is no cost to attend, however donations will be accepted at the door.

There is also a Go Fund Me page that has been set up for the family, which has raised $9,570 so far of their $50,000 goal.

RELATED: Polar Express ride brings joy to sick children

RELATED: Maine umpire breaks Little League barrier

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5-year-old Maine girl with a rare disorder is only one of 19 in world who has it - NewsCenterMaine.com WCSH-WLBZ

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A Walworth County family is looking for answers after the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the death of 19-year-old Logan Tomasello as an "undetermined" cause.

Tomasello died on October 31st after vaping THC and nicotine, according to his family.

Toxicology reports found non-lethal amounts of THC and other substances in Logan's body but still could not find a cause of death.

"I just couldn't wrap my head around the fact that they had no clue how a healthy young man could just die," said Logan's mother Monica Tomasello.

Family suspect that some other compound was inside the vaping cartridge that Logan bought on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Dr. Brian Peterson of the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office told TODAY'S TMJ4 that undetermined deaths are very rare.

"We test exhaustively. We are frustrated by undetermined. If you look at last year's data of all the cases that we did, about 2% ended up in the undetermined category at the end of the day if we cant find anything we are thinking it's probably a natural death we just dont have a reason for it," said Peterson.

Logans family will now turn to genetic testing to see if something else could have caused his death.

Im worried about my daughter, I want to make sure she's protected she's safe. There has been no history of sudden cardiac death in either my ex-husbands family or myself ... if they do uncover something that was unknown, Id feel incredibly surprised but Id feel at least a little more comfortable knowing there was some reason behind all this, said Monica.

The family is also hoping to retrieve the vape cartridge from the Milwaukee Police Department to do their own testing on what was inside it.

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'I still feel like it had something to do with THC vaping:' UWM teen's cause of death 'undetermined' - WTMJ-TV

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EDMOND, Okla. (KFOR) - Each member of The Noodle Gang is either vision or hearing impaired, and pretty soon they're going to be up for adoption.

It's a full house at the Turner home in Edmond.

"We have Ravioli. We have Ramen, Linguini, Fettuccini, and Ziti, Moria Turner said.

What makes these furry friends unique is that all of them have hearing or vision issues.

The problem? That pretty merle coat can also become a cause of bad breeding.

If you breed two merle dogs together, so if you're breeding a merle dog with another merle, their puppies have a 25% chance of being blind or deaf, Turner said.

So how do you know if both the parents have the gene?

"If you look at them, you can see the really marbly coat then yes, that's a merle, but also there could be merle hidden in a dog that doesn't even look like a merle, so really any reputable breeder would have to have genetic testing prior to breeding."

It's a problem Moria Turner didn't know about until she fostered Luna about a year ago.

"When she's at home, she'll run around and she's fine. You don't even know that she's vision impaired. When we took her out of here and out to the lake, she kept falling off the dock and she just could not maneuver around as well, Turner said.

Moria and her husband adopted Luna to make sure she could be cared for properly.

Now, Moria is making it her mission to help other animals who are blind or deaf by starting Happy Tails Animal Rescue.

"We are trying to start this rescue really to raise awareness in Oklahoma for this and kinds of show people that these dogs really are adoptable and live really happy lives, Turner said.

The Noodle Gang are all Australian shepherds and will be up for adoption soon.

For more information on adopting the puppies email Moria happytailsrescuesociety@gmail.com.

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Local rescue warns of the dangers of breeding dogs with the merle gene - KFOR Oklahoma City

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The market is estimated to grow with a CAGR of 10. 8% from 2018-2025. The growth of the cannabis testing market is primarily attributed to the European government is funding cannabis education for doctors, and increasing demand for research activities for cannabis quality.

New York, Jan. 29, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Europe Cannabis Testing Market to 2025 - Regional Analysis and Forecasts by Type ; Services ; End User and Country" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05764200/?utm_source=GNW However, cannabis used as a street drug and trouble with CBD oil are likely to pose a negative impact on the market growth.

On the other hand, cannabinoid testing in Europe is likely to have a positive impact on the growth of the Europe cannabis testing market in the coming years.The growing number of countries are adopting medical cannabis laws but the governmental officials are rare that encouraging healthcare professionals to become educated about cannabis plant medicines.

On the use of cannabis in clinical practice, to instruct local healthcare providers, various cannabis experts were invited to Macedonia, in 2016.The program was held in Skopje and was supported and funded by the Macedonian Ministry of Health.

Cannabis provides the unique opportunities in Macedonia, where the medical system is in a stage of evolution and modernization. Local medical specialists are now able to prescribe cannabis in the country. Considering this, Macedonian cannabis promoters worked with local governments and created the medical cannabis training program in an effort to support doctors and their patients. Currently, the impetus of the Macedonian medical cannabis movement is moving quickly, and the public opinion on cannabis has also changed dramatically in the region. The medical marijuana resolution in the region urges the Commission and member states to address regulatory, financial and cultural barriers which burden scientific research and invite them to fund research. Thus, due to the above advancements, the cannabis testing market is expected to grow at a rapid pace during the forecast period.In 2017, the product segment held a largest market share of 73.7% of the cannabis testing market, by type. This segment is also expected to dominate the market in 2025 owing diverse portfolio of cannabis testing products to the healthcare industry for innovations in the technologies. Moreover, the same segment is also expected to witness the highest CAGR in the market accounting to 11.1% in 2018 to 2015 owing to increasing analytical services and medicinal cannabis services in testing cannabis.Europe cannabis testing market, based on services was segmented into potency testing, microbial analysis, residual solvent screening, heavy metal testing, pesticide screening, terpene profiling, and genetic testing. The potency testing segment is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 11.8% during the forecast period.The testing laboratory segment held a largest market share of 49.2% of the cannabis testing market, by end user. This segment is also expected to dominate the market in 2025 owing to increasing number of diagnostic testing performed in the reference labs for the numerous diseases.

Some of the major primary and secondary sources for cannabis testing included in the report are Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risk (COFEPRIS), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), German Research Foundation (DFG), European Research Area (ERA), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA), Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), National Science Foundation (NSF) and others.

Reasons to BuySave and reduce time carrying out entry-level research by identifying the growth, size, leading players and segments in the cannabis testing market.

Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies.

The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the global cannabis testing market, thereby allowing players across the value chain to develop effective long-term strategies.

Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.

Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it.

Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin security interest with respect to client products, segmentation, pricing and distribution.Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05764200/?utm_source=GNW

About ReportlinkerReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.

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The Europe cannabis testing market is expected to reach US$ 807.9 Mn in 2025 from US$ 361.6 Mn in 2017 - Yahoo Finance

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Global Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Testing Market Professional Survey Report 2020This research report provides detailed insight into the global Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Testing Market. The study will help to get a better understanding about the Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Testing Market competitors, a channel for the distribution, Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Testing growth potential, potentially disruptive trends, Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Testing Market product innovations, market size value/volume (regional/country level, Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Testing Market segments) and market share of top players/products.

The insight has been added in the report to provide realistic overview of the industry, consist of Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Testing manufacturers data, i.e. shipment, price, revenue, gross profit, business distribution, etc., SWOT analysis, recent developments and trends, drivers and restrain factors, company profile, investment opportunity, demand gap analysis, forecast market services and product, Porters Forces Analysis. It presents the 360-degree overview of the competitive landscape of the industries. Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Testing Market is showing steady growth and CAGR is expected to improve during the forecast period.

Manufacturer Detail23andMeMyHeritageLabCorpMyriad GeneticsAncestry.comQuest DiagnosticsGene By GeneDNA Diagnostics CenterInvitaeIntelliGeneticsAmbry GeneticsLiving DNAEasyDNAPathway GenomicsCentrillion TechnologyXcodeColor GenomicsAnglia DNA ServicesAfrican AncestryCanadian DNA ServicesDNA Family CheckAlpha BiolaboratoriesTest Me DNA23 MofangGenetic HealthDNA Services of AmericaShuwen Health SciencesMapmygenomeFull Genomes

Product Type SegmentationDiagnostic ScreeningPrenatal, Newborn Screening, and Pre-Implantation DiagnosisRelationship Testing

Industry SegmentationOnlineOffline

Global Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Testing Market report provides you with detailed insights, industry knowledge, market forecasts and analytics. The report on the global Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Testing industry also clarifies economic risks and environmental compliance. Global Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Testing market report assists industry enthusiasts including investors and decision makers to make confident capital investments, develop strategies, optimize their business portfolio, innovate successfully and perform safely and sustainably.

Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Testing Market: Regional Analysis Includes:

Key questions answered in the report include:

Global Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Testing Market 2020 Key Insights:

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Qurate Business Intelligence delivers unique market research solutions to its customers and help them to get equipped with refined information and market insights derived from reports. We are committed to providing best business services and easy processes to get the same. Qurate Business Intelligence considers themselves as strategic partners of their customers and always shows the keen level of interest to deliver quality.

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Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Testing Market Analysis And Overview of Global Market In Term Of Size, Share, Growth And Development 2020-2024 - Galus...

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LUND, Sweden, January 28, 2020 / B3C newswire / -- SAGA Diagnostics AB, a cancer liquid biopsy and genomic testing company focused on precision oncology and non-invasive ultrasensitive monitoring of cancer patients, today announces it has entered service agreements with the international pharmaceutical company Servier, based in Paris, France.

These deals exemplify the increased demand we are experiencing for our offerings of ultrasensitive cancer analysis services and analysis kits. We are excited to be working with Servier, who continues to choose us for important translational oncology projects. Lao Saal, CEO of SAGA Diagnostics.

The collaboration will be covering a total of three preclinical/clinical studies and is scheduled to run for approximately two years. In the course of these projects, SAGA Diagnostics will be developing assays and performing liquid biopsy tests on patients from multiple Servier clinical studies using the SAGAsafe technology (formerly known as IBSAFE) to identify and quantify circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA).

SAGAsafe technology is a patented improvement of digital PCR that enables approximately 100-fold increased sensitivity compared to competitor methods, and can be used to quantify mutations in tissue samples as well as liquid biopsies such as blood plasma with unprecedented performance to a limit of detection of ~0.001% mutant allele frequency. The analyses will be run in the SAGA Diagnostics central laboratory in Lund, Sweden.

We have been impressed by the service and ultra-sensitivity performance of SAGAsafes analyses and are looking forward to continue working together. Involving the SAGAsafe technology in these studies means that Servier will now be able to monitor effects at an earlier stage ensuring that we do not miss out on any insights. Brian Lockhart, Director of CentEx-Biotechnology, Servier.

SAGAsafe is part of a portfolio of ultrasensitive technologies, which also includes SAGAsign (formerly known as KROMA) for monitoring chromosomal rearrangements, as well as novel technologies in development. SAGA offers both off-the-shelf analysis services and kits as well as custom-tailored solutions to fit customers needs. SAGAs molecular tools are being used in clinical trials and hospitals for detecting actionable mutations, monitoring treatment response, measuring minimal residual disease, and identifying resistance mechanisms to help direct therapy.

About SAGA Diagnostics ABSAGA Diagnostics AB is a personalized cancer genomics and disease monitoring company that offers molecular genetic testing of tissue biopsies and non-invasive liquid biopsies such as blood samples. With SAGAsafe and SAGAsign services and kits, SAGA helps pharmaceutical companies, scientists, and healthcare providers to detect actionable mutations, stratify patient groups, and monitor treatment response more accurately and to an industry-leading lower limit of detection of 0.001%. Analysis of circulating tumor DNA using these proprietary technologies gives SAGA unique ultrasensitivity, and gives patients peace of mind.Follow us on Twitter@SAGAdiagnosticsandLinkedIn.

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ke Nilsson, BD Director This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.+46 733 01 72 42

Keywords: Circulating Tumor DNA; Neoplasm, Residual; Limit of Detection; Precision Medicine; Liquid Biopsy; Medical Oncology; Genetic Testing; Pharmaceutical Preparations

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SAGA Diagnostics Extends its Collaboration with Servier to Use Ultrasensitive SAGAsafe Technology in Cancer Clinical Trials - b3c newswire

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Today is the International Day of Commemoration, in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, where over six million Jews, allies and collaborators were persecuted and murdered by the Nazi regime. Six million is a difficult number to even begin to comprehend, so picture it this way: about two out of every three Jews in Europe were killed in this horrific genocide.

For many Jewish scientists, to practice science publicly in a region ruled by Nazi ideology was a death sentence. No one was exempt from this persecution. These are just two stories of those lost.

Born in Romania, Leonore Rachelle Brecher lived in a vibrant Jewish communities. At age twelve, she went to live with relatives after the death of both of her parents. Brecher went on to study zoology at a university in Chernivtsi, in what's now Ukraine. As her career started gaining traction, she moved to study at the University of Vienna where she defended her doctorate on color adaptation in insect chrysalides.

Applying to her alma matter, Brecher was denied a professorship. She later found employment in Berlin, and then moved through many universities and cities, before being forced back to Vienna in 1930. After the German occupation of Austria, she lost her job at the Vienna Institute for Experimental Biology because of her Jewish faith and began to teach in a Jewish gymnasium.

Like many Jewish European scholars, Brecher applied for refugee scholarship but was denied financial assistance by a British agency as her specialty was deemed too narrow, and rejected by the US because of the limited quota for Romanian immigrants. On 14 September 1942, Brecher was arrested and deported to the Maly Trostinets extermination camp, where she was killed immediately upon arrival.

Ernst Julius Cohen was born in March 1869 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He studied Latin and Greek, before going to pursue a PhD in chemistry, under the supervision of J.H. Van't Hoff, at the University of Amsterdam, where his doctorate was titled "Het bepalen van overgangspunten langs electrischen weg en de electromotorische kracht bij scheikundige omzetting" (Determining transition points by electric way and the electromotor force in chemical conversion). After his defense in 1893, Cohen continued as a researcher, where subsequent positions included serving as a professor of physical chemistry in Amsterdam, and later, the director of a chemical laboratory at the University of Utrecht (until his retirement in 1939).

Ernst Julius Cohen (1869-1944)

By Unknown photographer - Universiteitsmuseum Utrecht

After contributing to the discovery of two tin allotropes (white and gray tin), Cohen was propelled into the spotlight and began lecturing across the US and Europe. Cohen's studies spanned various fields, including electro- and thermochemistry, and was considered as the "greatest of the disciples of Van't Hoff."

Just like Brecher however, Cohen was caught in the Nazi's sweep across Europe. In 1941, Cohen's property was seized. In May 1942, Cohen was obligated to wear the "yellow star" and faced multiple restrictions because of his Jewish faith. In 1943, Cohen was arrested in his own laboratory on the charge of entering a "public" building. His friends' efforts were insufficient to secure his release, and he was deported to a concentration camp at Vught in Holland, but was fortunately released thanks to a plea made by the Council of the Dutch Chemical Society to the S.S. authorities at the Hague. However, troubles slowly continued, and on March 3rd 1944, Cohen was transported to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where he was murdered in the gas chambers.

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My brother has 4% Neanderthal DNA. What does that actually mean? - Massive Science

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YUMA, Ariz. (KECY/KYMA) - If you are someone who is still skeptical about the Hemp industry, the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension wants to clear the air for growers and the community.

In todays Home Grown, we learn from one plant pathologist and hempress, as she shows us her hempire.

Even to plant experts like Dr. Poudel, hemp is still a new concept in the way it grows and thrives.

They have to do some research to find out the best variety, the best management practices, the best planting time for the growers, so when the growers get the license, they are not too lost on where to start from, said Dr. Poudel.

The Cooperative Extension is proud to show off their first trial of hemp as they try different irrigation, light and compost methods.

We are doing different treatments to see the best management practices for hemp, said Dr. Poudel.

So what has the University learned since they began the trial, and how has new aged technology benefited their research?

First thing is genetics. Do not expect that all your varieties are all going to look the same. Youre going to have different genotypes. The last time we grew, it was the 1950s when agriculture was not as intense, said Dr. Poudel.

Because this trial is being done in winter, I was able to see purple hemp!

This discoloration is caused by the phosphorus deficiency in the plant, often occurring in cold climates.

You can see quite a few genetics in the field, anywhere from 2 to 24 depending on where you get your seed from, said Dr. Poudel.

There are even different genders of hemp plants, allowing farmers to use a male or female plant based on their needs.

If youre going for CBD, you dont want any males in the field because it will pollinate the female plants and they will go into seed production, which means that all the energy of the plant is going to be devoted to seed production, and your CBD level will be even less than 1%, said Dr. Poudel.

If you still find yourself asking: OK, but what is hemp all about? the Cooperative Extension is hosting a Preseason hemp workshop & Field day.

We are going to give you all the information about how we did it, what we did when we planted, did we apply any tests. Were going to give you all the results of everything we have, so hopefully, it will help the community to know about the production of hemp, said Dr. Poudel.

The event is on February 3rd and is free to anyone who wants to attend!

The hemp workshop will start at 9 A.M. at Booth Machinery Inc.: 6565 E 30th St, Yuma, AZ 85365.

Guests will then participate in a field demonstration from 12:30 to 2.

There will also be free tacos at the end of the day!

To sign up and see a full schedule of the day, click here.

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Home Grown: The "Hemp-ress" and her "Hemp-ire" - KYMA

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THE TRUTH CONCERNING ALLEGED RISING INEQUALITY IN THE USABackgroundIt is a fact that inequalities exist in America but they are almost always solidly rooted in immutable psychological traits such as IQ, industriousness, honesty, creativity, courage, etc. [See: AEI Monograph (1998) Income Inequality and IQ ]. Take IQ. According to the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth by age 28 to 36, the top 10% in cognitive ability have a median earned an income of 4.8 times the median for the bottom 10%. Indeed, The Bell Curve (1994) in part one, The Emergence of a Cognitive Elite, found that IQ is one of the best single predictors of job productivity. Most recently, researchers have found that DNA plays a role in social stratification. These investigators concluded that Human DNA polymorphisms vary across geographic regions, with the most commonly observed variation reflecting distant ancestry differences. [See: Nature: Human Behaviour October 21, 2019 Genetic Correlations of Social Stratifications in Great Britain Abdellaoui et al or https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-019-0757-5 ].

For proof that all psychological traits are firmly riveted in nature and not in nurture one need only read Prof. Robert Plomins new book, Blueprint: How DNA Makes Us Who We Are, (Nov. 2018) which is the most recent scholarly work on the psychology of human genetics. In Blueprint Plomin, one of the very top experts in the field of behavioral genetics asserts that A century of genetic research shows that DNA differences inherited from our parents are the consistent life-long sources of our psychological individuality the Blueprint that makes us who we are. Prof. Plomin also reports that genetics explain more of our psychological differences not just mental health and school achievement but all psychological traits, from personality to intellectual abilities. Nature, not nurture is what makes us who we are. [Note: The Dec. 14, 2018 issue of Scientific American contains a very brief essay by Prof. Plomin titled In the Nature-Nurture War, Nature Wins. and in it, Plomin admits that Environmental influences are important too, but they are largely unsystematic, unstable and idiosyncratic in a word, RANDOM. (Emphasis added) Plomin continues These findings call for a radical rethink about parenting, education and the events that shape our lives. It also provides a novel perspective on equal opportunity, social mobility and the structure of society.]In spite of this contrary scientific evidence that inequality is not rooted in economic factors, countless left-leaning economists, law professors, and political scientists insist, without foundation, that capitalism is the source for much of our nations inequality. One needs only to read Prof. Joseph Stiglitzs The Price of Inequality (2013) or Prof. Thomas Pikettys tome, Capital in the 21st Century (2014) or Prof. Thomas Shapiros Toxic Inequality (2017) and their calls for redistribution to understand that their driving motivation is a search for almost totally equal economic outcomes. They undertake this crusade in spite of the fact that even Lord Keynes believed that efforts to fight inequality hinder economic growth. [See: Foundation for Economic Education Aug. 11, 2018]. Even the IMF got it wrong. In a 2015 report titled Causes and Consequences of Inequality, this organization errantly asserted that Widening inequality is the defining challenge of our time. In advanced economies, the gap between rich and poor is at its highest level in decades. Interestingly, this barrage of unsupported claims prompted an author like Edward Conrad to produce a book, The Upside of Inequality in which he mistakenly states that capitalism is a cause of inequality but asserts that the overall impact is positive in that growth (rising GDP) has markedly improved everyones standard of living.But the unifying and driving force exhibited by all of these millenarian collectivists is a desire to eliminate economic inequality of outcomes. This deep-seated human drive for equality likely stems from our ancestral days living as small hunter-gatherer bands that wandered the several continents (except Antarctica) for over 100,000 years. Sharing the wealth was a possible adaptation that probably helped to ensure the survival of the group. Individualism likely played a subservient role to the collectivism of each clan. Of course, these people all lived on the edge of starvation at a level of servile poverty that is almost unimaginable today. [See:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter-gatherer ].Then about ten millennia ago humans mastered the science of agriculture which resulted in a more stable food supply and as a consequence population levels of our lineage began to rise. But, our farming forebears still lived in a condition of almost total abject poverty. [See:http://j-bradford-delong.net/TCEH/1998_Draft/World_GDP/Estimating_World_GDP.html ].This state of affairs continued uninterrupted for almost 10,000 years until the advent of capitalism (individualism) in central England about 1765. [Note: Highly regarded economic historian, Prof. Deirdre McCloskey, places this critical conversion in the northern Netherlands roughly 100 years earlier but the result is the same.] With the development of capitalism the Industrial Revolution began, GDP surged ahead and human-kinds overall levels of economic well-being soared, increasing according to some estimates by up to 5,000% at the turn of the 21st century. [See:https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/KnowledgeBank/how-has-growth-changed-over-time ]. In all of history, things had never gotten better for everyone any faster. [See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Divergence.%5D The following graph shows this remarkable upward trend in life expectancy, GDP per capita, energy capture, democratic governance, and war-making capacity along with a remarkable decline in extreme poverty.

Moreover, in a 2001 essay titled The Law of Accelerating Returns, Ray Kurzweil opined that the rate of technological change is exponential. [See: https://www.kurzweilai.net/the-law-of-accelerating-returns ]. Thus the sharp upward trend in these measures of well-being has continued and even accelerated since 2000 and it is not unreasonable to believe that the shift of ever-improving living standards and the rest will stretch further into the future. [See:https://fattailedandhappy.com/rise-of-asia-global-growth-since-2000/ ].Regrettably, ever since Jean Jacques Rousseau wrote his famous essay, Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men in 1754 some (many?) collectivist scribes have sought to return our species to its hunter-gatherer roots when everyone was equally hungry and always desperately poor. [See:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Rousseau ].

As evidence of this ill-advised tendency, every day I read an almost endless array of pro-socialist and anti-capitalist articles in a variety of newspapers, magazines, and web sites and almost all of these focus on alleged rising levels of inequality. A single recent example should suffice. In a June 6, 2019 article in the NY Times, titled The World is a Mess. We Need Fully Automated Luxury Communism, Aaron Bastini insisted that We live in a world of low growth, low productivity and low wages, of climate breakdown and collapse of democratic policies. A world where billions, live in poverty. A world defined by inequality. Next, I ask myself How could so many bright well-informed authors be so apparently unaware of the actual realities concerning the facts regarding the imagined phenomenon of increasing income and wealth inequality in the US? [See:https://www.amazon.com/product-reviews/0691143617/ref=acr_dpx_hist_3??ie=UTF8&filterByStar=three_star&showViewpoints=0 ].

These unfounded claims of growing income inequality and the exaggerated concentration of wealth in the US due to capitalism are easily rebutted.Many left-leaning economists are at heart closet levelers who favor more equal economic outcomes and these same people therefor support almost any move towards socialism. They thus espouse every misleading set of statistics that they can find in an effort to attain their goal. This is often called data mining and it is not useful. In his 1954 book, How to Lie With Statistics author Darrell Huff coined the word statisticulation by which he meant statistical manipulation which also describes very well the work of these many current day egalitarians.

For example, some socialist commentators have contended that with a slew of data, Thomas Piketty confirmed what those on the left had long believed: that extreme inequality and the clustering of wealth are the natural outcomes of capitalism. [See: https://newrepublic.com/article/154186/bernie-sanders-democratic-socialist-failure-envision-world-without-capitalism ]. But, income inequality in the US has not risen in the last 60 years and the US Census Bureau data (along with Kitov & Kitov 2012) [See: https://www.academia.edu/4383266/The_Dynamics_of_Personal_Income_Distribution_and_Inequality_in_the_United_States ] prove it. Since 1960 the Bureaus Gini coefficient (one of many important measures that almost all economists use to track inequality) of income for All US Persons (individuals) has remained almost totally flat. [See: Table PINC-01 Selected Characteristics in the March Supplement which is published each year by the US Census Bureau as part of its Annual Demographic Surrey or visithttps://politicalcalculations.blogspot.com/search?q=gini#.XR4aendFwuU ]. Thus there has been virtually no increase in US income inequality for individuals for six decades. [See: https://voxeu.org/article/human-capital-and-income-inequality ]. Also, most collectivist writers do not know that Prof. Piketty in 2015 quietly recanted much (most?) of what he wrote in Capital in the 21st Century. [See: About Capital in the 21st Century American Economic Review 2015, 105(5): 48-53 or go to http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/aer.p20151060 ].

What has been skewing upwards is the US Census Bureaus Gini coefficient for US Households (and US Families). [Note: In 2009 Prof. Robert Gordon found that The rise in American inequality has been exaggerated both in magnitude and timing. See: https://www.nber.org/papers/w15351 thereby confirming the assertion that Alan Reynolds made at the Western Economics Associations July 2007 meeting that inequality in income, wages, consumption, and wealth among the US population as a whole does not appear to have increased significantly since 1988. See:https://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/has-us-income-inequality-really-increased ]. But nearly 100% of any increases have been caused by sociological (and not economic) factors (i.e. alterations in the size, make-up, and constitution of both US households and families.) For context, any divergence of these two data sets from the stable status of the statistics for All US Persons (individuals) began about 1970. [See:https://politicalcalculations.blogspot.com/search?q=gini#.XTMahXdFwuU ]. But as Stanford economist, Thomas Sowell, put it in his book, Economic Facts and Fallacies (2008), Income comparisons using household statistics are far less reliable indicators of standards of living than individual income data because households vary in size while an individual always means one person. Later Prof. Sowell continued Household income data can, therefore, be very misleading, whether comparing income differences as of a given time or following changes in income over the years.

Perhaps a single specific example of this household trend will help to dismiss the lefts baseless trope regarding rising income inequality in the US. If a young woman in the 1950s became pregnant out of wedlock she almost always married the father thereby forming one new household (and one new family) with one caregiver and one breadwinner. Twenty years later mounting numbers of young women began bearing children without any serious intention of matrimony (today this figure in the US stands at 39.8%) [See:https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/unmarried-childbearing.htm ] and this results in the formation of two new families (and two new households) one with a caregiver but no breadwinner and another with only a breadwinner. Both of these freshly formed households (or families) are each poorer than the combined single household (or family). Obviously, this emerging cultural (not economic) change began shifting the income inequality for households (and families) upward.

There are many other sociological (but not economic) trends that have resulted in similar skewing of the household (and family) data. These include (but are not limited to) elevated levels of divorce which split one household (and family) into two needier units; increasing numbers of elderly women who outlive their spouses; rising instances of assortative mating (i.e. In the 1950s a doctor often married his nurse but today she marries another doctor or lawyer which results in a very high two-income household and family. Indeed, according to Greenwood et.al. (2014), the US Gini coefficient in 2005 would have fallen from the observed 0.43 to 0.34 if all US mating had been random. And the authors of this research thus concluded that assortative mating is important for income inequality.) [See: https://www.nber.org/papers/w19829?utm_campaign=ntw&utm_medium=email&utm_source=ntw ] [Note: For a contrary point of view see: https://www.nber.org/papers/w20271.pdf ]; and numerous other sociological kinetics which markedly raises the Gini coefficients for both families and households but not for individuals.In their 2016 book, Unequal Gains, Profs. Lindert and Williamson begin by dismissing in a footnote the US Census Bureaus data as faulty official numbers but later admit that the racial and gender inequality gaps have been converging since 1970 along with a declining gap in the North-South levels of inequality. But these two authors are unable to reconcile why these American countercurrents are moving in the opposite direction of their new measure of inequality which is the tax unit research of Piketty & Saez (2001). [See: https://www.nber.org/papers/w8467 ]. Lindert and Williamson revealed their true colors in Unequal Gains' last paragraph. If there were any fulcrum at which historical insight might be applied to move inequality, it would be political. As we have said, no nation has used up all its political opportunities for leveling income without harming economic growth. Even worse, these two liberal economists asserted that The South was the richest of the colonies, and even its slaves had higher living standards than did the poorest in England.Most collectivist economists (including LIndert & Williamson) always examine inequality using only pre-tax data and before taking into consideration any government transfer payments which each highly distort the real situation in America. The following graph depicts the true status: [See:https://www.cato.org/blog/different-look-after-tax-income-inequality ]. This certainly is no picture of rising income inequality in the US.For context, one should also note the following: According to the IRS data from 1992 to 2014 over 70% of tax units (a very close proxy for families) were among the top 400 individual US taxpayers for only a single year while only 3% were among this top tier for ten years or more. [See: https://taxfoundation.org/turnover-among-richest-americans/ ]. Thus, most US taxpayers had ultra-high incomes only one time in their careers. Also, in 2017 a US household needed $421,926 to be in the top 1%. [ See: https://www.epi.org/multimedia/unequal-states-of-america/#/United%20States ]. This is a very handsome sum but far less than many would imagine.In 2019, Auten & Splinter reported that Top income share estimates based on only individual tax returns, such as Piketty & Saez (2003) are biased by tax-base changes, major social changes, and missing income sources. These authors continued Our results suggest that the income shares are lower than the tax-based estimates and since the early 1960s increasing government transfers and tax progressivity have resulted in little change in after-tax income shares. [See: Income Inequality in the United States: Using Tax Data to Measure Long-Term Trends Or see: Davidsplinter.com/autensplinter-tax_data_and_inequality.pdf ]. The Economist, noted regarding this research, that Just as ideas about inequality have completed their march from the Academy to the frontlines of politics, researchers have begun to look again. And some are wondering whether inequality has risen as much as claimed or, by some measures, at all. The results of this research paper have also been reported by Vox, PBS, The Hill, and the WSJ.Then in Oct. of 2019 Elwell et al reported that when we more fully account for taxes and transfers and use the proper sharing unit and unit of analysis we show that while over this period (1959 2016) the rich got substantially richer, so did poor and middle-class Americans. [See: Income Growth and its Distribution From Eisenhower to Obama: The Growing Importance of In =Kind Transfers (1959 2016) AEI Economics Working Paper 2019-21.]Side Bar: Male Versus Female Inequality The Imaginary Glass CeilingIn her excellent book, The Sexual Paradox: Men, Women, and the Real Gender Gap, Susan Pinker (yes, Stevens sister) reports on page 15 the almost 100-year-old data on the divergent distribution of male and female IQ scores. According to Ms. Pinker Boys are overrepresented at both extremes and that Despite their nearly identical averages, males show more dramatic variability that is more evident at the extremes. These truths have gone unrefuted for nearly 100 years and they have been repeatedly confirmed.I often find that those who are wailing (almost always without a shred of scientific evidence) about alleged sexism have never examined the bottom end of the IQ distribution. Go into any classroom for the mentally challenged and one will find far more boys than girls. The distribution of male IQ scores is simply wider (at both ends) than the range for females. Thus it is unremarkable to find more males in the corporate board room than females.

Turning the alleged accumulation of wealth due to capitalism. This misleading claim made by many collectivists also lacks important framing. Augustus Caesar was worth an estimated $4.6 trillion but economic historians name Mansa Musa I (1280 1337) of the Mali Empire in sub-Saharan Africa as the richest man of all time. Jakob Fugger (1459 1525), a German merchant, amassed a fortune worth an estimated $400 billion in todays dollars more than 250 years before the onset of capitalism. Today the worlds richest man is Jeff Bezos with a net worth of about $125 billion. He is followed by Bernard Arnault with just under $108 billion and Bill Gates at slightly more than $107 billion. [See: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/arnault-overtakes-gates-to-become-worlds-second-richest-person/ar-AAEqfUQ?ocid=spartandhp ]. Basil II, Alan the Red, Nicholas II, William the Conqueror, and Muammar al-Qaddafi, along with all of the Robber Barons of the late 19th and early 20th centuries were also far wealthier than Mr. Bezos in US dollars adjusted for inflation. [See:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wealthiest_historic_figures ]. As an aside and for further context, several large family fortunes have been divided by inheritance. The combined Walton family fortune today stands at $191 billion, the Mars estate has a total worth of $127 billion and the Koch family wealth is now $125 billion. [See: The Jewish Journal reporting from Bloomberg Aug. 11, 2019].

In the May 15, 2014 edition of Foreign Affairs magazine in an article titled The Inequality Illusion economists Wojciech Kopczuk and Allison Schrager reported that there is limited evidence that wealth inequality has actually worsened in the US in the last 30 years. A year later Zucman & Saez in a scholarly paper, (Wealth Inequality in the US Since 1913) found that wealth inequality was not rising quickly below the top 0.1%. [See: https://berkeley.edu/~saez/saez-zucmanNBER14wealth.pdf ]. According to Harvard professor and economist, Martin Feldstein, this increase in the wealth statistics among the top 0.1% was due almost entirely to the 0.01%s conversion from reporting their taxes as C corporations to sub-S corporations after the 1986 tax act. [See: https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/anti-piketty.pdf ]. Thus, there has been little or no concentration of wealth in the US since 1970.For some unexplained reason, many socialists confine their analysis of inequality to measures of income (annual earnings) and wealth (accumulated economic assets less debt) thereby ignoring many other important benchmarks (mortality, morbidity, literacy, consumption, gender, race, etc.) and one might assume that these other unmentioned norms may not support their collectivist claims of inequality that is skewing out of control. [See: https://mortality.org/ ]. The simple truth is that these other metrics are both: getting better fast and converging while not diverging as many on the left would have us believe. [See:https://www.un.org/esa/desa/papers/2005/wp2_2005.pdf ].

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has firmly asserted that Economic growth is the most powerful instrument for reducing poverty and improving the quality of life in developing countries. [See: http://www.oecd.org/derec/unitedkingdom/40700982.pd ]. Of course, many collectivists want to halt the expansion of human economic well-being asserting that things are good enough today. [See: https://www.amazon.com/Lets-Get-Rid-growth-Globalization/dp/1484036557/ref=sr_1_28_sspa?keywords=capitalism&qid=1564929398&s=books&sr=1-28-spons&psc=1 ].Thus, any effort that might slow economic growth via socialism would be a virtual death sentence for our planets needy. Interestingly, Michael OSullivan in his new book The Leveling insists that while globalization has ended the next major trend will be a worldwide equalizing of wealth, income, consumption, etc.In further support of the OECDs assertion Prof. Raghuram Rajan, an economist at the University of Chicago and former chief economist for the IMF, in his latest book, The Third Pillar (2019) reports that We are surrounded by plenty. Humanity has never been richer as technologies of production have improved steadily over the last two hundred fifty years. It is not just developed countries that have grown wealthier; billions across the developing world have moved from stressful poverty to a comfortable middle-class existence in the span of a generation. Income is more evenly spread across the world than at any other time in our lives. For the first time in history, we have it in our power to eradicate hunger and starvation everywhere. This is capitalisms real historical economic record.

Moreover, the editors of The Economist magazine on May 23, 2019, opined that Capitalism is improving workers lot farther than it has in years (and) the zeitgeist has lost touch with the data. They added that the bleak picture painted by the left is at odds with reality. In other words, many news outlets are apparently not reporting the economic truth about capitalism.Indeed, Prof. Richard Baldwin, president of the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) in London, in his 2016 book, The Great Convergence notes that From 1820 to 1990 the share of world income going to todays wealthy nations soared from 20% to 70% and that share has recently been plummeting. Today, their share is now back to where it was in 1914. According to Dr. Baldwin This new trend is surely the dominant economic fact of the last two or three decades. This leads one to inquire Why does this critical new trend go virtually unreported?SummaryOne should compare all of these facts with socialisms record of rendering almost everyone to be only equally poor. Thus, liberals imagined emphasis on rising inequality in the USA due in-part to capitalism represents one of the worlds biggest economic hoaxes.

Read more from the original source:
Every State Is a Battleground - LA Progressive

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Ah, hormones. Such an easy scapegoat. And for good reason: They can be responsible for everything from mysterious weight gain to hair loss to crazy hunger. When things get a little out of control in that department, an endocrinologist might be able to help you. (In as little as 30 days, you can be a whole lot slimmer, way more energetic, and so much healthier just by following the simple, groundbreaking plan in The Thyroid Cure!)

But before you make an appointment, read on to find out what they think you should know.Simply put, "we're hormone doctors," says Marilyn Tan, MD, an endocrinologist at Stanford Health Care. "The three most common diagnoses we make are thyroid problems, diabetes, and osteoporosis," she says. Other common conditions they treat: menopause, hypertension, and infertility. And while endocrinology might be a specialty in itself, these docs sub-specialize. Some may focus on weight loss, others on thyroid abnormalities, some on diabetes or reproductive health. That means you should see the one that fits your health issue to get the most targeted treatment.

First of all, you might not even need to see one."For straightforward issues, like basic thyroid problems or diabetes, your primary care physician [PCP] is equipped to handle them in generally healthy people," says Tan. They're the ones who will order lab work to check initial hormone levels, and they're the ones who will treat you first. There's another upside to sticking with a PCP: Unless you live in a bigger city, specialists often require you to travel farther away for an appointment. "It's often not worth the drive when you can get good care from your regular doctor," she says. But if your blood sugar or thyroid levels become difficult to control, your PCP will send you to a specialist.

MORE:8 Things That Happen When You Finally Stop Drinking Diet Soda

Or you might have a one-and-done visit.Endocrinologists like to think of themselves as partners in crime in your care. "Often, we'll schedule one-time visits with a patient to help them learn about their disease, but their PCP will take the reins in managing it," says Tan. "Our visit becomes more focused on education rather than treatment." And that can be just as critical in getting well. Research shows that in diseases like diabetes, educational programs can help patients gain better blood sugar control, as well as lose weight and improve cholesterol levels.

They might be able to guess what's up just by looking at you...As many as 15 million people suffer from undiagnosed thyroid conditions. The thyroidthe butterfly-shaped gland on your necksecretes hormones that are involved in metabolism, body temperature regulation, and the functioning of your organs. Usually lab workups will confirm a diagnosis, but an endocrinologist might first spot uncontrolled, progressed conditions, says Tan. For example, in hypothyroid (a sluggish thyroid), you might look fatigued and your face may be swollen. In hyperthyroid (an overactive thyroid), severe disease may show up as bulging eyes and unexplained weight loss.

MORE:16 Signs Your Thyroid Is Out Of Whack

...or by touching you.

They want to hear about your hot flashes.

Highwaystarz-Photography/Getty Images

If you're menopausal and having hot flashes, hormone treatmentsandother natural options are ways that your endocrinologist may help mitigate symptoms.

MORE:Are You Bummed Out...Or Depressed?

And they think a lot about your bones.

They'll want to talk to you about vitamin Dbut probably not test you for it.It might be called a vitamin, but vitamin D is actually a steroid hormone, says Liu, which is why endocrinologists are so concerned with your levels. Andas you well know by nowthere's been a lot of chatter surrounding D because it boasts a never-ending list of potential health perks. Some experts advocate for routine screening of D levels, but Liu does not. "The tests are expensive," he says, and largely unnecessary; doctors can often guess if you're running low. If you live in northern latitudes, chances are you have a vitamin D deficiency, even if you're drinking milk, Liu says. On the other hand, if you live in, say, Florida, where you get a lot of sun, you probably have normal levels. Bottom line: If you live in a northern climate, you might want to pop a supplement. Experts can't agree on the exact amount, but the National Institutes of Health recommends getting 600 IU per day.

MORE:7 Reasons You're Tired All The Time

There are some things they can't fix.Another reason to keep your PCP in the loop: They take a bigger-picture look at your health, so they can spot other causes of problems, whereas a specialist like an endocrinologist is more laser-focused on your hormones, says Ranit Mishori, MD, a professor of family medicine at Georgetown University. After all, exhaustion and stress can cause similar symptoms as a thyroid condition. "I have patients in their 40s who are desperate for me to say their weight gain, mild depression, and fatigue is a thyroid condition that I can fix with a tiny pill," she says. "But oftentimes it's the crazy lifestyle and stress," says Mishori. An endocrinologist knows a lot about your health, but sometimes what you need is a little self careexercise, a healthy diet, and taking time to recharge from the madness can go a long way.

Read more:
8 Things Every Hormone Doctor Wants You To Know | Prevention

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Some of South Dakotas most vulnerable teenagers could be denied critical health care if the legislature passes a proposed law.

State lawmakers are considering a bill that would make it a criminal offense for doctors, physician assistants, or nurse practitioners to provide gender-affirming health care to transgender youth under age 16. House Bill 1057, misleadingly titled the Vulnerable Child Protection Act, makes it a misdemeanor to prescribe puberty blockers or hormone replacement therapy, as well as prohibiting any gender-affirming surgery.

Far from protecting vulnerable teenagers, this bill could put them in danger.

Trans youth experience some of the highest rates of depression and suicidal thoughts; some estimates show that more than 40 percent of transgender people in the US have attempted suicide. The American Academy of Pediatrics published a study on January 23 that shows that trans people who underwent puberty-blocking treatment experienced a lower rate of suicidal thoughts than those who wanted the treatment but were unable to obtain it, meaning that denying access to gender-affirming health care can be a life-threatening issue. Previous studies have shown that access to puberty-blocking treatment at a younger age results in improved mental health in later years.

Despite opposition to the bill from the ACLU of South Dakota, medical professionals, and many parents and children in the state, the bills proponents are determined to fast-track it. Sponsors introduced it on January 14 and originally scheduled the committee hearing to take place less than 72 hours later.

This would have left little time for South Dakotans to learn about the bill, let alone have an opportunity to contact their representatives.

As someone born and raised in Brookings, I was particularly disappointed to see that our House representative, Doug Post, co-sponsored this bill. His decision to do so is exceptionally frustrating considering significant efforts in recent years by local leaders in Brookings to make the community a safer and more affirming place for LGBT people.

I was proud to see the Human Rights Campaign, a national organization, feature Brookings earlier this month as a champion for LGBTQ equality. In just five years, the town increased its score on the organizations Municipal Equality Index from 12 in 2013 to a perfect 100 in 2018. Though South Dakota has lagged behind other states in promoting equality for the LGBT community, Brookings seemed to be a bright spot for LGBT rights in the state. Either Rep. Posts position is not in line with the views of the majority of Brookings residents, or the town needs to rethink its celebration of its perfect 100 from the Human Rights Campaign.

HB 1057 is just the latest iteration of more than a dozen anti-LGBT bills introduced in the state in recent years. Prominent examples include the Bathroom Bill passed by the legislature but vetoed by then-Governor Dennis Daugaard in 2016, and legislation signed into law in 2017 allowing adoption agencies receiving state funding to discriminate against same-sex couples.

HB 1057 is the latest attack on trans kids in the state and poses a serious threat to their health and rights.

The decision to undergo puberty-blocking treatment and other forms of gender-affirming health care is not a decision taken lightly. Youth and their parents make this decision in close consultation with their doctors. Medical professionals should not be forced to choose between turning young patients away and providing necessary, sometimes life-saving treatment, risking up to a year in jail.

The bill passed out of committee on January 22 and will come to the House floor on January 27. South Dakota legislators who believe in promoting equality, preventing discrimination, and upholding the rights to health and life should reject this bill and other anti-transgender legislation. In doing so, our legislators will take a vital step toward defending the rights of trans youth and making South Dakota a place where the dignity of all people is protected.

Follow this link:
Reject the Bill to Block Critical Healthcare for Transgender Youth - Human Rights Watch

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Ah, inflammation. That catchall, nebulous term we've come to know and avoid at all costs. We recognize that inflammation is generally "bad," but the Perlmutters explain just how it decreases our brain function.

They note that it's not just chronic inflammation that does the dirty workeven acute levels of inflammation are enough to influence our decision-making. "Inflammation changes our thinking kind of right away. It doesn't require years of exposure," Austin says. "When you induce inflammation, people's decision-making is compromised. They start looking at the world from a present-focused instant-gratification model as opposed to a long-term-oriented thinking style."

It's a dangerous cycle, they explain, because the more you make those present-focused decisions, the more you demonstrate unhealthy behaviors that increase inflammation. And the more inflammation you experience, the more impulsive decisions you'll make.

So, how does one escape that inflammatory cycle? The father-son duo encourages you to figure out what behaviors are at the root of your inflammation (note: There may be more than one!).

"Inflammation might be augmented by your poor sleep quality, by your dietary choices, by your lack of exercise, or by the level of stress in your life. However you get there, it tends to compromise your decision-making that leads you to make more impulsive decisions that continue then to foster inflammation," David explains.

That said, optimizing your eating and sleeping habits and the ways you cope with stress can, in turn, affect your levels of inflammation. As with most aspects of well-being, many factors are connected and dependent on each other, so even just one small change has the power to (quite literally) shift your thinking!

Continued here:
3 Reasons We Make Bad Decisions And How To Reverse Them - mindbodygreen.com

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Lopez spoke back that he had now not too prolonged ago returned from California the place he had gone thru a painful, costly process to repair a seemingly spinal fluid leak. It became once, he told Smith, the most up-to-date chapter in his seven-One year quest to diagnose the illness that had made his lifestyles a effort.

Lopez had consulted extra than one consultants at one of the crucial nations Most critical hospitals, leading to assessments and scans too reasonably heaps of to rely. His stepfather and accomplices father, each and every physicians, were baffled. One gastroenterologist even suggested to Lopez that his accomplice, a nurse, may very smartly be poisoning him.

His gallbladder had been eliminated, an pointless operation that caused eternal problems. And the well-known of three spinal procedures had left him feeling extra unhappy than ever.

Smith requested about a questions, then equipped to review Lopezs medical records. The lawyer within the open refused, then relented after Smith pressed him.

It became once, he says, one of many appropriate decisions he ever made.

Smiths eagle-eyed examination noticed a severe clue that had been now not illustrious for years, culminating in a prognosis that the 15 physicians who treated Lopez apparently by no scheme regarded as.

At first I didnt imagine Davids plot, recalled Lopez, now 44. I had been burned reasonably heaps of times.

In December 2010, Lopez became once visiting an airplane hangar with his employer, who owned a Cessna. Whereas strolling all the scheme in which thru the plane Lopez, blinded by the glare of the late afternoon sun, smacked forehead first exhausting into the low-slung fly.

I fell to the ground, but didnt black out, he remembered. Lopez got to his feet and insisted he became once swish. I became once extra embarrassed than the leisure.

Per week later, he began feeling hung over. Getting back from his each day five-mile bustle, Lopez started trembling and felt so fashioned he needed to lie on the rest room ground. His accomplice brought him a glass of orange juice. Inside minutes, he looked to possess recovered.

But about a weeks later on Lopez with out warning grew to turn out to be dizzy and extraordinarily nauseated while ingesting a beer. He stopped ingesting alcohol, but the hung-over feeling continued, accompanied by a headache, shakiness, vomiting and diarrhea.

His well-known care doctor at the time, Lopez said, became once dismissive, telling him he became once anxious and working too exhausting. It became once a proof he would hear from other medical doctors.

Within the center of the next six months, Lopez consulted an ear, nostril and throat specialist in Albuquerque, who ruled out labyrinthitis, an infection of the internal ear that causes vertigo and nausea. An ENT skilled in Los Angeles suggested he may need power fatigue syndrome.

At the advice of his internist stepfather, Lopez underwent a mind MRI. A neurologist told Lopez he had an acoustic neuroma, a benign mind tumor, then with out word changed her solutions and said the scan confirmed nothing.

Visits to gastroenterologists led nowhere. One Fresh Mexico specialist, for reasons that stay inexplicable, suggested that Lopezs accomplice may very smartly be deliberately poisoning him, but did now not represent toxicology assessments.

Lopez remembers feeling flabbergasted by the speculation. His accomplice, Lorena, had been unfailingly supportive in each and every doable scheme.

His stepfather, whom Lopez referred to as my medical rock, became once aghast.

That is absurd, Lopez remembers him saying. I willt imagine these folk.

In 2014, a third gastroenterologist instantaneous elimination of Lopezs gallbladder, citing his 45-pound weight reduction, coupled with the outcomes of a scan that looked to existing biliary dyskinesia, a disorder wherein bile drainage is impaired. The operation became once a failure and left him feeling sicker.

A fourth gastroenterologist identified postcholecystectomy syndrome, a complication of gallbladder surgical operation that causes severe nausea and diarrhea. She referred him to a prominent out-of-train medical center for a comprehensive GI work-up.

Lopez spent per week there in 2015. Doctors werent certain what became once terrifying, but told him he surprisingly sensitive to certain meals. Lopez illustrious that even when he craved salt, he grew to turn out to be violently in unhappy health after eating salty meals comparable to popcorn. Doctors prescribed a diet now and again instantaneous for touchy bowel syndrome apart from to a drug to late digestion; neither helped.

In 2016, Lopez determined to cessation seeing medical doctors for a while. He had exhausted each and every choice he may per chance deem. Too in unhappy health to motivate his kidss faculty events or eat dinner with his family most nights, he mechanically came home from work and fell into bed.

Now and then, I concept I became once going to possess to cessation my practice, he recalled. Shedding my work would possess been the ideally suited nail within the coffin.

In July 2017, a seemingly promising contemporary explanation emerged after Lopez and his accomplice traveled to a well-known instructing health center in California.

Several assessments, including a spinal MRI, confirmed a seemingly power leak of cerebrospinal fluid from the dura, the outer membrane that surrounds the mind and spinal twine. Consultants told Lopez they believed the leaks were the outcomes of his 2010 collision with the Cessna, but couldnt pinpoint their enviornment. They instantaneous a series of epidural blood patches, wherein a little quantity of blood is injected into the epidural home within the spine to plug the leak.

Days after the October process, Lopez said he vividly remembers convalescing in a resort room lying flat on my serve and my accomplice feeding me cereal. He became once told to temporarily enhance his consumption of caffeine and salt to amplify the production of spinal fluid. For weeks later on he became once violently in unhappy health.

I got very unhappy, Lopez recalled. Within the center of an emotional conversation with his accomplice, he confided that while he by no scheme felt suicidal, he wasnt certain how he may per chance continue living in his present condition.

The meeting with Smith befell about a weeks later.

As he paged thru Lopezs records, Smith became once struck by the absence of a positional headache, nervousness that improves when lying flat. It is seemingly one of many most in vogue symptoms of a spinal fluid leak. And when he looked at the MRI, the neurologist did now not watch a leak.

Lopez told Smith, as he had the medical doctors he had seen, that his symptoms started after he hit his head. He said he became once swish until then, Smith said. To me it looked logical to open up there.

Lopez mentioned that he had now not too prolonged ago told his internist that he became once getting up six or extra times each and every night to urinate. Smith suspected the plot off may per chance now not be his prostate, the most in vogue foundation of this kind of challenge, but reasonably dehydration that may consequence from an electrolyte challenge.

Reviewing his lab assessments, Smith noticed a a little bit but again and again elevated sodium rely within the years after the accident but now not sooner than. He calculated Lopezs serum osmolality, which measures the focus of sodium ions and other substances within the blood. The essentially unprejudiced appropriate test is now and again ordered to envision for an electrolyte imbalance, but had by no scheme been ordered. Smiths calculations confirmed that it, too, became once elevated.

Smith suspected that the blow to Lopezs head may need damaged his pituitary, the pea-sized gland at the infamous of the mind, which serves as the bodys metabolic abet watch over center. A stressful mind atomize can plot off hypopituitarism, a condition wherein a hormone deficiency impairs customary characteristic. One in all the hormones launched by the pituitary is antidiuretic hormone (ADH), which regulates fluid balance.

The neurologist theorized that Lopezs damaged pituitary had caused central diabetes insipidus, a rare disorder wherein the kidneys prefer away too grand fluid. (The condition is unrelated to the far extra customary diabetes mellitus, which entails blood sugar.)

Lopez became once within the open skeptical.

I undergo in solutions feeling roughly irritated when David said I didnt possess a CSF leak and shouldnt get one other patch, he recalled. I had already pursued reasonably heaps of slow ends.

But Lopez became once desperate. I undergo in solutions thinking, I dont even care if I get better, I correct desire an solution.

Smith urged Lopez to query his well-known care doctor to represent osmolality and urine assessments. Lopez said his contemporary internist balked, telling him, You dont possess diabetes insipidus, its so rare. After Lopez insisted, the internist ordered the assessments, adopted by a second round. All were habitual, but the doctor remained unconvinced.

Lopez pushed for a referral to an endocrinologist. He, too, became once skeptical, but ordered extra assessments that yielded the identical consequence, alongside with a scan that ruled out a pituitary tumor.

Now there may very smartly be absolute self assurance. Smiths meticulous prognosis had ended in the prognosis of diabetes insipidus that essentially had been hiding in undeniable look.

Lopez began taking a manufacture of vasopressin, the artificial hormone hell need for the remainder of his lifestyles. Slowly but frequently, he began to augment. His slow night urination stopped once he started taking the medication.

Ive 80 to 90 percent better, Lopez said now not too prolonged ago. He fastidiously monitors his salt intake to cessation sodium overload, must steer clear of becoming overheated he now not runs and cant devour alcohol or caffeine, which may per chance be too dehydrating. He additionally takes costly drugs to tackle the penalties of his pointless gallbladder surgical operation.

Lopez is attempting to invent up for the years he lost with his kids, who are now 5, 12 and 14. He deeply regrets that his stepfather, who he said became once consumed by attempting to serve him, did now not dwell to glimpse the end result. He died in 2015.

Lopez thinks his work as a malpractice lawyer essentially plot me serve. There were too many cooks within the kitchen, he said. I deem the indisputable reality that I had so many connections, it place me on the terrifying direction.

I additionally deem that but for me doing this work, I would by no scheme possess met the actual person that identified it, he added. He said he worries about others who are suffering and shortage beef up or sources. I represent folk love that one and all of the time, he added.

Smith, who has been in practice for 18 years, has a clear level of view.

I felt there became once reasonably heaps of tunnel vision, he said, adding that he believes time constraints may per chance possess played a job. There are reasonably heaps of practices that bustle love an assembly line.

Within the neurologists peep, the most evident error may per chance possess been the failure to prefer a entire and careful historical previous the cornerstone of the diagnostic process and to hear fastidiously to what Lopez became once reporting.

Smith said he stays bowled over by the resistance that Lopez, a medically knowledgeable affected person, encountered when he pursued a seemingly prognosis of diabetes insipidus.

Some smug physicians are offended by an out of doors doctors advice, Smith said. It wounds egos.

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The motive within the serve of this man's suffering became once hiding in undeniable look - Invest Records

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

At 31, I was diagnosed with bipolar II and generalised anxiety disorder. At first I hated the powerful drugs I was prescribed. They scared me. But the black moods, hypomania and panic attacks that almost landed me in the psych ward scared me more.

After years of trial and error, I landed on the right combination of meds. Seroquel tamed mood swings, Lamictal regulated the full-body agitation that comes with bipolar, Remeron helped anxiety and depression. Combined with a great support system, the meds helped me make critical lifestyle changes so I could finally stabilise. I got out of a bad relationship. I stopped working hard and playing hard, the credo among my Silicon Valley co-workers. I married a wonderful man. We bought a house with a little backyard.

But the next natural step, having a baby, was an unsettling question mark. Google was useless. Is Seroquel safe for pregnancy? (Not enough data.) Does Remeron affect a foetus? (Possible association with premature birth.) If I clicked around long enough, the answers became inconclusive. It seemed that my meds had a small chance of harming a foetus, but the research was hazy. So I asked my psychiatrist.

Sharing the full story, not just the headlines

There is no right or wrong answer, he said with a sigh, like hed been waiting for this question. The research sample sizes are incredibly small. Because who would want to sign up for that test?

Exactly. Who would? Would I?

But we do know that depression and anxiety affect a foetus, he continued. I tell my patients to do the pillow test: which choice allows you to sleep better? The risk of being on the drugs or the risk of being off them?

A pillow test? That sounded like a trite way to make this decision. There had to be more data, more science, more concrete answers. He referred me to a specialist at the University of California at San Francisco Womens Mood and Hormone Clinic.

The specialist confirmed my bipolar and GAD diagnosis but concluded that I was on the wrong cocktail of drugs to begin with. What I needed, she said, was Lithium which came with a small risk of congenital malformation.

I fought back tears. I had come for clarity, and instead, I was thrown back to square one. Why did no medical professional have an answer? Was it morally wrong to get pregnant on these drugs? Should I adopt instead? Forgo motherhood altogether?

You seem upset, the doctor said.

I just dont understand how Im supposed to navigate this.

The most important thing is a mothers health during pregnancy, she said. Ultimately, the choice is up to you.

After the appointment, I went to the hospital bathroom and cried until I felt empty. Then suddenly, I was clear. The choice was up to me. I wanted to have a baby, and I didnt want to do it on any of these drugs. Id been stable for over a year. I could do this. I actually looked into the fluorescent-lighted mirror and said:You can do this.

When I next saw my psychiatrist, I told him I wanted to wean off everything. OK, he said. We can try, but well have to do it slowly and check in often.

For a while, things were smooth. I began to wonder whether Id really needed the medications at all. I was achieving at work, sleeping well and generally content. I started seeing an acupuncturist and healer who agreed that I should absolutely not get pregnant on pharmaceuticals. Her plan to naturally combat bipolar involved a combination of acupuncture, diet and herbs.

Six months later, I had weaned off both Seroquel and Remeron, leaving only Lamictal in my system. But one morning, on my train commute, I started to obsess about whether Id turned off my iron. This again. Soon, I was flooded. My vision blurred, my heart drummed, nausea swelled into my throat and the walls closed in. The next thing I knew, I was lying on the filthy floor, dripping with sweat, staring up at a flock of concerned strangers. Id passed out for a good two minutes the result, the ER doctors later concluded, of a massive panic attack. They gave me Klonopin and told me to call my psychiatrist.

Though he had been patient with my attempt to go the natural route, my psychiatrist pointed out that paramedic-level panic attacks and long bouts of unconsciousness were definitely not good for a baby. Exhausted and defeated, I thought back to my friend Mills, one of the warmest and wisest people I knew, who also happened to be bipolar and who had become a pro at managing his illness. When I was first diagnosed, Mills told me:This illness is like flying a plane through weather. You cant foresee the whole trip. Youve just got to handle whats right in front of you.

Okay, just fly the plane, I thought. I need meds. I want to have a baby. The risks are small.

Instead of putting me back on Remeron, my psychiatrist started me on Celexa which was backed by a bit more data on pregnancy. And after a few months of feeling well on Celexa, I had the confidence to go off birth control, thinking it would take at least a year to conceive at 36. But the first time we had unprotected sex, I got pregnant. With twins. After the ultrasound, I couldnt stop laughing at the absurdity of it all. My husband went home and obsessively mowed the lawn.

The first time we had unprotected sex, I got pregnant. With twins. I couldnt stop laughing at the absurdity of it all (iStock)

My first trimester, all I could do was vomit. Severe morning sickness, which actually lasts around the clock, is common in twin pregnancies. In one month, I lost 12lb. Then I developed hives all over my body. Most medications have at least one five-alarm-bell side effect. With Lamictal, my bipolar medication, its an extremely uncommon but potentially deadly rash known as Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Anytime I developed even the most minor rash while taking it, I was instructed to immediately text a picture of it to my psychiatrist.

So I did. The response: Go to the ER.

That day, after all my weaning and adjusting, I had to stop Lamictal cold turkey. My husband, whod seen me through bipolar episodes, turned a little grey. Dont worry, I said, well figure it out. At this point we didnt have a choice. We had to fly the plane.

The rash disappeared within a few days, leaving just Celexa in my system. I spent the rest of the pregnancy doing everything in my power to stay sane and healthy. I went to the hundred doctor appointments that came with my high-risk status. I ate clean and drank gallons of water. I waddled my enormous belly through parks to get a dose of nature. I went to prenatal yoga classes.

I delivered via planned C-section at 38 weeks, full-term for twins. They were identical boys, both approaching 7lb, wailing with verve the minute they hit the air. They did no neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) time and we went home to spend their first weeks in a haze of love, joy and sleep deprivation. Although my husband and I were delirious, the twins were thriving.

But when the boys were about 3 months old, my mood shifted. I suddenly felt panicky, obsessed with bottle sterilization and convinced that our part-time nanny was going to kidnap the babies. I couldnt sit still, and when I did, I bawled uncontrollably. I needed to sleep but couldnt. All of these symptoms felt very familiar.

My psychiatrist put me back on Lamictal, and within weeks, I stabilised. I fell in love with the boys all over again. Every new thing they did fascinated and delighted me. We took family walks around the neighbourhood with our boat-size double stroller. In selfies, we looked tired but happy. The boys looked like curious angels.

What do you do when you cant possibly know the best choice about something as important as your own health and the health of your babies? I did my homework. I tried to plan it all out. But in the end, I had to adapt to changing circumstances, take it one day at a time, and go with the information I had in front of me. Fly the plane. Do the pillow test. In other words, like most mothers throughout the ages, I did my best.

Washington Post

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I was managing my bipolar disorder. Then I decided to get pregnant - The Independent

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As new research suggests that dementia can be triggered in women during hormonal changes, Maria Lally reportson how HRT is key to an all-round healthier brain

Judith Graham, a 52-year-old events planner, visited her doctor in 2017 with symptoms including low mood, irritability and forgetfulness. I was used to organising business events all over the world, flying groups of fifteen people to the US and putting together detailed itineraries. But then I began to struggle to concentrate in meetings, I forgot names, and I had real flashes of anger over minor things my children or husband did.

Worse were her low moods. I suffered terribly from postnatal depression after the birth of my son eighteen years ago, and it felt a bit like that. After years of feeling bright, organised and capable, everything felt like a struggle. I saw my doctor who prescribed antidepressants, and while they kept my mood stable, it wasnt until I saw a new GP seven months later who knew about the menopause, that she suggested I wasnt depressed at all but that the menopause was causing my symptoms. I was given hormone replacement therapy and my brain fog and depression disappeared.

The menopause has long been associated with brain fog, but experts are now investigating a possible link with cognitive decline and even dementia, after it was found that two thirds of Alzheimers patients are women.

Continue reading here:
Why the link between the menopause and Alzheimer's isn't all bad news for midlife women - Telegraph.co.uk

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith