(TNS) Orlando police Det. Michael Fields was sure he had the break he needed right in front of him to close in on a serial rapist: a list of people whose DNA partially matched the man he hunted.

Then the list disappeared.

After a year of criticism from privacy advocates and genealogy experts, the owner of a popular DNA-sharing website had decided law enforcement had no right to consumer data unless those consumers agreed.

"It was devastating to know that there's information out there," Fields said. "It wasn't fair."

So he persuaded a judge to grant him access to the entire database, the genetic records of more than 1 million people who never agreed to police search. It was the first court order in the nation for a blanket consumer DNA search, kept secret from those whose genetic code was involuntarily canvassed.

Genealogical databases are a potential gold mine for police detectives trying to solve difficult cases.

But law enforcement has plunged into this new world with little to no rules or oversight, intense secrecy and by forming unusual alliances with private companies that collect the DNA, often from people interested not in helping close cold cases but learning their ethnic origins and ancestry.

A Times investigation found:

There is no uniform approach for when detectives turn to genealogical databases to solve cases. In some departments, they are to be used only as a last resort. Others are putting them at the center of their investigative process. Some, like Orlando, have no policies at all.When DNA services were used, law enforcement generally declined to provide details to the public, including which companies detectives got the match from. The secrecy made it difficult to understand the extent to which privacy was invaded, how many people came under investigation, and what false leads were generated.California prosecutors collaborated with a Texas genealogy company at the outset of what became a $2-million campaign to spotlight the heinous crimes they can solve with consumer DNA. Their goal is to encourage more people to make their DNA available to police matching.There are growing concerns that the race to use genealogical databases will have serious consequences, from its inherent erosion of privacy to the implications of broadened police power.

There are growing concerns that the race to use genealogical databases will have serious consequences, from its inherent erosion of privacy to the implications of broadened police power.

In California, an innocent twin was thrown in jail. In Georgia, a mother was deceived into incriminating her son. In Texas, police met search guidelines by classifying a case as sexual assault but after an arrest only filed charges of burglary. And in the county that started the DNA race with the arrest of the Golden State killer suspect, prosecutors have persuaded a judge to treat unsuspecting genetic contributors as "confidential informants" and seal searches so consumers are not scared away from adding their own DNA to the forensic stockpile.

After L.A. County prosecutors filed two counts of murder against a man linked to a pair of decades-old cold cases byconnecting the suspect through a genealogy match, Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey refused to provide details of the genetic work including the commercial genealogy service used. Similar genealogy searches remain sealed elsewhere in California, Texas and Florida.

"They're afraid that if the public finds out what we're doing, we won't be allowed to do it anymore. So the solution is, 'Don't tell the public,'" said Erin Murphy, a former defense attorney who teaches law at New York University and has become an outspoken critic of what she says is open season on consumer DNA.

DNA for decades has been law enforcement's slam dunk, an invaluable tool to identify human remains and put killers and rapists at the scene of the crime. But until a year ago, searches for unknown suspects were limited to the partial "junk DNA" of felons and criminal suspects held in government-supervised databases.

That changed dramatically in April 2018 when a team of investigators in Sacramento County announced they had matched 38-year-old crime-scene DNA with the killer's relatives on a public genealogy site. The arrest of former police officer Joseph James DeAngelo, now charged with 13 murders and awaiting trial, unleashed a wave of consumer DNA hunts across the United States.

The Times found consumer DNA used to declare closure of 66 cases. They involved 14 suspected serial killers and rapists and unsolved crimes going back to 1967, but also the remains of a miscarriage pulled from a sewer and the hunt for a man sneaking into bedrooms. Forensic labs claim to have closed more than a dozen other cases.

"It is probably one of the greatest revolutions, at least I would say, in my lifetime as a prosecutor," said Sacramento County Dist. Atty. Ann Marie Schubert. "But it is a difficult, evolving topic because there are privacy interests at stake and in an area that's unregulated."

Government DNA databases for a decade have allowed crude familial searching that can identify a suspect's parent, child or sibling. But the full chromosomal information held by private services can identify those who share 1% of DNA and are five or more generations removed. Merging that with other consumer data, researchers then can identify relatives two and three generations removed.

Those consumer databases contain genetic code of some 26 million Americans, and so many of European descent that scientists say in a few years they'll be able to identify every Anglo-Saxon American through family DNA.

"There are a whole bunch of stressed-out white guys right now," Schubert quipped.

But critics say police searches invade the privacy of those who submitted their DNA strictly out of curiosity about their ancestry, and their relatives who didn't even consent to that.

Suspects in the Golden State Killer case and most of those that followed were pinpointed by identifying DNA relatives on GEDMatch, a no-frills DNA registry popular with genealogists and adoptees seeking their birth parents. At least twice, GEDMatch allowed police access in cases that ultimately did not meet its policies, and at least once police conducted their hunt without permission using a fake account.

The nation's two largest genealogy services, Ancestry and 23andMe, say they do not grant law enforcement access to their consumer data. But a third, smaller company, FamilyTreeDNA, openly permits law enforcement use except for those customers who specifically opt out.

Few safeguards protect the genetic profiles of millions of consumers on genealogy sites.

Familial DNA searches of the past, done on those within the FBI's national criminal database, were restricted, and California's Department of Justice required case-by-case oversight by an independent committee. The private lab in Virginia handling the bulk of public gene-matching cases argues consumers don't require the same level of protection because they voluntarily mailed in their DNA.

What oversight exists is inconsistent. A U.S. Justice Department policy that went into effect this month limits consumer DNA searches to violent crimes and strictly as a tool of last resort.

Prosecutors in a handful of California counties, including Los Angeles, Sacramento, Orange and Ventura, this spring created their own more lenient rules. Sacramento and Ventura permit consumer searches before all other leads have been exhausted, and in the case of Ventura County, the crime involved does not have to be violent.

Sacramento prosecutor Schubert said the rules guard against uses that might backfire and restrict DNA searches even further.

"I don't want some cop out there doing genealogy on a car [burglar]," Schubert said. "We're identifying people through other people. ... I recognize there are privacy rights."

But most police agencies are like Orlando, which has no DNA policy. Det. Fields said he was guided by "common sense" in the two cases he has searched consumer DNA the July hunt for a serial rapist, and a 2018 arrest of a man for the unsolved murder of a college co-ed.

Fields had spent half a dozen years looking for leads in the 2001 murder of Christine Franke. A Virginia based forensics service, Parabon Nanolabs, used DNA found on Franke's body to predict the race and facial characteristics of her killer. But Fields could get no further until the day Sacramento announced its arrest of the suspect in the Golden State Killer case.

Parabon called Fields offering to replicate the methods to look for Franke's killer.

"I said, absolutely," the detective recalled. "Parabon turned that case around overnight and came up with two family matches, actually three, immediately."

What Parabon provided were GEDMatch accounts of two second and third cousins of the suspected killer the same information any other user of the DNA registry would see. The results show the number of genome locations that match, with each match called a centimorgan. A mother and son would share about 3,400 centimorgans; a suspect's second cousin once removed might have 123 in common.

Field's team then used traditional genealogy to trace those relatives back to a common ancestor from the 1890s. They then built out a huge family tree of every descendant of that ancestor, and started going down the branches.

But eight branches had no DNA, so investigators asked 15 people to provide it. Fields declined to say how these people were convinced. The defense lawyer for the man Fields subsequently arrested said it was by lying.

"They went to Georgia, said there was an African American female murdered who was more than likely related to them," said Orlando lawyer Jerry Girley. Relatives were told that by providing their DNA, Girley said, "their loved one could rest in peace."

Instead, Orlando police days later arrested the son of one of the elderly women tested.

"She is devastated," Girley said.

"Give them an inch, and they'll take it to Mars," he said. "I tell people, 'Don't put your DNA in the system.' (Police) see it as a side door around the 4th Amendment."

The suspect in that case, Benjamin Lee Holmes, has pleaded not guilty. He is jailed awaiting trial, which is set for next year.

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine found more than 90% of those polled online favored police access to consumer DNA when it comes to murder cases.

"None of us want violent criminals roaming the street," said medical ethicist Amy McGuire, one of the Baylor researchers and also an advisor to FamilyTreeDNA.

But the Baylor study found public support for DNA searching dropped to 34% when the crimes were not violent and police wanted the names of account holders.

GEDMatch at first allowed law enforcement searches only for violent crimes. But GEDMatch permitted gene matching for a teen who broke into a Utah church, assaulting a woman in the process. And it helped police in Texas hunt for a man creeping into women's bedrooms.

The bedroom intruder had slipped into 14 apartments, stealing nothing but sometimes touching a sleeping woman while masturbating. College Station police hired Parabon Nanolabs in Virginia, which used DNA from one break-in to identify a cousin on GEDMatch.

The arrested man is charged with second-degree burglary, a crime that does not meet GEDMatch's restricted use policy. But Parabon's chief genealogist, CeCe Moore, said the case was presented to the company as a sexual assault.

"We wanted to catch him before it escalated," said College Station Officer Tristan Lopez. Like most law enforcement departments, the police agency would not provide details of that DNA hunt.

Moore said Parabon has opened about 300 DNA searches and that the lab has solved almost 100 cases though arrests have not yet been made in several dozen of those cases.

In reaction to growing privacy concerns, GEDMatch in May closed its database to law enforcement unless users specifically agreed to opt in.

By then Fields had moved on to a second case an unsolved rape and had already seen early results on GEDMatch identifying relatives of the suspected rapist. Rather than lose that list with the policy change, he secured a warrant to the entire database. The search remained a secret for four months, until Fields revealed it at a law enforcement conference, encouraging other agencies to conduct DNA matching.

The warrant does not completely undermine efforts to ensure privacy, said GEDMatch co-founder Curtis Rogers.

"The protection offered by having a court review is better than no protection at all," he said.

Critics did not agree, and said the repeated policy breaches and global search warrant show how easily privacy falls away.

"There's always a danger that things will be used beyond their initial targets, beyond their initial purpose," said Vera Eidelman, a DNA expert for the American Civil Liberties Union. She pointed to the way DNA searches at first limited to convicted felons now span the mothers, brothers, uncles, grandparents and cousins twice removed of people who simply want to know if they are German or a Viking.

FamilyTreeDNA lab manager Connie Bormans bristles at any use of the word 'searching.' Police see no more than any other user just the account name and contact information a user provides unless they get a warrant. She has turned away law enforcement efforts that don't meet the company's permitted-use rules.

Bormans said she can't envision a scenario where the familial search would backfire. "It is only a tool," Bormans said. "There is no way that they will get a profile and arrest someone solely on the profile."

But in California early this year, police investigating the 1995 rape of a 9-year-old schoolgirl in Lake Forest and a 1998 rape of a jogger in the same town used FamilyTreeDNA to identify not one, but two suspects. They were identical twins, sharing the same DNA. Both brothers were jailed until undisclosed additional evidence led to freedom for one and rape charges against the other. The Orange County district attorney's office and Sheriff's Department did not respond to requests for additional information about the basis for the arrests. The district attorney subsequently adopted a DNA searching policy that precludes arrests based on family matching alone.

Legal scholars said it is only a matter of time before courts weigh in on the privacy of DNA.

Only one of the 66 DNA-derived cases identified by The Times has gone to trial a Washington man convicted of killing a Canadian couple in the 1980s and the defense lawyer there agreed not to challenge the GEDMatch work that led police to her client.

In 27 other cases, the accused perpetrators either were already dead, confessed or pleaded guilty. Prosecutors in Virginia and California have asked judges to treat the DNA as a "genetic informant."

Schubert's office is blocking disclosure of the DNA trail that led to the arrest of two accused serial rapists from the 1980s and 1990s. Her attorneys told one judge that secrecy must extend beyond the names of relatives whose DNA was examined to the names of the companies providing that information keeping it secret even from defense lawyers.

Schubert's staff successfully argued such disclosure might "result in a backlash against that site resultingin a tightening of restrictions on the site or use of the site."

They added: "If individuals in society stop wanting to enter DNA in consumer genealogical databases for fear their privacy is not being protected, then law enforcement loses a powerful technique to solve crime."

Concern about losing access to the DNA brought two California prosecutors to Texas.

Public records show Schubert and Orange County assistant prosecutor Jennifer Contini met on a Sunday in June with Bennett Greenspan, the CEO of FamilyTreeDNA. They sought his help in expanding the DNA available to police, including a campaign to convince consumers to share their genetic data.

"We both really feel that we ought to start an 'I'm in campaign'" Schubert wrote to Greenspan the next day. "Jennifer and I thought perhaps something like 'I'm in for Freedom and Safety' ... or 'I'm in for Safety and Freedom' might be an idea for a tag line."

The FamilyTreeDNA executive offered the help of his public relations company to arm Schubert with "compelling content."

"We need to provoke the question in a way that we will be able to provide the reasonable answer," Greenspan wrote.

Less than a month later, the Institute for DNA Justice was born.

The nonprofit has announced a $2-million campaign. Registration papers identify Schubert as its CEO and Ventura County Dist. Atty. Greg Totten as chief financial officer. There is no direct link to FamilyTreeDNA, but inquiries by The Times to the law firm handling the papers were forwarded to FamilyTreeDNA's media relations firm. A spokeswoman for the media firm said its work for FamilyTreeDNA and the nonprofit are separate, though performed by the same people.

The Orlando cop who bypassed GEDMatch's privacy policy is nonplussed by the concerns over privacy and public buy-in.

"It's Big Brother, but Big Brother's been here for decades," Fields said. "Everyone's trying to focus in on this because it's DNA, but it's no different than anything else that we do in our everyday lives. Police with a piece of paper and the judge can override almost anything."

2019 the Los Angeles Times.Distributed byTribune Content Agency, LLC.

The rest is here:
Ancestry Websites Great for Finding Relatives and Suspects - Governing

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

In a recent report by Transparency Market Research, it is shown that the global testosterone replacement therapy market is expected to grow negatively in the forecast period of 2016 to 2024. This adverse growth of the market is the result of various bans on the use of testosterones by various governments across the globe. Moreover, stringent regulations are also forcing company back-outs from the global testosterone replacement therapy market. This is also adding to the negative growth of the market.

Report Overview @

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/testosterone-replacement-therapy.html

The Market to Experience -4.2%CAGR During the Forecast

According to the report, the global testosterone replacement therapy market is expected to generate substantially less revenue than previous forecast period. In terms of revenue, the global testosterone replacement therapy market is expected to reach to the value of US$1.3 bn during the forecast of 2016 to 2024.

The global testosterone replacement therapy market is expected to experience 4.2% CAGR. This sluggish growth of the market is the result of various bans on the drugs that are used in the therapy.

Moreover, considering the adverse effects of the testosterone replacement therapy, governments of various countries have posed stringent regulations on their application. This is yet another factor that is compelling the global testosterone replacement therapy market to grow negatively during the forecast.

Historical analysis of the global testosterone replacement therapy market by experts at Transparency Market Research shows that the market stood US$ 2.0bn at the end of 2015.

Request Sample @

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1097

AbbVie, INC. to Account for Majority of Market Share

According to the report, the global testosterone replacement therapy market is predominantly consolidated. This is because majority of the dynamics of the market is dominated by AbbVie, INC. a U.S. based pharmaceutical company that specializes in testosterone replacement therapy drugs. This dominance by the company and overall sluggish growth is making the new players entry quite difficult in testosterone replacement therapy market.

These players are looking forward to adopt various strategies such as mergers, collaborations, and partnerships in order to have a stable future in the global crop maintenance robots market. These strategies are providing the businesses with required resources to compete against the well established players of the market.

Whereas, AbbVie, INC. is launching new products in order to maintain its dominance in the global testosterone replacement therapy drugs market. Recently, the company had applied for approval of its cream product that can be used externally for testosterone replacement therapy.

Rising Cases Hypogonadism to Show Some Sign of Growth for the Markets

According to various research and studies, the number of hypogonadism has risen substantially over couple of decades. This growth of the condition is showing some signs of growth in global testosterone replacement therapy market. Rising geriatric population is another minor factor that is expected to show growth possibilities in global testosterone replacement therapy market. Furthermore, various campaigns to educate people about the benefits of testosterone is also helping the global testosterone replacement therapy market to grow slowly in recent times.

Request Brochure @

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=1097

North America is Expected to Exhibit Maximum Growth in the Market

Geriatric population in countries such as U.S. and Canada is one of the major reasons that are supporting North America to dominate the regions of global testosterone replacement therapy market. The growth of the region is also attributed to the presence of various key players of global testosterone replacement therapy market.

The article is listed by Transparency Market Research titled Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market (Product Creams/Gels, Patches, Injections, Gums/Buccal Adhesives, Implants; Active Ingredient Testosterone, Methyl Testosterone, Testosterone Undecanoate, Testosterone Enanthate, Testosterone Cypionate) Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 2024.

Here is the original post:
Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market to Expand at a Robust 4.20% CAGR Between 2016 and 2024 - Montana Ledger

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Discovery of New Method Speeds Up Precision 3D BioprintingAndrew Wheeler posted on November 19, 2019 |

In the world of additive manufacturing (AM), the promises of bioprinting would be truly groundbreaking if they were to be kept and fully realized. The unscalable mountain is the ability to 3D print patient-specific organs. There would be no more organ rejection from transplants in post-operative care. In 2017, Gartner predicted that this medical innovation would occur within a decade.

Currently, simple tissues are 3D printed by various companies. For example, Poietis established and commercialized a laser methodology for 3D printing biological matter like skin cells and liver tissue. They released a commercial skin product in 2018 and established a partnership with LOral and BASF. Another example comes from the company CELLINK. It makes bioprinters used by pharmaceutical researchers in order to test the effects of drugs on living human tissue.

The technology and techniques of 3D bioprinting still have a long way to go before patient-specific organ transplants transform from fantasy to reality. Recent developments from TU Wien in Austria highlight one of the main factors in achieving what is now impossible: speed.

These are living cells photographed in a 3D scaffold. Weeks 1, 3 and 5 are pictured from left to right. The top images show the 3D setup and the bottom shows just one layer. The indications for increased precision and speed are significant for bioprinting and the ultimate goal of 3D printing patient-specific organs for transplants. (Image courtesy of TU Wien.)

The 3D scaffold and bioink developed at TU Wien will allow researchers to achieve new levels of accuracy in ongoing studies about the behavior of cells. The cell behavior as diseases spread is an important aspect of discovering new treatment methods. The introduction of stem cells to the new process makes it possible to create fully customized tissue.

3D bioprinting techniques differ in many ways. Some are less precise while others produce cells that do not last very long. Some cells produced through 3D bioprinting have material properties that limit their efficacy.

Cell behavior can differ greatly depending the chemical properties, shape and mechanical nature of the environment. For example, it is important for the environment to be permeable in order to ensure the survival and multiplication of cells embedded within. Countering that, the environment must strike the right type of balance in respect to stiffness and flexibility so that the structures do not degrade.

The key is to have new environments for embedding the cells, either liquids or gels, that solidify exactly where they are shot with a focused laser beam. The catch-22 is that the laser beam and the materials must not in any way harm the embedded living cells, and it has to happen as rapidly as possible.

TU Wien researchers solved this complex issue by using two-photon polymerization methods. These methods use a chemical reaction that has specific prerequisites for activation. When a molecule of the material that makes up the environment where the living cells are embedded absorbs two photons, an extremely intense laser beam activates a chemical reaction. At the precise point where the two photons are absorbed, the environmental substance stiffens but the surroundings remain liquid. The level of precision and intricacy at which structures can be constructed increases.

This process alone is slow, but using scaffolds has helped researchers develop a method that enables them to print structures in a few hours. Additionally, these new structures have an increased likelihood of surviving and living longer.

Researchers can now define exactly how an environmental structure should behave to foster specific types of cell migration and growth. They also can predict with greater accuracy how long a structure will last and when it will degrade.

See the original post here:
Discovery of New Method Speeds Up Precision 3D Bioprinting - ENGINEERING.com

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

The era of environmentally conscious users has hit the market; and theres a sharp increase of customers who prefer sustainable life choices. They tend to seek out and promote cruelty-free products and brands. Consumers today are becoming more and more vigilant about the ingredients used in their favourite merchandise, the technology, and science behind it all, especially when it comes to cosmetics.

This change in mindset has created a completely new sector of skincare: vegan products. Completely warding off any animal products or by-products, veganism is becoming the popular choice of the modern world. Having a vegan outlook helps in the detoxing of your body and gives great health benefits to your skin. Plabita Sharma, a skincare expert at The Body Shop, India, underlines some benefits of vegan skincare products:

Skin-friendly: Vegan products are a rich source of nourishment and natural goodness as they are made from plants, minerals, and some safe synthetic ingredients.

Animal-friendly/not tested on animals: While not everyone is an animal rights activist, but knowing the essentials used on your skin are not tested on animals is guilt-free in itself.

Safe from harmful chemicals: Choosing vegan products will save you from harmful chemicals and cruel cosmetics and give you glowing skin.

Prevents various skin problems: Vegan products decreases the chances of skin problems such as rashes, allergies, eczemas, acne, skin inflammation and skin diseases due to lack of chemicals used. These are perfect for sensitive skin.

Remedy for all skin concerns: Ingredients such as Vitamin E, Vitamin A, Red Algae, Coconut Oil, Plant stem cells and alike products benefit the skin addressing all kinds of concerns. Like Vitamin C for radiance, Tea tree oil for grumpy acne, aloe vera to soothe the skin, wheat germ oil to nourish the skin and many more.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)

Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter

See the rest here:
This is why you should switch to vegan skin care products - Hindustan Times

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Aristotle already observed in the fourth century B.C. that some animals can regrow their tails after losing them, but the mechanisms that support this kind of regeneration remain difficult to understand.

Using single-cell genomics, scientists at the Wellcome Trust / Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute at the University of Cambridge developed an innovative strategy to show what happens in different tadpole cells when they regenerate their tails.

Recent advances at Cambridge in next-generation single-cell sequencing mean that scientists can now track which genes are turned on throughout a whole organism or tissue, at the resolution of individual cells. This technique, known as single-cell genomics, makes it possible to distinguish between cell types in more detail based on their characteristic selection of active genes.

These groundbreaking discoveries are beginning to reveal a map of cellular identities and lineages, as well as the factors involved in controlling how cells choose between alternative pathways during embryo development to produce the range of cell types in adults.

Using this technology, Can Aztekin and Dr Tom Hiscock under the direction of Dr Jerome Jullien made a detailed analysis of cell types involved in regeneration after damage in African clawed frog tadpoles (Xenopus laevis). Details were published in the journal Science.

Dr Tom Hiscock said: Tadpoles can regenerate their tails throughout their life; but there is a two-day period at a precise stage in development where they lose this ability. We exploited this natural phenomenon to compare the cell types present in tadpoles capable of regeneration and those no longer capable.

The researchers found that the regenerative response of stem cells is orchestrated by a single sub-population of skin cells, which they named Regeneration-Organizing Cells, or ROCs.

Can Aztekin said: Its an astonishing process to watch unfold. After tail amputation, ROCs migrate from the body to the wound and secrete a cocktail of growth factors that coordinate the response of tissue precursor cells. These cells then work together to regenerate a tail of the right size, pattern and cell composition.

In mammals, many tissues such as the skin epidermis, the intestinal epithelium and the blood system, undergo constant turnover through life. Cells lost through exhaustion or damage are replenished by stem cells. However, these specialised cells are usually dedicated to tissue sub-lineages, while the ability to regenerate whole organs and tissues has been lost in all but a minority of tissues such as liver and skin.

Professor Benjamin Simons, a co-author of the study said: Understanding the mechanisms that enable some animals to regenerate whole organs represents a first step in understanding whether a similar phenomenon could be reawakened and harnessed in mammalian tissues, with implications for clinical applications.

This research was funded by the University of Cambridge, the Cambridge Trust andthe Wellcome Trust;and supported by theEuropean Molecular Biology Organization, the Royal Society,theEuropean Molecular Biology Laboratory, and Cancer Research UK.

Source: University of Cambridge Research

Originally posted here:
Scientists find a cell that helps tadpoles tails regrow - Fourways Review

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Tonight, the ABC will air a three-part documentary series tackling sexual harassment in the workplace.

Among many other brave and formidable women, one of the people featured in the documentary is me.

Except, ironically, you cant actually know what happened to me. What precisely was done to me, which led me to being on your TV screens. You also cant know how my employers handled the situation. You cant know what happened to that perpetrator.

Despite the name of the documentary, Silent No More, I, for a large part, am legally silenced.

This is absolutely through no fault of the incredible documentary makers, who fought so hard for the inclusion of my story. Rather, the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) I signed when I resigned from the workplace after experiencing ongoing sexual harassment from this one employee.

I suppose one of the questions on your mind must be what compelled me to sign an NDA. I had just turned 18 when the perpetrator walked into my life. I was also 18 when I resigned and the settlement, including the NDA, was processed.

Now 21, I dont think Im far enough away from the experience to truly understand how my age impacted the situation. However, I am certain that when youre 18 and your employers, colleagues and perpetrator arent, the imbalance of power between all parties is only tipped further.

At no age is it easy to stare down the barrel of a sexual harassment case, but when youre 18 years old and receiving letters from lawyers, my mind said to get out. Fast.

When I first told my mum what this man was doing to me at work, I just wanted to resign. I didnt want to report. I just so desperately wanted to get out. I had become terrified and physically sick with fear at work, that I wanted the fastest one-way route out of that place: resignation.

With some convincing from my mum and a lawyer, we started some very simple proceedings. Opening up conversations with the employer about my options. To be transparent, I could have escalated my claim to the states Workplace Health and Safety regulator or taken it to court. It was explained that both of those could be quite long and rigorous processes to endure.

And, like many people who dont report allegations of violence, they were simply processes I could not endure. Few people warned me the process of reporting, which I cant talk about, would incur a different type of trauma to the harassment itself. I still had uni to go to the next day, work in my other jobs, and also be an 18-year-old who didnt run home fuelled by bottled panic from the train station.

So, thats how we came to me resigning and settling. Settlement involves a whole bunch of things and agreements, which you cant know about, but the biggest part of the settlement is the NDA inclusion.

I balanced what the settlement gave me; my safety, against what it took away from me; my ability to explain what had been done to me, and I chose my safety.

Despite the way it tears at my heart that people cant know about my experiences, I would choose my safety again. Because, unfortunately, we still do live in a cruel structure that makes many of us choose.

Safety.

Or, your voice.

View original post here:
"I was 18 when I came home and told my mum I was being sexually harassed at work." - Mamamia

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

TMRR, in its newly published market study, elaborates on the numerous factors that are expected to shape the growth of the Stem Cell Therapy market in the upcoming years. The presented business intelligence report aims to provide readers a thorough understanding of the latest developments and innovations that have taken place in the Stem Cell Therapy market space in recent years. The micro and macro-economic factors that are likely to define the course of the Stem Cell Therapy market in the upcoming years are analyzed in detail.

The study projects that the Stem Cell Therapy market is expected to grow at a CAGR of ~XX% during the forecast period (2019-2029) and attain a value of ~US$XX by the end of 2029. The market analysis touches upon the pricing strategies, revenue growth, and product lines of some of the most prominent players operating in the current Stem Cell Therapy market landscape.

Request Sample Report @ https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=1787&source=atm

Critical Data Included in the Report

Regional Analysis

The regional analysis section offers a detailed assessment of the current and future prospects of the Stem Cell Therapy market across various regional markets including:

Application Analysis

The report offers an in-depth understanding of the various applications of the Stem Cell Therapy including:

The consumption volume and pattern of the Stem Cell Therapy across various end-use industries are accurately mapped in the presented report.

Key Trends

The key factors influencing the growth of the global stem cell therapy market are increasing funds in the development of new stem lines, the advent of advanced genomic procedures used in stem cell analysis, and greater emphasis on human embryonic stem cells. As the traditional organ transplantations are associated with limitations such as infection, rejection, and immunosuppression along with high reliance on organ donors, the demand for stem cell therapy is likely to soar. The growing deployment of stem cells in the treatment of wounds and damaged skin, scarring, and grafts is another prominent catalyst of the market.

On the contrary, inadequate infrastructural facilities coupled with ethical issues related to embryonic stem cells might impede the growth of the market. However, the ongoing research for the manipulation of stem cells from cord blood cells, bone marrow, and skin for the treatment of ailments including cardiovascular and diabetes will open up new doors for the advancement of the market.

Global Stem Cell Therapy Market: Market Potential

A number of new studies, research projects, and development of novel therapies have come forth in the global market for stem cell therapy. Several of these treatments are in the pipeline, while many others have received approvals by regulatory bodies.

In March 2017, Belgian biotech company TiGenix announced that its cardiac stem cell therapy, AlloCSC-01 has successfully reached its phase I/II with positive results. Subsequently, it has been approved by the U.S. FDA. If this therapy is well- received by the market, nearly 1.9 million AMI patients could be treated through this stem cell therapy.

Another significant development is the granting of a patent to Israel-based Kadimastem Ltd. for its novel stem-cell based technology to be used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and other similar conditions of the nervous system. The companys technology used for producing supporting cells in the central nervous system, taken from human stem cells such as myelin-producing cells is also covered in the patent.

Global Stem Cell Therapy Market: Regional Outlook

The global market for stem cell therapy can be segmented into Asia Pacific, North America, Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East and Africa. North America emerged as the leading regional market, triggered by the rising incidence of chronic health conditions and government support. Europe also displays significant growth potential, as the benefits of this therapy are increasingly acknowledged.

Asia Pacific is slated for maximum growth, thanks to the massive patient pool, bulk of investments in stem cell therapy projects, and the increasing recognition of growth opportunities in countries such as China, Japan, and India by the leading market players.

Global Stem Cell Therapy Market: Competitive Analysis

Several firms are adopting strategies such as mergers and acquisitions, collaborations, and partnerships, apart from product development with a view to attain a strong foothold in the global market for stem cell therapy.

Some of the major companies operating in the global market for stem cell therapy are RTI Surgical, Inc., MEDIPOST Co., Ltd., Osiris Therapeutics, Inc., NuVasive, Inc., Pharmicell Co., Ltd., Anterogen Co., Ltd., JCR Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., and Holostem Terapie Avanzate S.r.l.

Request For Discount On This Report @ https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=D&rep_id=1787&source=atm

Key Questions Related to the Stem Cell Therapy Market Answered in the Report

Why Purchase TMRR Business Intelligence Reports?

Customize This Report @ https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=CR&rep_id=1787&source=atm

About TMR Research:

TMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to busi-ness entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experi-enced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.

Contact:

TMR Research,

3739 Balboa St # 1097,

San Francisco, CA 94121

United States

Tel: +1-415-520-1050

Read more:
Stem Cell Therapy Market Assessment On Competition 2018 2028 - Space Market Research

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Menopause, when a woman no longer has menstrual periods, is a natural part of life, but it can be a major upheaval, especially when symptoms are severe. Are you approaching menopause and worried about what to expect? Here is everything you need to know.

Most women hit this milestone in their early 50s. According toWomen's Health, the average age for onset of menopause is 52. Some women, however, reach menopause in their 40s or earlier.Early menopauseoccurs between the ages of 40 and 45. A small percentage of women may even experience what is called premature menopause before the age of 40. A woman is not considered to be in menopause until she hasn't experienced any menstrual bleeding, even spotting, for 12 months consecutively, and can no longer become pregnant.

A woman's hormone levels are going to change gradually as her body reaches menopause. This transition to menopause is referred to as perimenopause. During this phase, you will start to experience irregular periods which may be lighter or heavier than usual or of varying duration. You may even have months where there is no menstrual bleeding at all.

Why is this happening? The ovaries are no longer consistently producing the same levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Some women will even start to have hot flashes and other symptoms.

Perimenopause for most women typically begins in the mid- to late-40s, and it can take about 4 years for menstrual periods to completely stop. For some women though the transition can be as short as two years and for others as long as 8 years.

The most important thing to remember, if you don't want a surprise pregnancy, is to continue practicing birth control for at least a year after your last period.

Menopause symptomsoften begin during perimenopause. The most common are irregular periods, vaginal dryness, hot flashes, trouble sleeping, night sweats, mood changes, weight gain, dry skin and thinning hair.

Your risk for certain health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and urinary incontinence may also increase. Once a woman reaches menopause, some symptoms like hot flashes may abate a little, occurring less frequently or at least less severely.

While there is no way to prevent menopause, there are certain lifestyle changes you can make to reduce the severity of the symptoms. Here are some suggestions fromWomen's Health,The Mayo ClinicandHarvard Health)

Certain medications also can help. There has been conflicting evidence about hormone replacement therapy however.Harvard Healthcautions that some studies have shown that estrogen therapy has been linked to an increased risk for heart disease, stroke, breast cancer and blood clots. On the positive side though, it reduces the risk of fracture and colon cancer. If you are considering hormone replacement therapy, talk to your gynecologist about all the possible benefits and risks.

View original post here:
Everything women need to know about menopause - PhillyVoice.com

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

You have two options when it comes time to see if you have a baby on board.

The most common is an at-home urine pregnancy test, available over the counter, though you can take a urine pregnancy test at a medical clinic. Another option is a blood test performed at a medical clinic.

"Both tests check for a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG," says Crystal Newby, MD, of Kansas City Ob-Gyn. "This hormone is produced after a fertilized egg attaches to the wall of your uterus."

The egg typically attaches 6 days after fertilization, at which point, hCG levels in your blood and urine will increase for the next 6 to 10 weeks. Once hCG levels are high enough, you can expect an accurate reading, but not before then.

Blood tests for pregnancy are more sensitive to hCG than home pregnancy tests. They can detect this hormone in low quantities and tell you if you're pregnant sooner than a home test.

Depending on a woman's cycle, a blood test can detect pregnancy between 6 and 14 days after conception and is considered by doctors to be 99% accurate.

While blood tests can provide results sooner than home pregnancy tests, they are usually more expensive and take longer to provide results because the blood must be sent to a lab for analysis.

If the lab is in-house then it will take a few hours. But if the lab is at a different location, it could take several days to learn the results.

Home pregnancy tests can provide results faster and be more convenient than a blood test. But you'll probably have to wait longer to receive accurate results.

Most home pregnancy tests advise you to take the test after you miss your next period. If you have a standard 28-day cycle, you'll be most fertile two to three weeks before your period. So if you get pregnant during that fertility window, you'll need to wait at least 14 to 18 days after conception to take a home pregnancy test.

If you follow directions, home pregnancy tests are an estimated 97% to 99% accurate. Yet if you get a negative result and suspect you're pregnant, check the instructions on the box. Home pregnancy tests typically recommend retaking the test 5 to 7 days later, when the hCG levels in your body will be higher.

This type of result is called a "false negative." Sometimes you can receive a false negative result if you take a pregnancy test too soon when your hCG levels are too low for the test to detect them accurately.

Moreover, recent miscarriages, fertility drugs, and rare hCG secreting tumors can interfere with the results of at-home urine tests. If you receive conflicting results after taking a home pregnancy test multiple times, doctors recommend a blood test.

Link:
When to take a pregnancy test for the most accurate result - INSIDER

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

The British government is robust in condemning the violence inflicted on women and girls across Africa, the Middle East and Asia, where female genital mutilation (FGM) is practised. But the claim that it takes a zero-tolerance approach to all types of FGM is open to challenge. The NHS puts some children who identify as transgender on a medical pathway that can ultimately lead to sex-reassignment surgery, which of course necessitates the mutilation of their genitalia.

FGM was made illegal in Britain in 1985. Since then, successive governments have tightened the law to give ever more protection to women and girls, most recently in the 2015 Serious Crime Act. This included a new offence of failing to protect a girl under 16 from FGM, and the introduction of FGM Protection Orders. By March last year, 220 such orders had been issued, according to a House of Commons Briefing Paper.

Every branch of government is in accord about FGM. The Home Office says it is a form of child abuse and violence against women. The NHS echoes this: FGM is illegal in the UK and is child abuse. According to the Department for International Development (DfID), It is a form of violence against women and girls, a human-rights violation, and it can result in a lifetime of physical, psychological and emotional suffering. In April, DfID committed 35million over the next five years to support an Africa-led initiative to end FGM.

But closer to home, the government appears to be entirely complicit in a different form of genital mutilation, in the form of gender-reassignment treatments, pathways and surgery. Though these may pose a far less immediate physical threat to someones physical wellbeing than FGM, they still have the potential to destroy young peoples lives.

There are eight NHS Gender Identity Clinics offering transgender health services in relation to gender dysphoria or gender reassignment (ie, surgery). The Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), run by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, is a specialist clinic for children who have difficulties with their gender identity. GIDS and its regional satellites do not offer patients reassignment surgery, which is illegal for those under 18. But it will discuss a referral to adult services well in advance of [patients] turning 18. GIDS stresses that all its patients are treated individually with no preference or expectation for the pathway or outcome they may follow. But exactly how many former GIDS patients have opted for reassignment surgery is hard to measure: neither the public nor private sector are particularly transparent on this point.

The mixed messages we give out concerning genital mutilation and teenagers sex reassignment surgery, good; FGM, bad are echoed by our conflicted stance over prescribing drugs to young people who identify as trans.

The ethics of drug trials in less developed parts of the world have long been a concern in the West, perhaps best captured by the John le Carr novel, The Constant Gardener. Many in the West are uneasy about the global poor being human guinea pigs for Big Pharma. Participants in clinical trials for new drugs are easy to find in, say, Sub-Saharan Africa, but question marks remain about whether poverty-stricken and often illiterate people can provide a level of informed consent with which we are comfortable.

But while we wring our hands over the exploitation of patients overseas, closer to home we seem happy that children are being prescribed puberty-blockers and cross-sex hormones. The NHS states that patients under the age of 16 can give their consent to treatment provided theyre believed to have enough intelligence, competence and understanding to fully appreciate whats involved in their treatment.

How far anyone fully appreciates what is involved in the treatment of minors prescribed puberty-blockers and cross-sex hormones is open to question. Both GIDS and the NHS acknowledge that the research evidence about these drugs long-term impact is limited. And what we do know is deeply concerning. As GIDS says on its website, it does not know whether or not a puberty-blocker alters the course of adolescent brain development, while admitting that cross-sex hormones will cause some irreversible changes to the body. The NHS flags up possible risks to fertility. Hormone treatment is neither without risk nor an exact science, as those women taking hormone-replacement therapy or drugs to boost their fertility will attest. Would we endorse Big Pharma playing hormone roulette with children in Africa?

The United Nations has sought to outlaw breast ironing, which affects an estimated 3.8million girls in West Africa, mainly in Cameroon. Like the breast binding favoured by some gender-dysphoric teenage girls in Britain, breast ironing seeks to suppress or reverse breast development. While binding is hardly as drastic as ironing, its effects include constricted breathing, pain and possible tissue damage. Breast ironing is perceived as a means of protecting girls from sexual predation. Here, breast binding is often perceived by trans teens as a short-term alternative to a mastectomy.

In the past few years, awareness of trans issues has grown in Britain, not least thanks to vigorous advocacy by LGBT pressure groups. Simultaneously, the number of referrals to GIDS has soared, up from 678 in the financial year 2014/15 to 2,590 in 2018/19. Of those 2018/19 referrals, around 10 per cent were aged three to 10. More than 1,000 were aged 14 and 15. And whereas transgenderism in adults is often thought of as male-to-female, two-thirds of the children and young people referred to GIDS that year were assigned female at birth.

As much as it is unpalatable to some members of the trans community, who are swift to cry transphobia in a bid to block debate, it is legitimate to raise questions about transgenderism and minors. Why do a disproportionate number of girls suffer gender dysphoria? Does social contagion and peer pressure have a role to play? Could the girls actually be body dysmorphic rather than gender dysphoric? Is identifying as trans the new anorexia?

Offering a caring, supportive environment for troubled children, GIDS appears a victim of its own success. Have minors been fast-tracked on to an irreversible medical pathway in part in response to the services overwhelming caseload, as former staff members have claimed?

The UN is committed to intensifying global efforts to combat FGM, which secretary-general Antonio Guterres described earlier this year as an abhorrent human-rights violation. It is time we in Britain recognised that, in trying to satisfy an unhappy combination of troubled minors, the trans lobby, and diversity and equality advocates, we are tolerating practices we would find unacceptable should they be happening to women and girls elsewhere in the world.

Dr Sarah Ingham is currently writing a history of women and the military. Follow her on Twitter: @inghamsarahj

Picture by: Getty.

To enquire about republishing spikeds content, a right to reply or to request a correction, please contact the managing editor, Viv Regan.

Go here to see the original:
Gender reassignment: the West's answer to FGM? - Spiked

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Exercising and eating well but not seeing results? It could be your monthly cycle

Independent.ie

Exercising regularly, eating well but not seeing any results? Experts believe that harnessing the power of your menstrual cycle to achieve your fitness goals could reap massive long-lasting rewards.

https://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/exercising-and-eating-well-but-not-seeing-results-it-could-be-your-monthly-cycle-38717231.html

https://www.independent.ie/incoming/article38721606.ece/d71db/AUTOCROP/h342/Kirby-of-Chelsea-FC.jpg

Exercising regularly, eating well but not seeing any results? Experts believe that harnessing the power of your menstrual cycle to achieve your fitness goals could reap massive long-lasting rewards.

News that the Chelsea FC Women's Football team sync their menstrual cycles to their training regime has highlighted the benefits of tailoring your exercise regime and diet to the various stages of your monthly cycle.

Lioness and Chelsea FC football player Fran Kirby (26) spoke about how the team's training now focuses on the players' menstrual cycles and how they affect their training methods. She and her team-mates use a period tracking app to log their symptoms, which is then shared with coaches to maximise the women's training schedules.

"It can affect you so much, whether it's your co-ordination or your reaction time - which is so vital in so many sports," said Kirby.

Earlier this year, a global study showed that exercising can reduce some of the symptoms associated with the menstrual cycle. In a survey of 14,000 women, 78pc found exercise eased some of the most common symptoms like stomach cramps, breast pain and mood changes.

The study - led by Dr Georgie Bruinvels, co-creator of the fitness app FitrWoman, and based on data provided by users of the social network Strava - found that moderate intensity exercise was the most effective way of combating symptoms.

However the survey also found that teenage girls in the UK and Ireland were likely to exercise less during adolescence than their counterparts in other parts of the world, with 40pc of women in the UK and Ireland reducing their levels of exercise during puberty, compared to less than 20pc in the US, France and Germany.

"We wanted to start an important conversation about exercise, the menstrual cycle and other lifestyle factors that will empower all women to work with their body, not against it. We want women to feel comfortable discussing something that is very normal and natural," said Dr Brunivels.

Dr Rebecca Robinson - a consultant in sports and exercise medicine at the Centre for Health & Human Performance Health Optimisation on Harley Street (CHHP) - has also pointed out that by using the cycle to adapt training, women can attain significant physiological benefits.

"The menstrual cycle in sport has historically been under-researched. Hormones that cycle in flux are tricky for researchers, so women have often been excluded from trials for that reason," she said.

Making positive lifestyle changes in harmony with the monthly cycle is making a big impact in the lives of sportswomen who have teams of trainers and nutritionists on hand to help plot and plan their regime.

But what about the ordinary woman negotiating the demands of a busy life who may not have the foggiest clue about where to start charting her cycle to maximise the potential of whatever exercise she can fit in?

Galway-based Jonathan Gibson, who runs The Athlete Clinic, providing coaching, athlete testing and athlete services to both domestic and international athletes, believes that women often overlook their cycles and don't integrate it into their training regime.

But he says it's important to start taking it into consideration, whether you're a busy mum trying to make time for exercise again after having a baby or a seasoned triathlete going for your first Ironman.

Gibson, a certified coach with Cycling Ireland, Swim Ireland, Gymnastics Ireland, an Ironman University Coach and soft tissue and injury management consultant, says he was an early convert to the power of the period in a woman's fitness journey.

And he says it's often the case that women are not seeing results because they're not doing the best kinds of exercises or eating correctly for the place they're at in their cycle.

Gibson maintains that our hormones control much of what's going on in our bodies so it makes sense to exercise in a way that's in sync with them.

"When you start to understand your cycle and what's going on, you'll start to see big differences," he says.

And he recommends that if you're starting out on any training regime it's important to eat regularly and aim for consistency as well as starting to get in touch with your own cycle by tracking where you're at.

During the first eight days of the cycle, Gibson says the focus should be on strength training and doing things like gym work. If you can't get to a gym, incorporating things like squats and hand weights into your workout at home will help you start to see results in your muscle tone.

In fact, two international studies carried out in 2014 and 2017 suggest that strength training during this period may result in higher increases in muscle strength, compared with other times of the month.

Days eight to 12 should include some rest days, building up to increased cardio work on days 12-14, according to Gibson. This could be something like skipping in the garden, or salsa dancing, or even going for a run but basically doing anything that gets your heart rate up.

With energy levels at their highest, Gibson says mid-cycle is a good time of the month to push yourself physically and enjoy the additional endurance and strength that often characterises this time.

He explains that the hormone progesterone remains low, meaning that the body's overall pain tolerance increases and this is a good opportunity to strive for your own personal best.

However, he urges women to be cautious about overdoing it in this phase of the cycle because research shows that day 14 is typically the time women can get injured because often they feel so good, they overdo it in the exercise stakes.

Heading into the luteal phase (days 14-28), after the egg has been released at ovulation, Gibson recommends easing up on the strength training and focusing on things like walking and cycling but generally doing what he calls 'lower heart rate exercises' as you approach day 28.

The days leading up to day 28 offer a good opportunity to schedule a rest week. This doesn't mean skipping exercising entirely but doing 40 to 50pc less during this time, he says.

Gibson explains that during this time, it's important to listen to your body, reduce the intensity of your workouts and incorporate things like yoga into your routine.

He also says that it's also really important for women to understand the importance of eating regularly to keep hormones balanced.

"The effects of the stress hormone cortisol are well documented and going for long periods without eating or even going for a hard workout session without fuelling up properly beforehand will all stress the female body," says Gibson.

Health & Living

Go here to see the original:
Exercising and eating well but not seeing results? It could be your monthly cycle - Independent.ie

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

The new research report prepared by Esticast Research is titled Achondroplasia Treatment Market Analysis with Future Scope, Current Market Scenario, and Forecast to 2026. The present report evaluates the Achondroplasia Treatment market across the world and explores the essential macro and micro-economic factors affecting the progress of the market.

The business intelligence report from Esticast Research is an imperative tool that enables vendors to discover growth opportunities and carry out strategic planning to tap into these opportunities. The significant facts, figures and statistical information prepared are compiled on the basis of extensive primary and secondary research and insightful involvement from the industry experts.

About Achondroplasia Treatment Market

Achondroplasia is a genetic disorder caused due to heredity or mutation of FGFR3 genes during sperm or egg development. It is also known as achondroplastic dwarfism as people suffering from it are abnormally short. Every 1 individual out of 25,000 births is affected by achondroplasia. At present, there is no prevention nor cure for achondroplastic dwarfism, due to which, the treatment is majorly focused on minimizing the complications such as sleep apnea, obesity, and arthritis. Research studies are focusing on the mutational changes occurring in the FGFR3 gene in order to identify the exact cause of achondroplasia and introduce a cure for it. The rising incidences of achondroplastic dwarfism with no cure or prevention remedies is expected to fuel the global market of achondroplasia treatment. Growth hormone therapy is an effective treatment for achondroplasia for only a short duration of time. The therapy has proved to be effective in growing the beneficial bones but only until the first and second year of the therapy. Such short duration effectiveness of GH therapy and the lack of awareness regarding achondroplastic dwarfism are expected to negatively influence the market growth.

Request For Sample PDF Report (Use Bussiness/Corporate Email to Get Higher Priority) @ https://www.esticastresearch.com/market-reports/achondroplasia-treatment-market/#request-for-sample

Furthermore, the report comprises different market forecasts related to market size, CAGR, revenue, production, consumption, price, gross margin, and other significant factors. It includes several research studies such as absolute dollar opportunity, pricing analysis, manufacturing cost analysis, company profiling, consumption and production analysis, and market dynamics.

Why purchase the Achondroplasia Treatment market report:

Competitive Landscape

The Achondroplasia Treatment market sectors like regional presence, competitive market scenario, and recent development opportunities are explained. Top Players of Achondroplasia Treatment market, their business tactics, and growth opportunities are covered in the report. It also involves the latest competitive situation between major players to help business analysts, specialists, experts, to know about the competitors.

Key players operating in the market include

Ribomic IncAscendis Pharma A/SBioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc

Market segmentation

Global Achondroplasia Treatment market segmentation by type:

RBM-007TA-46B-701Others

Global Achondroplasia Treatment market segmentation by application:

HospitalClinicOthers

Achondroplasia Treatment showcasing different procedures and strategies, providers and merchants working in the Achondroplasia Treatment market, investigates components convincing market development, generation patterns, and following systems. The overall Achondroplasia Treatment market report performs SWOT examination and PESTEL Achondroplasia Treatment investigation to uncover the steadiness, imperfections, openings, and dangers in the Achondroplasia Treatment industry.

Any Inquiry Related Report Customization Click Here @ https://www.esticastresearch.com/market-reports/achondroplasia-treatment-market/#customization

Regional Analysis

Regional segmentation is one of the primary factors by which the market size and growth rates can be calculated. The regional category includes major regions such as North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, and Middle East & Africa. Dominating region and the region with the highest growth are also described in the report. Furthermore, the report covers chapters such as regions by product/application where each region and its countries are categorized and explained in brief.

1055 West 7th Street,Los Angeles, CA 90017 (P) USphone 213-935-7207print (213) 935-7208Email help@esticastresearch.com

View post:
Achondroplasia Treatment Market 2025| Size, Growth, Topmost manufacturers, Regions, Types, Major Drivers, Profits - News Obtain

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Wall Street analysts expect Axovant Gene Therapies Ltd (NASDAQ:AXGT) to report earnings of ($0.63) per share for the current quarter, Zacks reports. Zero analysts have issued estimates for Axovant Gene Therapies earnings, with the highest EPS estimate coming in at ($0.57) and the lowest estimate coming in at ($0.66). Axovant Gene Therapies posted earnings of ($2.16) per share in the same quarter last year, which suggests a positive year-over-year growth rate of 70.8%. The firm is scheduled to report its next quarterly earnings report on Thursday, February 6th.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Axovant Gene Therapies will report full-year earnings of ($3.56) per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from ($5.76) to ($1.84). For the next fiscal year, analysts anticipate that the business will post earnings of ($2.29) per share, with EPS estimates ranging from ($2.84) to ($1.20). Zacks Investment Researchs earnings per share calculations are an average based on a survey of sell-side research analysts that follow Axovant Gene Therapies.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AXGT shares. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Axovant Gene Therapies from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird upgraded Axovant Gene Therapies from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $16.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Axovant Gene Therapies from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating and set a $6.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Chardan Capital lifted their price objective on Axovant Gene Therapies from $10.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Axovant Gene Therapies presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $24.72.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AXGT. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Axovant Gene Therapies during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,482,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Axovant Gene Therapies by 28.8% during the 2nd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 46,455 shares of the companys stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 10,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Axovant Gene Therapies by 955.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,221 shares of the companys stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 3,821 shares in the last quarter. 13.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Axovant Gene Therapies Company Profile

Axovant Gene Therapies Ltd., a clinical-stage gene therapy company, focuses on developing a pipeline of product candidates for debilitating neurological and neuromuscular diseases. The company's current pipeline of gene therapy candidates targets GM1 gangliosidosis, GM2 gangliosidosis, Parkinson's disease, oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and frontotemporal dementia.

Featured Story: Are sell-side analysts objective?

Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Axovant Gene Therapies (AXGT)

For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

Receive News & Ratings for Axovant Gene Therapies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Axovant Gene Therapies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

Original post:
Axovant Gene Therapies Ltd (NASDAQ:AXGT) Expected to Post Earnings of -$0.63 Per Share - Mitchell Messenger

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Imagine strapping your infant child into a car seat, only to see his body suddenly jerk forward or backward, arms and legs stiffening, and eyes rolling back in the head.

Alarm quickly turns to panic, which turns to frantic weaving through traffic to get to the hospital. Within minutes of arriving, the child is rushed in for treatment with a team of neurologists by the bedside carefully taking notes.

That child was me.

My parents sat in shock, with tears streaming down their faces as my fate was unknown. I was quickly whisked to the CT scanner, and later that night a neurologist told my mother, her tearful eyes full of sorrow and hurt, Your child has West syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy.

She continued, We have very few options for treatment, and the ones we can try may not work. There is over a 90% chance he will never be able to speak, walk, eat, or think. His impairment will be indefinite.

Because time was of the essence, I was treated almost immediately with Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). This wasnt a new drug and was not considered a cure. I had to have constant supervision, at least a weekly check, from a neurologist while on the drug.

Remarkably, I found myself in the top 1 percentile of people with West syndrome who could enjoy a mostly normal life. Thanks to the top-notch medical treatment Ive receive in America, I can do most of the things the neurologist predicted I wouldnt be able to.

It wasnt until after college that I realized just how uniquely American my story is.

Life Under Socialized Medicine

After graduating college, I had an opportunity to work for a think tank in London. There, Id be just hours awayfrom the wonders of mainland Europe.

Britain is a historians paradise, so naturally as a history major, I was soaking it up. The idea of also going to Pompeii or Rome was spectacular.

The only thing standing in my way was a doctor to treat me abroad.

As an epileptic, I needed a steady supply of anti-seizure drugs and visits to the doctor about every three months to make sure everything was working as it should. I also needed a doctor to be available within a weeks time if necessary.

I didnt know how hard it would be to find a doctor in Britain. I remember having a very difficult conversation with a general practitioner. It was the moment my dream of staying abroad was crushed.

It was a Friday. After work, I walked into an urgent care clinic to set up an appointment with a neurologist.

I knew how easy it is in the United States to see a doctor, so I thought this would be no different. I would go in, get a recommendation, and walk out with a name and number to call on Monday for an appointment possibly in two weeks time.

Sadly, that was not the case. The doctor said, verbatim: I can recommend a neurologist for you. I will say, shes pretty booked so you wont see her for at least nine months.

I was shocked. I felt as if Id been blindsided. She wasnt even guessing. She worked at a nearby National Health Service hospital right down the street on the weekends, so she knew.

I asked if there was anything I could do to expedite the waiting process. In response, all I got was: Ill call my colleague and see if she could maybe squeeze you in maybe three to four months from now.

Disheartened by the news, I knew staying in the U.K. was out of the question. I had to return to the U.S. in order to keep accessing the routine medical care that had saved my life so many years before.

A month later, I packed my bags and left for Heathrow Airport having spent less than three months in the country. Its a shame, because Britain is an amazing country and I would have loved to stay longer. Health care should not be a reason to have to leave a modern, First World country.

Whats at Stake for America

I am writing this not just to relate a sad story, or to say how lucky I am, or to shock my readers. I write this so that everyone who reads it will understand whats at stake in our health care debates, and what good, responsive health care is for someone who relies on it to live a fruitful life.

I cannot go a day without taking medicine or without knowing if Ill be able to see my doctor in a timely manner. My life is only made possible by the high-quality care and access I get in the United States. Its something other countries dont enjoy.

Yet today, some Americans want U.S. health care to move in the direction of Britain and Europe. Prominent House and Senate Democrats are pushing Medicare for All legislation that would outlaw private insurance, cost Americans trillions of dollars, and put countless American patients on waiting lists like the one I faced.

The outcome of this ongoing debate will impact Americans for generations to come. We cant afford to decide our future based on wishful thinking. Americans need to know what socialized health care is like.

In England and Canada, it is standard for patients to wait twice as long as in the U.S. to see a specialist, according to the National Community Pharmacists Association. In fact, nearly 1.8 million people are currently waiting for a hospital admission or outpatient treatment in the U.K.

People from all around the world come here every year to receive medical care they cant access in their home countries. We should consider what we have that they dont, and make sure we protect it.

Ive experienced firsthand what its like to live in a country that can meet my health care needs, and to live in one that cant. Given the choice, Id pick the U.S. system every single time. My life depends on it.

This article by James Schmitzfirst appeared at The Daily Signal.

Image: Reuters.

Read this article:
I Left England Because of Socialized Medicine. My Life Depended on It. - The National Interest Online

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

The Fulton County Health Department has scheduled the following health clinics and services.

CANTON The Fulton County Health Department has scheduled the following health clinics and services. Please call the number listed with each service for an appointment or more information.

All offices of the Fulton County Health Department will be closed Thursday, Nov. 28, and Friday, Nov. 29, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Maternal child health: Health screenings, WIC nutrition education and supplemental food coupons for women, infants and children. To make an appointment or for more information call 647-1134 (ext. 254). For Astoria clinic appointments call 329-2922.

Canton - Clinic - Monday, Nov. 25 - 8-4 - Appt needed

Canton - WIC Nutrition Education - Tuesday, Nov. 26 - 8-4 - Appt needed

Astoria - Clinic, WIC Nutrition Educ. - Wednesday, Nov. 27 - 9-3 - Appt needed

Adult Health Immunizations: Various vaccines are available. There is a fee for immunization administration. Medicaid cards are accepted. To make an appointment or for more information call 647-1134 (ext. 254).

Other times available by special arrangement at Canton, Cuba and Astoria.

Blood Lead Screening: Blood lead screenings are available for children ages one to six years. A fee is based on income. To make an appointment or for more information call 647-1134 (ext. 254). For Astoria appointments call 329-2922.

Family Planning: Confidential family planning services are available by appointment at the Canton office for families and males of child-bearing age. Services provided include physical exams, pap smears, sexually transmitted disease testing, contraceptive methods, pregnancy testing, education and counseling. Services are available to individuals of all income levels. Fees are based on a sliding fee scale with services provided at no charge to many clients. Medicaid and many insurances are accepted. After hours appointments are available. To make an appointment or for more information call the 647-1134 (ext. 244). *Program funding includes a grant from the US DHHS Title X.

Pregnancy testing: Confidential urine pregnancy testing is available at the Canton and Astoria offices. This service is available to females of all income levels. A nominal fee is charged. No appointment is needed. A first morning urine specimen should be collected for optimal testing and brought to the health department. Services are provided on a walk-in basis on the following days each week:

Canton: Every Wednesday & Thursday, 8-3:30 (for more information call 647-1134 ext. 244)

Astoria: Every Wednesday, 9-2:30 (for more information call 329-2922)

Womens Health: A womens clinic for pap tests, clinical breast examinations and vaginal examinations is available by appointment. There is a nominal fee for this service. Medicaid cards are accepted. Financial assistance is available for a mammogram. Cardiovascular screenings may be available to age and income eligible women. To make an appointment or for more information call 647-1134 (ext. 244).

Mammograms: Age and income eligible women may receive mammograms at no charge. Speakers are available to provide information to clubs and organizations. For more information or to apply for financial assistance, call 647-1134 (ext. 254).

Mens Health: Prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood tests are available for men for a fee. To make an appointment or for more information call 647-1134 (ext. 224).

Canton - Clinic - Monday, Nov. 25 - 8-12 - Appt needed

Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) Clinic: Confidential STD and HIV testing services are available by appointment to males and females at the Canton office. Services include physical exams to identify STDs, a variety of STD testing, HIV testing, education, counseling, medications and condoms. There is a nominal fee for services. Services are available to individuals of all income levels. Medicaid cards are accepted. To make an appointment or for more information call 746-1134 (ext. 224).

HIV Testing and Counseling: Confidential HIV testing and counseling services are available by appointment through the sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic at the Canton office. To make an appointment or for more information call 647-1134 (ext. 224).

Tuberculosis (TB) Testing: TB skin tests are available at no charge by appointment. To make an appointment or for more information call 647-1134 (ext. 254).

Blood Pressure Screenings: The Fulton County Health Department provides blood pressure screenings at no charge on a walk-in basis during the following times:

Canton - Screening - Monday, Nov. 25 - 8-4 - Walk in/Room 108

Cuba - Screening - Monday, Nov. 25 - 8-12 - Walk in

Astoria - Screening - Wednesday, Nov. 27 - 9-12 - Walk in

Health Watch Wellness Program: The Health Watch Program provides low cost lab services. Through this program adults can obtain venous blood draws for a variety of blood tests. Blood tests offered without a doctors order Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP), Complete Blood Count (CBC), Lipid Panel, Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test, Hepatitis C test, and Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH). A wide variety of blood tests are also available with a doctors order. There is a charge at the time of service. To make an appointment or for more information call 647-1134 (ext. 254).

Canton - Clinic - Monday, Nov. 25 - 8-12 - Appt needed

Dental Services: The Dental Center offers a variety of basic dental services to children and adults. An appointment is needed. Medicaid and Kid Care cards are accepted. To make an appointment or for more information call 647-1134 (ext. 292).

Follow this link:
Health Department announces services for the week of Nov 25 - Canton Daily Ledger

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Disclaimer: In this article, the words male and female are used in reference to ones biological sex. However, gender is not a binary concept: it is being redefined, and it means something different to everyone. This article explores contraceptive options, which are still created in the context of binary sexes, based on the physical sex features of an individual. For this reason, contraceptives are explored in this article using binary terms, but it is certainly a topic that impacts non-binary individuals as well.

When the birth control pill was introduced in 1960, it was regarded as a big victory for women. After its release, women were able to have control over when, or if, they wanted to have children. They no longer had to solely rely on condoms, which require the cooperation of both parties involved in sexual intercourse. While the development and release of the pill were not without their drawbacks, both physiological and ethical, this was generally received as a positive step forward for the status of women. Roughly 60 years later, attention has begun to shift toward the development of a male birth control option. As this discussion unfolds, one cant help but think about the potential implications of this drug for men and women alike, and whether its possible widespread distribution is something that is truly, socially feasible in our society.

The only male-oriented contraceptive methods currently available are condoms and vasectomies. While steps have been taken toward developing a male contraceptive, one has yet to become available onthe market. One of the major arguments put forward by feminist activists in favour of male contraceptives is that, by not having a male contraceptive method, much of the burden of birth control is placed on females, thereby feeding the perception that it is their fault, and their responsibility, if they become pregnant.

In 2016, a study of an injectable male contraceptive was halted after the researchers decided that the side effects were too adverse. This hormonal injection was successful in suppressing sperm production in about 95 out of 100 participants. The cited side effects included: acne, injection site pain, increased libido, and mood disorders. The publication of these results and the cancellation of the trial were met with considerable public frustration because most, if not all, of the cited side effects were, and continue to be, commonly experienced by many users of existing hormonal female birth control pharmaceuticals. Yet, when the female birth control pill was being developed and severe side effects were similarly reported, such as an increased risk of thrombotic complications as well as nausea, dizziness, headaches, and vomiting,the pill was still approved, therefore highlighting a troubling double standard.

Recently, the most successful drug trials for a male form of birth control have centred around a gel contraceptive called NES/T, which is being tested in the United States. In simple terms, the gel is applied to the individuals shoulder area and introduces a hormone called progestin, which significantly reduces sperm productionto only 1 million sperm per millilitre. This may still seem like a lot, but a normal sperm count is 15 million to greater than 200 million sperm per millilitre of semen, according to the Mayo Clinic. Testosterone is also introduced by the gel in order to counterbalance the impact of the progestin and minimize side effects. A human study of about 420 couples is now underway for the development of this gel and is likely to be completed in 2021. The exact percent effectiveness of the gel is not yet known, and thus it is difficult to compare it to the female combined oral contraceptive pill which has a pregnancy rate of about 1 in 100 if used perfectly.

There have not been many recent surveys about the social perception of male contraceptives, but one study, that was published in 2005, stated that while MFC [male fertility control] appears to be well accepted overall, the willingness to use this type of contraception varies widely between differing population groups. The specific characteristics and profile of any MFC product will have to be carefully evaluated to accurately assess its acceptance, both by men and their female partners. When interviewed for this article, a sample of young men said they were concerned about the introduction of progestin and the potential side effects that it could cause. Another concern that they expressed was simply the substance of the gel itself. They claimed that it seemed strange to trust something that could wash away so easily as being ones only protection against unwanted pregnancy. That being said, condoms could be used in conjunction with the gel, but most people92% of reproductive-age American womenonly use one method of contraception at a time. These conversations are only anecdotal, but they bring up important examples of the hesitations that men might experience towards this gel.

The popularity of a method such as NES/T will be difficult to predict before it is released onto the market, but it will likely cause controversy. The basis of the anticipated controversy appears to be centered on one main question: Should males share part of the burden required from using hormone-affecting contraceptives? In the next few years, this question could become increasingly more common,so perhaps, before trials are pushed forward, we should take a moment to contemplate such development and its implications: both positive and negative.

The feature image, Pills 3 by e-Magine Art is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Edited by Valeria Lau and Hannah Judelson-Kelly.

Visit link:
Are Male Contraceptives the Next Step Toward Equality? - The McGill International Review

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

I wear my Fitbit to bed every night because it tracks my sleep patterns. It provides me with how long I spent in each stage of sleep as well as my overall sleep quality score. In the recent weeks, my score and amount of sleep per night have been slowly decreasing and I know why stress.College can be immensely stressful, especially during exam season from the end of November moving through the beginning of December. It feels like EVERYTHING is due in the next couple of weeks, and to top it all off we have a week of final exams at the end of it all. Its no wonder many students report sleep issues, especially around exam season.

According to a 2017 study, 60% of college students experience poor quality of sleep. Sleep is a vital aspect of life, and the lack of it can be severely detrimental to ones health.

As mentioned in the previous edition of The Pitt Prescription, sleep is a huge determinant of an individuals health. Allowing your body to get the proper amount of sleep each night aids with bodily functions, like supporting the immune system and wakefulness.The CDC recommends that adults 18 years and older get a minimum of seven hours of sleep per night. Getting less than the recommended amount can lower your immune system responses and lead to chronic diseases like diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and depression.

According to the previously mentioned study, stress plays an important role in regards to sleep. The more stressed someone is, the more likely they are to report or show signs of insomnia, which is the inability to initiate or maintain sleep. In the study, 51.9% of the college students fulfilled all criteria for some sort of insomnia disorder according to the DSM-5 guidelines. With the stress of finals approaching, many students have already begun sleeping less as they are worrying about their exams.

The CDC has guidelines to help those who have poor sleep hygiene, which is another way to say sleeping habits. They recommend that you go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, stop using electronics before sleep, not consume large meals or caffeine before bed and exercise throughout the day but not too close to bedtime. Large quantities of alcohol can also affect your sleep patterns and lead to a more restless night, so it is recommended to avoid binge drinking before bed read more about alcohol in the Halloween edition. However, these tasks are easier said than done.

If you are making lifestyle changes but still cannot get the healthy amount of sleep, then there is the option of using medications. Many people with sleep problems want the quick fix that sleep aids can give, but these are not long term solutions. Sleep medications do not cure insomnia and in some cases, they can worsen sleep hygiene like in the case of someone who becomes dependent on a sleep aid and can no longer function without it.

There are some sleep aids available over the counter, but there are differences between them, so make sure to always read the labels and ask your pharmacist if you have any questions. According to Mayo Clinic, OTC sleep aids can be really effective for occasional use, but since the majority contain antihistamines, tolerance can develop rapidly and they will lose their effect. Another main concern is what is known as the hangover effect some OTC sleep aids can cause grogginess and leave you feeling tired or drowsy the next day. There is also always the possibility of sleep aids interacting with any other medications youre taking, which is why it is best to talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking these drugs.

According to Mayo Clinic, sleep aids containing diphenhydramine or doxylamine are good choices for those experiencing occasional insomnia.

Products containing diphenhydramine (the active ingredient in Benadryl) are typically considered the best choice for the treatment of insomnia. Any generic form of diphenhydramine can be used as a sleep aid, but the brand name products that use it include Unisom SleepGels and Sominex. Different products have different amounts of the active ingredient, so make sure to always read the label. For example, Unisom SleepGels and Sominex MAX caplets contain 50 mg of diphenhydramine in each capsule/caplet whereas Sominex tablets only have 25 mg in each tablet. It can be very confusing, so be sure to read the label carefully.

Products containing doxylamine are also an alternative. An example of a brand that contains this drug are the Unisom SleepTabs, which contain 25 mg of doxylamine. This is not the preferred short-term treatment of insomnia, though, as doxylamine has been studied less than diphenhydramine.

MedLine Plus recommends taking products containing either diphenhydramine or doxylamine about 30 minutes before going to bed and avoiding alcohol consumption while using them. They have very similar side effects, including next-day drowsiness, dizziness/blurred vision and dry mouth/throat. These medications are not intended for long-term use (no more than two weeks). Sleep medications are only aids in getting a healthy nights sleep lifestyle modifications as well as cognitive behavioral therapy may be necessary to improve ones insomnia in the long term.

Melatonin is another alternative used to treat insomnia, however it has a milder effect. Melatonin is a hormone naturally produced by the body that helps regulate the sleep-wake cycle. According to Mayo Clinic, research suggests that melatonin may help people who are unable to fall asleep by slightly improving total sleep time and quality of sleep. It is also a very effective way to treat jet-lag after long trips. Melatonin is generally safe to take, however it can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea and drowsiness. Melatonin has a wide range of doses, with the most common being 3 mg and 5 mg, but the safest practice is to start low and dose slow which means to begin at the lowest dose and work your way up higher if needed.

While there are many options for sleep aids, the three active ingredients mentioned here are the best OTC choices. If you are experiencing symptoms of insomnia, try the following:

Sleep is such an important aspect of life and college students myself included often sacrifice it for schoolwork or social activities. Working towards improving sleep health is beneficial for everyone, so dont hesitate to implement lifestyle changes to better your sleep and your overall quality of life.

Follow this link:
The Pitt Prescription: Sleep aids - University of Pittsburgh The Pitt News

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Sorry this isnt your typical sports story with a line score, but now that I have your attention, I have some important information to share with you. Its Movember, and besides shaggy facial hair, it brings awareness and support for testicular cancer, prostate cancer and suicide.

So, if its Mens Health Awareness, you may be asking yourself, why is a female writing this article? Well, women have been saving men for centuries now. As a physician, I can tell you if it wasnt for wives and girlfriends, I wouldnt have any male patients. Im sure that a couple hundred years ago a pilgrim wife told her pilgrim husband, Thou hast a most foul spot on thy back! Get thee to the physician! In all seriousness though, men are 24 percent less likely to have seen a physician within the last year.

The average life expectancy in the U.S. of men is 76.2 years, while for women it is 81 years. Approximately 12 percent of men over the age of 18 are in poor health. So, why is that? There are multiple factors, but there is a reluctance of men to admit they have a problem and need help, whether that is from an injury to mental health. We live in a society where men are expected to suck it up and not discuss any chinks in their armor. Admitting they have a problem is perceived as weakness. Im not attacking masculinity, but not seeking routine health care is a detriment to both physical and mental health, and ultimately overall survival. So, how do we change that? As G.I. Joe always said, Knowing is half the battle.

Testicular cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in young men. It can occur at any age, but it is more frequent from age 20 to 45. The average age of diagnosis in the U.S. is 33 years old. About 1 in every 250 men will be diagnosed with testicular cancer during their lifetime. Fortunately, there is a 95 percent five-year survival rate, even at advanced stages. As with all cancers, the earlier the diagnosis, the better the survival. Approximately 9,500 men will be diagnosed every year with around 400 deaths.

Risk factors for testicular cancer include family history (especially in a brother), history of undescended testicle (even surgically corrected), personal history of testicular cancer and white males. HIV infection also carries an increased risk of developing testicular cancer. Testicular cancer is rare in black men, but they are more likely to die from it if it develops. Treatment is mainly surgical removal of the affected testicle, but it may include chemotherapy and radiation depending on stage.

Having a single orchiectomy does not affect a mans ability to have sex or conceive children. The main tool against testicular cancer is early diagnosis and treatment. Men should perform routine self-testicular exams, beginning in their teens and continuing throughout their life.

The best time to perform a testicular exam is either in the shower or just after getting out of the shower. The technique is simple: grasp each testicle between the thumb and fingers and gently roll it. You are looking for anything out of the ordinary for you: change in size or shape, a lump or tenderness. If you find anything, make an appointment with your doctor to get it checked out ASAP.

Prostate cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in men (lung cancer is number one for both men and women). Approximately 1 in 9 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. The incidence of prostate cancer goes up with age, with the average age of diagnosis being 66.

Though there is a 98 percent five-year survival rate if discovered early, 88 men die of prostate cancer every day. There are approximately 175,000 new cases every year with over 30,000 deaths. Risk factors for prostate cancer include family history, obesity, diet high in saturated fats and high testosterone levels (including testosterone replacement therapy). Black men have a 74 percent higher rate of prostate cancer than other races and the death rate is twice as high.

There is a link to the BRCA and HER2 genes causing prostate cancer and men with that history should begin screening at age 40. For most men, we recommend beginning screening at age 50 with a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) level. The PSA has faced a lot of controversy recently, but it is still a good test for screening for prostate cancer.

The trend of the PSA is more important because the PSA typically doubles when prostate cancer is present. We recommend men with a family history of prostate cancer and black men begin screening at age 45. Signs and symptoms of prostate cancer are often the same as symptoms of enlargement of the prostate (BPH, or benign prostatic hypertrophy).

These symptoms include increased frequency of urination at night (nocturia), decreased force of the urine stream, pain with urination, having to strain to begin the stream, erectile dysfunction, painful ejaculation, blood in the urine or sperm and pain/stiffness in your lower back, hips or upper thighs. Treatment options vary from surgery (prostatectomy) to chemotherapy, radiation, hormone therapy and even just surveillance.

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S. and 11th in Texas. Texas ranks 40th in the nation in suicide rate per 100,000 people. Unfortunately, its not that we have less suicides but more people. There were about 1.4 million suicide attempts in the U.S. in 2017 and 47,000 deaths (almost 3,800 in Texas). Men are three and a half more likely to die from suicide than women, though women attempt suicide more often.

The main reason for this difference is men choose more deadly methods of suicide, mainly firearms. There are 129 suicides per day, and in Texas one person dies every two hours from suicide. White males account for almost 70 percent of suicide deaths, with middle-aged white men (45-54) having the highest rate. Men account for 75 of suicides in the U.S. Worldwide, a man dies every minute by suicide.

The VA released a report in September that 17 veterans die every day from suicide. This does not include active duty suicides, reservists or service members who did not have overseas duty (which explains the reduction from the oft quoted 22/day numbers). Its still too high, no matter how you cook the numbers.

In conclusion, find yourself a good doctor that you trust and see them regularly. Dont be afraid to speak up and seek help when something is wrong. Stay in contact with your friends and family members and talk with them. Know the facts and be aware of your own body. We women want you guys around for the long hauleven if you do hog the remote control.

Read more here:
MEDICAL MATTERS: Two Balls and Two Strikes - Odessa American

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

SAN ANTONIO San Antonio is gearing up for food coma season, which often results in feasting ourselves silly over the holidays. However, one San Antonio doctor says if you shop smart it's possible to make holiday meals that are equal parts delicious and healthy.

Cynthia Cantu is a primary care physician at UT Health San Antonio. The majority of her patients are adults living with diabetes, high blood pressure or coronary artery disease. She says their nutrition is a big factor in keeping them out of the hospital.

A doctor-approved shopping list can be beneficial to anyone with an appetite for holiday favorites.

For the main dish, Cantu recommends sticking to turkey. Start with a hormone-free bird. Check the label for salt and seasoning additives and refrain from adding additional spices from your cabinet.

People don't realize (the turkey) already has sodium, so that hurts you a lot. So please pay attention to those things," she said. "(Use) a little bit of low-fat butter and don't fry it. Just (bake) in the oven and you're good to go.

RELATED: Green bean casserole among America's least favorite Thanksgiving food, survey finds

RELATED: 9-year-old raises enough money to buy 108 Thanksgiving meals and turkeys for families in need

RELATED: Here's how long each type of Thanksgiving leftover is safe to eat

Heading to the produce section, Cantu recommends serving fresh sides.

You can make a cauliflower mash and it will taste delicious. You really cannot tell the difference. You just need one (head of cauliflower) and it makes a good quantity. You just add a little bit of butter and cheese and that's a very good substitution,she said.

Green beans are another go-to menu item. But instead of canned soup, opt for turkey bacon and glazed pecans.

To satisfy your sweet tooth, make a cheesecake with evaporated milk or cookies with almond flower and Stevia.

To keep your healthy shopping trip within budget, seek out the store brand.

You can use the Walmart brand. If you look at the back it's the same thing, Cantu said.

If you need help planning that flavorful meal for your family without all the calories, Cantu recommends searching online for low-carb and low-sodium recipes.

Read the original post:
Tips for making the holiday meal that is higher on the flavor, lighter on the calories - KENS5.com

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

November 19, 2019 Cover

Pam Tillis keeps busy touring, making appearances and forever moving forward to her next musical project. Just last week she was a presenter for the Country Music Association awards with Women of Country Music as the theme.Country music is lucky to have her in their genre. But it wouldnt have mattered what Tillis chose to record and perform, she has one of those rare voices that lends itself to anything she wants to sing. She can easily move from classic country, to pop, to a bluesy torch singer wherever her heart, her soul and the lyrics lead.

Its rare when the puzzle pieces just seem to fit the first time a person opens the jigsaw box, but when Norm Stulz had the ability to make people laugh as early as the second grade in Detroit, there was no denying opening the comedy box was his lifes calling.Just a few years later in the seventh grade, he met the girl of his dreams and to this day, he and his wife Sharon, continue to build on a life together as two crazy kids in love. Laughter has been the glue for the relationship and the career path that has sustained Stulz for nearly 40 years.

Hosting a holiday dinner for your family is an undertaking in itself, but resorts are tasked with preparing the perfect menu for thousands of guests at multiple restaurants.Which items do guests want on the menu? How much food to order? When to start cooking? How many guests to prepare for? These are all questions the food and beverage departments must consider when planning for a holiday.

This time of year box stores are filled to the brim with every electronic device and latest phone known to man, but are there people on your list who already have all that stuff? Everyone has that one relative who is a challenge when comes to finding the perfect gift. Unique people require unique items and thinking outside the traditional box store offerings. Maybe that difficult-to-buy-for person is yourself because you never know what might strike your fancy.

See the original post:
Kamagra pills australia - Kamagra oral jelly wikipedia - What are the symbols used to represent the population variance and standard deviation -...

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

New therapies approved following innovative research are increasing survival rates for patients with advanced lung cancer.

BY Mike Hennessy, Sr.

In the face of cancer, she chose to understand the biology of her disease and how it influenced her treatment options, eventually leading her to a clinical trial.

Warmerdam is not alone when it comes to outliving the disease she thought would claim her life, like it did her fathers. New thera- pies approved following innovative research are increasing survival rates for patients with advanced lung cancer.

In one of our feature stories, we hear from longtime lung cancer thrivers. Youll read more about Warmerdam and two other survivors; one is 15 years past diagnosis; the other, seven. Although these individ- uals endured lots of treatment, side effects and struggles along the way, firsthand accounts from them and others continue to inspire and offer hope to other patients and survivors, as well as researchers and health care providers who daily strive to eradicate cancer.

Also inside, CURE takes a deeper look at the latest therapies for treating patients whose non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has spread to the brain, also known as brain metastases. The cover story examines the role of surgery and radiation, as well as how tumor mutation may affect individual treatment plans. Experts weigh in on how they approach patients with this type of disease.

And for years, the treatment of small cell lung cancer remained stagnant, mainly because of a lack of clinical trials in this disease state. But in recent years, researchers have begun looking into newer techniques that are proving successful in early clinical trials. These trials investigated PARP inhibitors, which are often used in gynecologic cancers, and a combination of immunotherapy with chemotherapy. Earlier this year, the results of one study led to the Food and Drug Administration approval of Tecentriq (atezolizumab) in the first-line setting. The results have many excited about the future, but for now, the standard of care remains the same.

This issue also covers a recent drug approval for metastatic NSCLC, the disparities that exist in the care of people with the disease and as described by a patient the silver linings of having cancer.

As always, thank you for reading.

Read the original:
It's a Great Day to Thrive - Curetoday.com

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

How a cancer diagnosis leaves one woman feeling humbled.

I know this question makes a lot of people angry. I used to get angry whenasked that is, until I came to realize that its not the askers fault. I would have asked the same thing before I actually got lung cancer. Society often teaches us that the only way you can get lung cancer is from smoking. This isnt true. There are so many contributing factors that people are unaware of, such as radon, air pollution, genetics and just good old-fashioned bad luck.

But in any case, no one deserves lung cancer. Most of us have bad habits, but Ive seen some of the healthiest people I know acquire lung cancer and pass away from it. This month marks seven years that Ive been living with it. I received my diagnosis less than a month after my 33rd birthday, during lung cancer awareness month. I wasnt even aware it had its own month.

In the beginning, I had no hope and no faith. I felt helpless. I no longer had control over my body. I was told I had 12 to 18 months to live. Being the single mom of a 7-year-old little girl didnt help with my depression. I quickly got on antidepressants. There is no shame in that; I had to be strong for my girl.

Its now been seven years since that fateful day when I learned my life would never be the same. Ive come a long way in personal growth and have learned that sometimes the best of Gods blessings can come from the worst of circumstances.

First, my appreciation for life was renewed. I had a second chance, and I could choose to be a better person. Before cancer, I was a workaholic. I never stopped to smell the roses, walk the beach at sunset, watch my daughter and her friends just be kids, and teach her so much by being able to be home with her. All the smells, the sounds, the beauty of this life I now appreciated.

Since the diagnosis, my child has become very empathetic of others, an advocate for lung cancer, and gave her life to Christ at the age of 8. We didnt push her; the faith just bloomed. I love her more than anything in this world, and I couldnt be more proud of the 14-year-old freshman she is now.

Ive also made some incredible friends from all over the world through the lung cancer community. We are united in a hunger and new appreciation for a life that most take for granted. Yes, Ive lost many of those friends. And yes, it hurts whenI do, but thats how I know I truly loved them and will see them again one day. No one can be replaced when they are a part of your heart.

Let me just say that getting lung cancer at such a young age was a humbling experience. I was so self-centered and uncaring before. I was cutthroat at myjob. Im happy to say Im not that way anymore. I once was blind, but now I see.

I see that we have this one life, one chance to make a difference in others and maybe make this world a better place. Evil didnt win. Cancer hasnt won and will never win because I already have. I wouldnt take it back for a second. This is my life and this is my purpose helping others.

See the original post:
Living with Lung Cancer: The Silver Linings - Curetoday.com

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

November 19, 2019 Cover

Pam Tillis keeps busy touring, making appearances and forever moving forward to her next musical project. Just last week she was a presenter for the Country Music Association awards with Women of Country Music as the theme.Country music is lucky to have her in their genre. But it wouldnt have mattered what Tillis chose to record and perform, she has one of those rare voices that lends itself to anything she wants to sing. She can easily move from classic country, to pop, to a bluesy torch singer wherever her heart, her soul and the lyrics lead.

Its rare when the puzzle pieces just seem to fit the first time a person opens the jigsaw box, but when Norm Stulz had the ability to make people laugh as early as the second grade in Detroit, there was no denying opening the comedy box was his lifes calling.Just a few years later in the seventh grade, he met the girl of his dreams and to this day, he and his wife Sharon, continue to build on a life together as two crazy kids in love. Laughter has been the glue for the relationship and the career path that has sustained Stulz for nearly 40 years.

Hosting a holiday dinner for your family is an undertaking in itself, but resorts are tasked with preparing the perfect menu for thousands of guests at multiple restaurants.Which items do guests want on the menu? How much food to order? When to start cooking? How many guests to prepare for? These are all questions the food and beverage departments must consider when planning for a holiday.

This time of year box stores are filled to the brim with every electronic device and latest phone known to man, but are there people on your list who already have all that stuff? Everyone has that one relative who is a challenge when comes to finding the perfect gift. Unique people require unique items and thinking outside the traditional box store offerings. Maybe that difficult-to-buy-for person is yourself because you never know what might strike your fancy.

Read this article:
Viagra super active plus review - Viagra super active plus - What is the difference between viagra and viagra super active - Laughlin Entertainer

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

November 19, 2019 Cover

Pam Tillis keeps busy touring, making appearances and forever moving forward to her next musical project. Just last week she was a presenter for the Country Music Association awards with Women of Country Music as the theme.Country music is lucky to have her in their genre. But it wouldnt have mattered what Tillis chose to record and perform, she has one of those rare voices that lends itself to anything she wants to sing. She can easily move from classic country, to pop, to a bluesy torch singer wherever her heart, her soul and the lyrics lead.

Its rare when the puzzle pieces just seem to fit the first time a person opens the jigsaw box, but when Norm Stulz had the ability to make people laugh as early as the second grade in Detroit, there was no denying opening the comedy box was his lifes calling.Just a few years later in the seventh grade, he met the girl of his dreams and to this day, he and his wife Sharon, continue to build on a life together as two crazy kids in love. Laughter has been the glue for the relationship and the career path that has sustained Stulz for nearly 40 years.

Hosting a holiday dinner for your family is an undertaking in itself, but resorts are tasked with preparing the perfect menu for thousands of guests at multiple restaurants.Which items do guests want on the menu? How much food to order? When to start cooking? How many guests to prepare for? These are all questions the food and beverage departments must consider when planning for a holiday.

This time of year box stores are filled to the brim with every electronic device and latest phone known to man, but are there people on your list who already have all that stuff? Everyone has that one relative who is a challenge when comes to finding the perfect gift. Unique people require unique items and thinking outside the traditional box store offerings. Maybe that difficult-to-buy-for person is yourself because you never know what might strike your fancy.

Read more here:
Doxycycline and urethritis and relieve symptoms - Doxycycline horse dose - Can doxycycline be used to treat gonorrhea - Laughlin Entertainer

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Months after his daughter's birth in 2017, Chris Jung dropped off a test-tube of her saliva to his company's genetic testing lab in Hong Kong. He had grand ambitions for the baby, and was seeking clues to the future in her DNA. She might become a prominent professional, he thought, possibly even a doctor.

But Jung's plans shifted after analysis by his firm, Gene Discovery, suggested his daughter had strong abilities in music, math and sports - though a lesser aptitude for memorizing details. As the little girl grows up, Jung said he will pour resources into developing those talents, while steering her away from professions that require a lot of memorization.

"Originally, I would like her to become a professional like a doctor or lawyer," said Jung, chief operating officer of Good Union Corp., the parent company of Gene Discovery. "But once I looked into the results, it talked about how her memory is so bad. I switched my expectations because if I would like her to become a professional, she needs to study a lot and remember a lot."

Gene Discovery does brisk business hawking DNA tests out of a warren of rooms in Hong Kong's Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district, near stores selling Prada bags and Dior watches. More than half of its clients are from China's mainland, where parents eager to shape their offspring into prodigies are fueling the advance of a growing but largely unregulated industry. It's a Chinese version of helicopter parenting that reflects the country's tendency to push the boundaries when it comes to genetics, part of a broader race to dominate the field with ramifications for how the life-altering science is used throughout the world.

While gaining in popularity across the globe, consumer genetic testing is booming in China. Delaware-based research firm Global Market Insights Inc. sees sales of DNA testing services tripling to $135 million by 2025 from $41 million last year. Others, like Beijing-based consultancy EO Intelligence, project an even faster surge in the market, to $405 million in 2022. EO Intelligence also forecasts that by then, some 60 million Chinese consumers will be using DNA testing kits, up from 1.5 million people last year.

For now, the Chinese market is a fraction of the $300 million in the U.S., but the company expects the country's growth to edge ahead, with annual sales growing nearly 17% through 2025 compared to 15% in the U.S., according to Global Market Insights.

Gene Discovery is among a wave of companies seeking to cater to that rising demand, playing the role of modern-day fortune tellers, with DNA as their crystal ball. A search of Chinese online shopping platform JD.com and the internet in Mandarin throw up dozens of firms offering genetic talent testing for babies and newborns. Their promises are similarly lofty, vowing to help parents uncover their children's "potential talents" in everything from logic and math to sports and even emotional intelligence. Help your child "win at the starting line" is a common marketing refrain.

In a society like China, which saw 15 million babies born last year, the appeal is clear. But many of the claims from these newly minted companies - that DNA can be used to assess ability to memorize data, tolerate stress or show leadership - are more horoscope than actual science. Critics say that in many cases even those claims rooted in science, like assessing the risk of autism, are based on early-stage research that is not yet fully understood.

"There's not a scientific basis on which you can say those things with any degree of certainty," said Gil McVean, an Oxford University geneticist who's the director of the Big Data Institute. The center focuses on analyzing genetic and biological data to prevent and treat diseases.

Gene Discovery's executives say they aren't giving direct or conclusive advice - only laying out potential health risks and talents parents can use as a reference in a hyper-competitive culture. After decades of strict population control laws that were repealed in 2016, most Chinese parents still only have one child who is the focal point of their ambitions.

"DNA tests can be one of the drivers and the motivator, so parents can provide more focused resources to their kids," said Jung. Tests sold on Gene Discovery's website cost HKD$4,500 ($575) and include an "i-Genius package" to test toddlers for talents.

Making China one of the world's most scientifically advanced nations is key to President Xi Jinping's ambitions to make the country an indisputable world power, but few things illustrate the challenges that throws up than China's fascination with genetics. Largely unencumbered by the regulations and scrutiny seen in the U.S. and other developed countries, China's genetic strides often test the limits of science and bioethics. Last year, a Chinese researcher, He Jiankui, created the world's first genetically altered babies, sparking a global outcry and concern the nation might usher in an era of human germline editing - where genetic modifications are passed on to future generations, altered forever.

And for every report of Chinese scientists making genuine medical breakthroughs, such as gene-editing the annihilation of a superbug, there are the more eyebrow-raising experiments: researchers cloning macaques born with genes edited to trigger mental illness, using CRISPR to breed ultramuscular beagles, or creating "super monkeys" by injecting their brains with human DNA.

DNA is the code that the human body runs on and it determines much about who we are. But scientists are still working to understand that code, with many characteristics not caused by one or two genes - but hundreds or possibly, thousands. An individual's experiences and environment also play a major role in shaping, say, whether they're a math genius or if they'll develop cancer.

A person's DNA doesn't single-handedly determine who they are, and having a certain gene can't predict your future. It can only suggest the likelihood of developing a condition or trait. One highly-cited 2003 study in the American Journal of Human Genetics found a compelling link between a variant of the gene ACTN3 and elite power athletes like sprinters, but studies since have found that while most sprinters have that variant, not everyone who has it is an elite athlete.

Likewise, having a harmful mutation of the BRCA gene, commonly associated with breast and ovarian cancer, doesn't mean a person will ever develop the disease. It just means their risk is higher than others without that variant.

In recent years, genetic testing and other screening methods have led to breakthroughs in assessing cancer risk in adults, or diagnosing conditions like Down syndrome in-utero. But in China companies are taking that further, promising to deliver insight on life beyond the womb that current science often doesn't support.

After her baby's birth in 2017, Zhou Xiaoying checked into a postpartum center where she was taken care of by a staff of women, cooks and traditional healers - as is the custom in China for upwardly mobile mothers. There, a sales representative from a genetic testing firm made her a tantalizing offer: For about $1,500, the company would swab saliva from her son's mouth to offer a peek into his future.

The test, which also analyzed the baby's predisposition to genetic diseases, told Zhou her son was likely to be gifted in music and the arts - but weak in sports. Zhou says her now two-year-old son can hum a song in tune after hearing it once, and the family is moving into a bigger house where she intends to cultivate his talents. Zhou pulled the boy out of running and swimming classes and instead plans to buy a piano and start him soon on lessons.

"I wanted to know about his talents in the future so that I can set a direction for him," said the Shanghai mom, who used to work in the financial industry. "If you believe the results, then you can use it as a reference. If you don't, that's fine because it doesn't hurt."

Chinese tradition stresses the importance of developing the next generation, while technological advances have fueled the national obsession with DNA, said Wang Zhaochen, a bioethics lecturer in Zhejiang University.

But it's reached a point where even the local scientific community are becoming concerned that the rise of consumer testing could "damage the authority of those real genetic tests that can really help diagnose diseases," he said.

Though the increasingly competitive nature of child-rearing is also felt in places like the U.S. - with the college admissions scandal evidence of those pressures at work - talent testing of toddlers and babies is yet to catch on.

In America and Europe, most consumers who take DNA tests are looking for analysis on their ancestry and health risks. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration doesn't regulate consumer tests focused on wellness, athletic ability or other talents, but does oversee those detecting the risk of diseases like cancer. California-based 23andMe Inc. is the only company with permission to offer disease-risk DNA tests in the U.S. without the involvement of a doctor, and it was only allowed to do so after submitting its process for review to the FDA.

By contrast, China has dozens of firms selling tests that claim to give insights on medical risks for everything from cancer to mental disorders, but no clear rules to regulate them. A representative for the country's National Health Commission said it doesn't regulate companies offering the tests.

In Hong Kong, which just requires medical labs and those who provide genetic testing to comply with a medical registration ordinance, questions are being asked. Ramon Yuen Hoi-man, the healthcare policy vice spokesman of Hong Kong's Democratic Party, lodged complaints this spring with agencies in the territory, concerned genetic companies offering talent testing are misleading consumers about the limitations of the tests and exaggerating the benefits of the analysis. The Food and Health Bureau has formed a steering committee to look into the regulatory and ethical issues around consumer genetic testing.

Sharon Shi, a finance professional based in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, took a train across to Hong Kong and spent nearly $4,600 to have her three-year-old tested by a company called DNA WeCheck. The company sent her a report as thick as a book. Shi, who spends a lot of time planning her daughter's education, said the analysis helped her understand why the girl likes making up lyrics and painting free-style.

The test also told Shi that the toddler has an above-average risk of "sudden cardiac death." To strengthen the little girl's heart, DNA WeCheck recommended foods like celery and the edible fungus that's used in Chinese cooking. Members of her husband's family do have a history of heart disease, so she wasn't surprised by the finding. While research suggests a strong link between sudden cardiac death and genetics, it's still not fully understood.

Gene Discovery's parent company, Good Union, sells aesthetic medical equipment, skin-care and hair-care services, and added DNA testing two years ago after executives noticed demand for talent testing among their friends. The firm, like other genetic testing companies, compares customers' genetic data with that of reference populations in public databases and publicly available research linking genes and diseases. By comparing snippets of one genome to others, it says it can identify which specific genetic variations are linked to diseases and certain conditions.

To determine whether a child is at risk of developing Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Gene Discovery zeroes in on the BDNF gene, which produces instructions for manufacturing a brain protein. But the two studies the company says it bases its determinations on were at least a decade old and were conducted in the U.S., the U.K. and Ireland. CBT Gene, the Hong Kong company that conducts testing and analysis of Gene Discovery's kits, said it continues to use the BDNF gene since there is more current research that associates the gene as an increased risk factor for ADHD, and cited a scientific research paper published in 2016 that makes the case. It's also possible that as the company's research database is updated, CBT may revise its model for ADHD prediction and add other genes, said Chief Technology Officer Jay Liang.

Still, some health experts aren't convinced.

"There's just no way a DNA test will tell you anything that's meaningful about complex traits," said Timothy Caulfield, a bioethicist and health policy expert at the University of Alberta who specializes in genetics. "And these parents are changing their kids' lives."

___

Bloomberg's Jinshan Hong and Shirley Zhao contributed to this report.

Chris Jung, Chief Operation Officer of Gene Discovery, poses a photograph with his wife Louise Poon and daughter Kaysley Jung in Hong Kong on June 6, 2019. PAUL YEUNG/BLOOMBERG

See the original post here:
Chinese parents test DNA to check if kids will become prodigies - Stars and Stripes

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith