Abstract

Male hypogonadism is a condition in which the body does not produce enough of the testosterone hormone; the hormone that plays a key role in masculine growth and development during puberty. There is a clear need to increase the awareness of hypogonadism throughout the medical profession, especially in primary care physicians who are usually the first port of call for the patient. Hypogonadism can significantly reduce the quality of life and has resulted in the loss of livelihood and separation of couples, leading to divorce. It is also important for doctors to recognize that testosterone is not just a sex hormone. There is an important research being published to demonstrate that testosterone may have key actions on metabolism, on the vasculature, and on brain function, in addition to its well-known effects on bone and body composition. This article has been used as an introduction for the need to develop sensitive and reliable assays for sex hormones and for symptoms and treatment of hypogonadism.

Keywords: Male hypogonadism, pituitary, sex hormone, testosterone, testis

Hypogonadism is a medical term for decreased functional activity of the gonads. The gonads (ovaries or testes) produce hormones (testosterone, estradiol, antimullerian hormone, progesterone, inhibin B, activin) and gametes (eggs or sperm).[1] Male hypogonadism is characterized by a deficiency in testosterone a critical hormone for sexual, cognitive, and body function and development. Clinically low testosterone levels can lead to the absence of secondary sex characteristics, infertility, muscle wasting, and other abnormalities. Low testosterone levels may be due to testicular, hypothalamic, or pituitary abnormalities. In individuals who also present with clinical signs and symptoms, clinical guidelines recommend treatment with testosterone replacement therapy.

There are two basic types of hypogonadism that exist:

Primary: This type of hypogonadism also known as primary testicular failure originates from a problem in the testicles.

Secondary: This type of hypogonadism indicates a problem in the hypothalamus or the pituitary gland parts of the brain that signal the testicles to produce testosterone. The hypothalamus produces the gonadotropin releasing hormone, which signals the pituitary gland to make the follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone. The luteinizing hormone then signals the testes to produce testosterone. Either type of hypogonadism may be caused by an inherited (congenital) trait or something that happens later in life (acquired), such as an injury or an infection.

Common causes of primary hypogonadism include:

Klinefelter's Syndrome: This condition results from a congenital abnormality of the sex chromosomes, X and Y. A male normally has one X and one Y chromosome. In Klinefelter's syndrome, two or more X chromosomes are present in addition to one Y chromosome. The Y chromosome contains the genetic material that determines the sex of a child and the related development. The extra X chromosome that occurs in Klinefelter's syndrome causes abnormal development of the testicles, which in turn results in the underproduction of testosterone.

Before birth, the testicles develop inside the abdomen and normally move down into their permanent place in the scrotum. Sometimes, one or both of the testicles may not descend at birth. This condition often corrects itself within the first few years of life without treatment. If not corrected in early childhood, it may lead to malfunction of the testicles and reduced production of testosterone.

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Male hypogonadism: Symptoms and treatment

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biotechnology,the use of biology to solve problems and make useful products. The most prominent area of biotechnology is the production of therapeutic proteins and other drugs through genetic engineering.

People have been harnessing biological processes to improve their quality of life for some 10,000 years, beginning with the first agricultural communities. Approximately 6,000 years ago, humans began to tap the biological processes of microorganisms in order to make bread, alcoholic beverages, and cheese and to preserve dairy products. But such processes are not what is meant today by biotechnology, a term first widely applied to the molecular and cellular technologies that began to emerge in the 1960s and 70s. A fledgling biotech industry began to coalesce in the mid- to late 1970s, led by Genentech, a pharmaceutical company established in 1976 by Robert A. Swanson and Herbert W. Boyer to commercialize the recombinant DNA technology pioneered by Boyer and Stanley N. Cohen. Early companies such as Genentech, Amgen, Biogen, Cetus, and Genex began by manufacturing genetically engineered substances primarily for medical and environmental uses.

For more than a decade, the biotechnology industry was dominated by recombinant DNA technology, or genetic engineering. This technique consists of splicing the gene for a useful protein (often a human protein) into production cellssuch as yeast, bacteria, or mammalian cells in culturewhich then begin to produce the protein in volume. In the process of splicing a gene into a production cell, a new organism is created. At first, biotechnology investors and researchers were uncertain about whether the courts would permit them to acquire patents on organisms; after all, patents were not allowed on new organisms that happened to be discovered and identified in nature. But, in 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the case of Diamond v. Chakrabarty, resolved the matter by ruling that a live human-made microorganism is patentable subject matter. This decision spawned a wave of new biotechnology firms and the infant industrys first investment boom. In 1982 recombinant insulin became the first product made through genetic engineering to secure approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Since then, dozens of genetically engineered protein medications have been commercialized around the world, including recombinant versions of growth hormone, clotting factors, proteins for stimulating the production of red and white blood cells, interferons, and clot-dissolving agents.

In the early years, the main achievement of biotechnology was the ability to produce naturally occurring therapeutic molecules in larger quantities than could be derived from conventional sources such as plasma, animal organs, and human cadavers. Recombinant proteins are also less likely to be contaminated with pathogens or to provoke allergic reactions. Today, biotechnology researchers seek to discover the root molecular causes of disease and to intervene precisely at that level. Sometimes this means producing therapeutic proteins that augment the bodys own supplies or that make up for genetic deficiencies, as in the first generation of biotech medications. (Gene therapyinsertion of genes encoding a needed protein into a patients body or cellsis a related approach.) But the biotechnology industry has also expanded its research into the development of traditional pharmaceuticals and monoclonal antibodies that stop the progress of a disease. Such steps are uncovered through painstaking study of genes (genomics), the proteins that they encode (proteomics), and the larger biological pathways in which they act.

In addition to the tools mentioned above, biotechnology also involves merging biological information with computer technology (bioinformatics), exploring the use of microscopic equipment that can enter the human body (nanotechnology), and possibly applying techniques of stem cell research and cloning to replace dead or defective cells and tissues (regenerative medicine). Companies and academic laboratories integrate these disparate technologies in an effort to analyze downward into molecules and also to synthesize upward from molecular biology toward chemical pathways, tissues, and organs.

In addition to being used in health care, biotechnology has proved helpful in refining industrial processes through the discovery and production of biological enzymes that spark chemical reactions (catalysts); for environmental cleanup, with enzymes that digest contaminants into harmless chemicals and then die after consuming the available food supply; and in agricultural production through genetic engineering.

Agricultural applications of biotechnology have proved the most controversial. Some activists and consumer groups have called for bans on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or for labeling laws to inform consumers of the growing presence of GMOs in the food supply. In the United States, the introduction of GMOs into agriculture began in 1993, when the FDA approved bovine somatotropin (BST), a growth hormone that boosts milk production in dairy cows. The next year, the FDA approved the first genetically modified whole food, a tomato engineered for a longer shelf life. Since then, regulatory approval in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere has been won by dozens of agricultural GMOs, including crops that produce their own pesticides and crops that survive the application of specific herbicides used to kill weeds. Studies by the United Nations, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the European Union, the American Medical Association, U.S. regulatory agencies, and other organizations have found GMO foods to be safe, but skeptics contend that it is still too early to judge the long-term health and ecological effects of such crops. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the land area planted in genetically modified crops increased dramatically, from 1.7 million hectares (4.2 million acres) in 1996 to 160 million hectares (395 million acres) by 2011.

Overall, the revenues of U.S. and European biotechnology industries roughly doubled over the five-year period from 1996 through 2000. Rapid growth continued into the 21st century, fueled by the introduction of new products, particularly in health care.

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biotechnology | Britannica.com

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Scientists have found genetic evidence for what some men have long suspected: it is dangerous to make assumptions about women. The key is the X chromosome, the "female" sex chromosome that all men and women have in common. In a study published this week in the journal Nature, scientists said they had found an unexpectedly large genetic variation in the way parts of womens two X chromosomes are distributed among them. The findings were published in conjunction with the first comprehensive decoding of the chromosome. Females can differ from each other almost as much as they do from males in the way many genes at the heart of sexual identity behave, researchers say. "Literally every one of the females we looked at had a different genetic story," says Duke University genetics expert Huntington Willard, who co-wrote the study. "It is not just a little bit of variation." The analysis also found that the obsessively debated differences between men and women were, at least on the genetic level, even greater than previously thought. As many as 300 of the genes on the X chromosomes may be activated differently in women than in men, says the other author of the paper, Laura Carrel, molecular biologist at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine. The newly discovered genetic variation between women might help account for differing gender reactions to prescription drugs and the heightened vulnerability of women to some diseases, experts say. "The important question becomes how men and women actually vary and how much variability there is in females," Carrel says. "We now might have new candidate genes that could explain differences between men and women." All told, men and women may differ by as much as 2 per cent of their entire genetic inheritance, greater than the hereditary gap between humankind and its closest relative, the chimpanzee. "In essence," Willard says, "there is not one human genome, but two: male and female." SCIENTISTS estimate that there may be as many as 30,000 genes in the chemical DNA blueprint for human growth and development known as the human genome. The genes are parcelled in 23 pairs of rod-like structures called chromosomes, which are contained in every cell of the body. The most distinctive of the chromosomes are the mismatched pair of X and Y chromosomes that guide sexual development. Until now, researchers considered the shuffle of sex chromosomes at conception a simple matter of genetic roulette. The chromosomes that dictate sexual development are mixed and matched in predictable combinations: A female inherits one X chromosome from each parent; a male inherits an X chromosome from his mother and a Y chromosome from his father. To avoid any toxic effect from double sets of X genes, female cells randomly choose one copy of the X chromosome and "silence" it - or so scientists had believed. The new analysis found that the second X chromosome was not a silent partner. As many as 25 per cent of its genes are active, serving as blueprints to make necessary proteins. To investigate this variation, Carrel and Willard isolated cells from 40 women and measured the activity of hundreds of genes to see whether those on the second X chromosome were active or silent. Although those extra genes were supposed to be turned off, they found that about 15 per cent of them in all female cells were still active, or "expressed". In some women, up to an additional 10 per cent of those X-linked genes showed varying patterns of activity. "This is 200 to 300 genes that are expressed up to twice as much as in a male or some other females," Willard says. "This is a huge number." Researchers were surprised that they found so many unexpected differences in the behaviour of the one sex chromosome that men and women share. Though there is dramatic variation in the activation of genes on the X chromosomes that women inherit, there is none among those in men, the researchers reported. Researchers have yet to understand the effect of so many different patterns of gene activation among women, or determine what controls them, but all the evidence suggests that they are not random. ILLUMINATING this complex palette was the work of an international team of 250 scientists, led by geneticist Mark Ross, at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Hinxton, Cambridge. The team produced the first complete sequence of the X chromosome about two years after the decoding of the male Y chromosome. The researchers found that the X chromosome, though relatively poor in genes, is rich in influence, deceptively subtle, and occasionally deadly to males. The international team identified 1,098 functional genes along the X chromosome, more than 14 times as many as scientists had located on the tiny Y chromosome. Even so, the researchers say, there are fewer genes to be found on the X chromosome than on any of the other 22 chromosomes sequenced so far. Most of the X genes are slightly smaller than average. But one is the largest known gene in the human genome, a segment of DNA linked to diseases such as muscular dystrophy, that is more than 2.2 million characters long. The X chromosome contains a larger share of genes linked to disease than any other chromosome. It is implicated in 300 hereditary disorders, including colour blindness, haemophilia and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Nearly 10 per cent of the genes may belong to a group known to be more active in testicular cancers, melanomas and other cancers, the team reports. "The biggest surprise for us was just how many of these [cancer-related] genes there are on the X," Ross says. The complete gene sequence provided some clues to the origins of the human sex chromosomes. The researchers found that most of the genes on the X chromosome also reside on chromosome 1 and chromosome 4 of chickens. That supports the theory that the human sex chromosomes evolved from a regular pair of chromosomes from a common ancestor of chickens and humans - about 300 million years ago. 2005 Scotsman.com http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=295472005

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Galaxy Of Genetic Differences Between Men & Women

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NEW MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS THEORY

By Andrew K Fletcher,

MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS MAY BE A PROBLEM WITH THE CIRCULATION OF FLUIDS IN OUR BODY.

Brief description of nerve structure: We call the nerve fibre, which caries the impulses from the nerve body to control the muscles or other functions, the central axon. This fibre is surrounded with a multi-layered sheath with from about five to more than thirty layers. it resembles a large tobacco leaf, coiled around a central trunk, and is produced by a special cell - the oligodendrocyte. The entire group of cells is called the oligodendroglia. The individual layer of the laminated leaf, which makes up the myelin sheath, is structurally identical with the membrane of a cell. That means it has the capability of holding an electric charge of opposite polarity, thereby fulfilling the function of an electric condenser. We have only understood the function of the myelin sheath in the insulation of the central fibre for about a year. An article that first appeared in the magazine SCIENCE brought it out. Indeed, one can measure the insulating ability of the myelin. When this was done, however, it discovered that the many-layered condenser system, which was constructed in the myelin, acted as an electrical shunt to the central axon. In plain language, this means that we have here a classic Tesla technique, which in all probability converts gravity field energy into the electrical energy necessary for function of the central axon. Dr. Hans A. Nieper: The Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis Sept 1985

A closer look at nerves: We have all heard about the fatty insulation around the spinal cord and brain, in which lesions form and cause short circuits, but how many of us have heard that this coating or sheath that protects the nervous system is actually liquid crystal? In fact, it behaves very similar to the substance found in LCD (liquid crystal display) on calculators and wristwatches. Historians now know that some scientists actually saw naturally occurring liquid crystals under their microscopes in the 1850s. These early sightings were made during experiments on the white fatty material known as myelin.

A number of scientists noted that myelin turned liquid when left in water. These liquids seemed to have two different melting points. Not until the 1980s did the answer become apparent. Instead of changing straight into a liquid when heated, these solid materials transform into a kind of intermediate state that emerges at the first melting point, and disappears at the second. Between these two temperatures, the materiel flows like liquid yet keeps some of its optical properties of a solid crystal. In short it has become a "liquid crystal". In a normal liquid molecules are randomly arranged, but the molecules of a warmed liquid crystal retain some of their original orderliness - just enough order for the liquid crystal to retain the optical properties of a solid. Without their liquid crystal structures, living cells could not exist. Although the precise cause of the breakdown of the myelin sheath is still mysterious, it is thought to be tied to the liquid crystal properties of myelin. (Focus November 1994 pages 70-74 by Robert Mathews).

Explanation

The reason that warming liquid assists its ability to dissolve or liquefy soluble minerals is due to the fact that the molecular structure of the liquid, which in this case is water based, is altered by additional heat. The highest alteration before water is vaporised is at boiling point. Boiling water at sea level requires more heat and energy than boiling water at altitude. This is because the atmospheric pressure at high altitude is considerably less than at sea level. In fact when pressure is removed completely within a vacuum chamber, water boils without heat. The Hon. Robert Boyle (1627-91) was first to discover this phenomenon.

An interesting article I read some years ago related to the fact that some people were prone to food poisoning from cooked food when it was prepared at high altitude. Illness occurred because the water, although boiling, was not sufficiently hot enough to kill the bacteria within the food. We of course know that the nervous system does not boil, yet the state of the liquid crystal in the myelin could be encouraged to respond (or re-liquefy) at a slightly lower temperature when exposed to high altitude atmospheric pressure. Oxygen levels at altitude are also greatly reduced in the upper regions of the atmosphere. For instance, the air at Mount Blanc's summit contains only half the oxygen of air at sea level. It is worth considering these two facts while reading the following observations made by two independent accounts. It is also worth considering the fact that a compass needle is attracted to a mountain rather than the pole, due to the mountains mass. Furthermore while standing on top of a mountain the gravitational pull under foot would also be marginally higher and this again, according to my theory, has the most profound implications for circulation throughout the whole of the human anatomy.

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In the 1990s there was great hope that this novel approach may provide an answer to many hitherto incurable diseases. The basic idea is to correct defective genes responsible for disease development. This can be achieved in a number of ways:

When a normal gene is inserted into the genome, a carrier molecule (a vector) is used. This will deliver the new gene to the target cells. The most commonly used vectors are viruses. The most commonly used viruses are:

These viruses are altered to carry normal human DNA. The patient's target cells are infected with the vector, which deposits its genetic load including the gene to be replaced . The target cell is then able to produce a functioning protein. More recently, success has been seen by combining a tumour-specific adenovirus vector and several single therapy genes. Targeting gene-virotherapy has killed tumour cells with minimal damage to normal cells in mice.[1][2] There are also nonviral insertion options. The simplest method is direct introduction of new DNA into the target tissues. This is limited by the type of tissue and the amount of DNA required. An artificial lipid sphere with an aqueous core is created - a liposome - which can both carry the therapeutic DNA and pass it through the target cells membrane. The therapeutic DNA can also bind chemically to molecules that will attach to target cell receptor sites. These are then taken into the cell's interior. This tends to be less effective than the other methods.

Human gene therapy is still largely in the experimental phase. There have been few big breakthroughs since the first trial started in 1990. There has also been at least one death attributed to therapy and two cases of leukaemia developing post-therapy. There are also technical problems involved:

In a bid to alleviate disease at the earliest possible stage, in utero fetal gene therapy has also been tried.[6] Prenatal screening for severe genetic disease such as Crigler-Najjar syndrome, Pompe's disease and haemophilia B has been tested in mouse models. There have been issues with the development of liver tumours, insufficient target cells are reached and the therapy is not toxic enough to target cells. There are attempts underway to manufacture antitumour vaccines.In this technique Epstein-Barr virus vectors mediate gene transfer into human B lymphocytes.[7] Other areas of research include:

A recent trial, approved by the American Food and Drug Administration, is for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. This is a phase 1 clinical trial with 11 patients already enrolled. They are aiming to produce the neuroprotective and restorative subthalamic glutamic decarboxylase. There have been no adverse events reported to date.[13]

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Gene Therapy | Doctor | Patient

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Regulation of Genetic Tests Overview of Genetic Testing

As the science of genomics advances, genetic testing is becoming more commonplace in the clinic. Yet most genetic tests are not regulated, meaning that they go to market without any independent analysis to verify the claims of the seller. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has the authority to regulate genetic tests, but it has to date only regulated the relatively small number of genetic tests sold to laboratories as kits. Whereas the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) does regulate clinical laboratories, it does not examine whether the tests performed are clinically meaningful. Since the 1990s, expert panels and members of Congress have expressed concern about this regulatory gap and the need for FDA to address it. In response, the FDA in 2010 announced plans to expand its regulation to all genetic tests; this expansion has yet to take place. In the interim, FDA continues to regulate test kits, and has begun to regulate genomics tools in clinical research.

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The term "genetic testing" covers an array of techniques including analysis of human DNA, RNA, or protein.Genetic testsare used as a health care tool to detect gene variants associated with a specific disease or condition, as well as for non-clinical uses such as paternity testing and forensics. In the clinical setting, genetic tests can be performed to determine the genetic cause of a disease, confirm a suspected diagnosis, predict future illness, detect when an individual might pass a genetic mutation to his or her children, and predict response to therapy. They are also performed to screen newborns, fetuses, or embryos used in in vitrofertilization for genetic defects.

The first genetic tests were for the detection of chromosomal abnormalities (seekaryotype) and mutations in single genes causing rare, inherited disorders likecystic fibrosis. In recent years, however, the variety of tests has greatly expanded. There are now tests involving complex analyses of a number of genes to, for example, identify one's risk for chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer, or to quantify a patient's risk of cancer reoccurrence. There are also many tests to predict the effectiveness of therapeutics and guide their administration. Furthermore, NHGRI is pursuing research to enable the clinical use of multi-gene panels, whole exome sequencing (analysis of all a patient's genes), and whole genome sequencing (analysis of a patient's entire genetic code), to detect, for instance, the cause of an undiagnosed disease or a cancerous tumor.

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Three federal agencies play a role in the regulation of genetic tests: CMS, FDA, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). CMS is responsible for regulating all clinical laboratories performing genetic testing, ensuring their compliance with the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA). The objective of CLIA is to certify the clinical testing quality, including verification of the procedures used and the qualifications of the technicians processing the tests. It also comprises proficiency testing for some tests. More details of CLIA are available in this factsheet

The FDA has the broadest authority in terms of regulating the safety and effectiveness of genetic tests as medical devices under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Whether FDA regulates a test is determined by how it comes to market. A test may be marketed as a commercial test "kit," a group of reagents used in the processing of genetic samples that are packaged together and sold to multiple labs. More commonly, a test comes to market as a laboratory-developed test (LDT), where the test is developed and performed by a single laboratory, and where specimen samples are sent to that laboratory to be tested. The FDA regulates only tests sold as kits and, to date, has practiced "enforcement discretion" for LDTs.

The degree of FDA oversight of a genetic test is based on its intended use and the risks posed by an inaccurate test result. The FDA categorizes medical devices, including genetic tests, into three separate classes, ranging from class I, for relatively low risk products, to class III, where tests are subject to the greatest level of scrutiny.A complete list of approved human genetic tests is listed here.

FDA oversight also includes pharmacogenomics, which is the use of genomic information to help predict how an individual might respond to a particular drug, to identify individuals who might experience an adverse reaction to taking a drug, or to assist in selecting the optimal dosage of a drug. Part of the FDA's oversight of marketed drugs is to ensure that manufacturers provide information on drug labels about genetic markers that is relevant for drug safety and effectiveness. A list of approved pharmacogenomic drugs is available here.

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Regulation of Genetic Tests

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IMAGE:NHGRI scientists are homing in on specific genes in zebrafish to help them better understand the function of genes in people. view more

Credit: Darryl Leja, NHGRI

A relatively new method of targeting specific DNA sequences in zebrafish could dramatically accelerate the discovery of gene function and the identification of disease genes in humans, according to scientists at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

In a study posted online on June 5, 2015, and to be published in the July 2015 issue of Genome Research, the researchers reported that the gene-editing technology known as CRISPR/Cas9 is six times more effective than other techniques at homing in on target genes and inserting or deleting specific sequences. The study also demonstrated that the CRISPR/Cas9 method can be used in a "multiplexed" fashion - that is, targeting and mutating multiple genes at the same time to determine their functions.

"It was shown about a year ago that CRISPR can knock out a gene quickly," said Shawn Burgess, Ph.D., a senior investigator with NHGRI's Translational and Functional Genomics Branch and head of the Developmental Genomics Section. "What we have done is to establish an entire pipeline for knocking out many genes and testing their function quickly in a vertebrate model." Researchers often try to determine the role of a gene by knocking it out - turning it off or removing it - and watching the potential effects on an organism lacking it.

Such larger scale - termed "high-throughput" - gene targeting in an animal model could be particularly useful for human genomic research. Only 10 to 20 percent of recognized human genes have been subjected to such rigorous testing, Dr. Burgess said. The functions of many other genes have been inferred based on analyzing proteins or have been identified as possible disease genes, but the functions of those genes have not been confirmed by knocking them out in animal models and seeing what happens.

"This is a way to do that on a more cost-efficient and large scale," Dr. Burgess said.

"The study of zebrafish has already led to advances in our understanding of cancer and other human diseases," said NHGRI Director Eric Green, M.D., Ph.D. "We anticipate that the techniques developed by NHGRI researchers will accelerate understanding the biological function of specific genes and the role they play in human genetic diseases."

The CRISPR/Cas9 method of gene editing is one of the two essential components in the NHGRI team's high-throughput method. Modeled on a defense mechanism evolved by bacteria against viruses, CRISPR/Cas9 activity was first described in 2012. Since then, its use has spread quickly - in other words, has gone "viral" - in genomic research labs in the United States and abroad.

The acronym CRISPR stands for "clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeat," referring to a pattern of DNA sequences that appears frequently in bacterial DNA. Scientists believe the CRISPR sequences reflect evolutionary responses to past viral attacks.

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A new role for zebrafish: Larger scale gene function ...

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A hormone doctor, or an endocrinologist, is a physician who treats diseases related to the endocrine system. While primary care physicians (family practitioners and internal medicine physicians) can treat many hormonal disorders without a need for specialized training, a physician may also receive advanced training and specialize in endocrinology. A primary care physician can determine whether he or she can treat a patient or whether the patient should be referred to a specialist treating only disorders of the endocrine system.

The endocrine system is composed of many glands, including the pituitary, thyroid, parathyroids, adrenals, hypothalamus, pineal body, ovaries and testicles. The islet cells of the pancreas are also part of the endocrine system. These glands secrete hormones (chemical messengers) that regulate the bodys metabolism, growth, sexual development and sexual function, by complex feedback systems comparable to a thermostat regulating room temperature.

A hormone doctor can specialize in diseases of one or two glands or treat patients in all areas of endocrinology. A large part of a typical practice could involve treating diabetes and related complications. The physician may also treat thyroid disorders, inborn metabolic disorders, over- and underproduction of hormones, osteoporosis, menopause, cholesterol disorders, hypertension, and short or tall stature. Patients with endocrine cancer are usually referred to an oncologist.

To treat non-reproductive hormonal disorders, a physician generally completes four years of medical or osteopath school and a three-year residency in either family medicine or internal medicine. He or she must pass a board examination to become board certified in family or internal medicine. To become board certified as an endocrine specialist, the physician completes a three-year endocrinology fellowship program and passes a board certification examination.

Reproductive endocrinologists complete four years of residency training in obstetrics and gynecology, rather than training in family medicine or internal medicine. They must complete two or three years of fellowship training in reproductive endocrinology and infertility and pass the board certification examination. These specialists treat infertility by using in vitro fertilization, embryo and sperm freezing, assisted embryo hatching, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and other emerging technologies. Reproductive endocrinologists also treat a wide range of reproductive disorders, including endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, gonadal dysgenesis, galactorrhea, repeat pregnancy loss, ectopic pregnancy and excess hair in women, to name just a few.

A hormone doctor may work in academic medical centers, community hospitals, private group practices or private solo practices. Each situation can involve different work hours, a different patient base, and different lifestyles. Unlike surgical specialties, hormone doctors generally do not take call hours, but they may be called on an emergency basis to see a patient in a hospital when the physician on staff cannot appropriately treat the patient.

Problems Caused by Hormone Imbalance

Job Description for an Endocrinologist

What Is the Difference Between Family Medicine & Internal Medicine Physicians?

A doctor with special training that treats diseases and disorders of the endocrine system, a complex system in the human body that

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What Is a Hormone Doctor? | eHow StemCell Doctors

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I just found this on the web,

Stem cells in skin care...What does it really mean?

By Jeanette Jacknin M.D.

Dr Jacknin will be speaking about Cosmaceuticals at the upcoming 17th World Congress on Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine in Orlando, Florida, April 23-25, 2009.

Stem cells have recently become a huge buzzword in the skincare world. But what does this really mean? Skincare specialists are not using embryonic stem cells; it is impossible to incorporate live materials into a skincare product. Instead, companies are creating products with specialized peptides and enzymes or plant stem cells which, when applied topically on the surface, help protect the human skin stem cells from damage and deterioration or stimulate the skin's own stem cells. National Stem Cell was one of the few companies who actually incorporated into their skin care an enzyme secreted from human embryonic stem cells, but they are in the process of switching over to use non-embryonic stem cells from which to take the beneficial enzyme.

Stem cells have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body. When a stem cell divides, it can remain a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function, such as a skin cell. There are two types of stem cells, embryonic and adult.

Embryonic stem cells are exogenous in that they are harvested from outside sources, namely, fertilized human eggs. Once harvested, these pluripotent stem cells are grown in cell cultures and manipulated to generate specific cell types so they can be used to treat injury or disease.

Unlike embryonic stem cells, adult or multipotent stem cells are endogenous. They are present within our bodies and serve to maintain and repair the tissues in which they are found. Adult stem cells are found in many organs and tissues, including the skin. In fact, human skin is the largest repository of adult stem cells in the body. Skin stem cells reside in the basal layer of the epidermis where they remain dormant until they are activated by tissue injury or disease. 1

There is controversy surrounding the use of stem cells, as some experts say that any product that claims to affect the growth of stem cells or the replication process is potentially dangerous, as it may lead to out-of-control replication or mutation. Others object to using embryonic stem cells from an ethical point of view. Some researchers believe that the use of stem cell technology for a topical, anti-aging cosmetic trivializes other, more important medical research in this field.

The skin stem cells are found near hair follicles and sweat glands and lie dormant until they "receive" signals from the body to begin the repair mode. In skincare, the use of topical products stimulates the stem cell to split into two types of cells: a new, similar stem cell and a "daughter" cell, which is able to create almost every kind of new cell in a specialized system. This means that the stem cell can receive the message to create proteins, carbohydrates and lipids to help repair fine lines, wrinkles and restore and maintain firmness and elasticity.1

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Hair Loss Forum - Stem cells in skin care products, good ...

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Altman Lab The Helix Group at Stanford is directed by Russ Altman. Ashley Lab The Ashley lab is focused on the application of genomics to medicine. Attardi Lab The overarching goal of our research is to better define the mechanisms by which the p53 protein promotes different responses in different settings. Baker Lab Cellular differentiation is governed by dynamic changes occurring in the genome. Barna Lab We study how the genome is translated into morphology through a ribosome code and single cell imaging of tissue patterning. Bhatt Lab The Bhatt lab applies modern genetic tools to deconvolute how the microbiome is intertwined with states of health and disease. Brunet Lab Our laboratory studies the molecular mechanisms of aging and longevity. Bustamante Lab Analyzing genome wide patterns of variation to address fundamental questions in biology, anthropology, and medicine using computational biology, mathematical genetics, and evolutionary genomics. Butte Lab Our lab aims to address fundamental and therapeutic questions in immunology by developing and using tools from soft lithography and advanced microscopy to visualize and manipulate cells. Calos Lab The Calos Lab is interested in developing novel gene and cell therapy approaches to address human diseases. Cherry Lab Innovation in literature curation, dataset validation and ontologies enhance experimental results. Cohen Lab We study RNA decay, microbial antibiotic resistance, and mechanisms that regulate transcription elongation through genes containing expanded regions of trinucleotide repeats. Curtis Lab We aim to characterize the evolutionary dynamics of tumor progression and the genotype-phenotype map in cancer by leveraging both experimental and computational approaches. Davis Lab Our center develops new technologies to address important biological questions that otherwise would not be feasible. Fire Lab The Fire Lab studies the mechanisms by which cells and organisms respond to genetic change. Ford Lab The major focus of this laboratory is to explore the mammalian genetic determinants of the inducible response and cellular sensitivity. Fordyce Lab The Fordyce Lab develops new microfluidic tools for making systems-scale, biophysical measurements of genomic interactions. Frydman Lab The Frydman lab uses a multidisciplinary approach to address fundamental questions about molecular chaperones, protein folding and degradation. Fuller Lab A major focus of our work concerns the mechanisms that regulate stem cell behavior. Gitler Lab We investigate the mechanisms of human neurodegenerative diseases. Greely Lab We work on ethical, legal, and social issues in the Biosciences, including genetics. Greenleaf Lab Our lab focuses on developing methods to probe the genome and epigenome at the single-cell and single-molecule levels. Herzenberg Lab Gene Regulation, Molecular Immunology, B-cell development, FACS development... Kay Lab We study gene/RNAi therapeutics and the mechanisms of non-coding RNA-induced gene regulation. Kim Lab Research Areas: C. elegans aging, Human aging, automatic cell lineage analyzer, ModENCODE. Kundaje Lab The Kundaje lab develops computational models of gene regulation by integrating diverse types of large scale functional genomic data. Li Lab We are primarily interested in identifying and understanding sequence variations in the RNA and DNA. Lipsick Lab Our laboratory studies the structure and function of chromosomes and chromatin in metazoans. Montgomery Lab Our lab focuses on understanding the mechanisms by which genetic variation influences human traits. Ormond Lab Master's Program in Human Genetics and Genetics Counseling. Pringle Lab Applying the model-system approach to studies of yeast cell biology and the cellular and molecular biology of the cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis. Pritchard Lab We are interested in a broad range of problems at the interface of genomics and evolutionary biology. Sage Lab We investigate molecular and cellular mechanisms of tumorigenesis and regeneration, with a focus on stem cell biology. Scott Lab Investigating how embryonic and later development is governed by proteins that control gene activity. Sherlock Lab The Sherlock lab is a yeast genomics lab that uses both experimental and computational approaches. Sidow Lab We have a diverse research program at the interface of computational and functional genomics. Snyder Lab We are presently in an omics revolution in which genomes and other omes can be readily characterized. Stearns Lab The central question behind our work is how the centrosome and primary cilium control cell function and influence development. Steinmetz Lab The Steinmetz lab develops and applies interdisciplinary, genome-wide technologies to investigate the functions and mechanisms of genome regulation in health and disease. Sun Lab My lab studies the molecular mechanism of transcription factors that govern the transformation of normal mammalian cells to a neoplastic state. Tang Lab Research in our laboratory aims to uncover the evolutionary forces that have shaped the patterns of genetic variations. Urban Lab The Urban Lab investigates the effects of variation in human genomes on normal and abnormal brain development and function. Villeneuve Lab Understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the faithful inheritance and function of eukaryotic chromosomes. Winslow Lab The goal of our lab is to understand the mechanisms of cancer progression and metastasis.

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Research - Department of Genetics - Stanford University ...

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Most know that Apple is always a bit behind when delivering latest technology in their iOS gadgets, even though the iOS realistic would no doubt say or else. But as far as I am aware Apple doesnt have any 3D plans for their device. 3D appears to be the next big thing in the mobile space and no doubt the iOS faithful wouldnt want to lose out, but if Apple doesnt bring 3D to their gadgets it appears someone else will.

Actually this resolution involves placing a film over your iOS display and combining with softwareto deliver 3D and actually the film doesnt hamper with your multi-touch gestures. So just so you can check out what this new 3D film and software does, we have a video of 3D in action on the Apple iPad for your viewing contentment below which lasts just 46 seconds by does look relatively remarkable. More information about sell my mobile phone can be found at this http://www.onrecycle.co.uk.

PC provider Acer has provided the Liquid Metal smartphone, a device which it hopes will allow it to compete with the major rivals in what is becoming an increasingly crowded market.

The Acer Liquid Metals specifications make interesting reading, with version 2.2 of Android onboard accompanied by the specialised Breeze user interface.

Its 5MP camera with HD video capture lurks on the rear, whilst a 3.6 inch display using capacitive touch technology makes an appearance on the front, making it a hair larger than the iPhone 4. Sadly the displays resolution is unlikely to match that of Apples smartphone king.

An 800MHz processor will give life to Android, but it is slightly strange to see a new mobile emerging with anything less than 1GHz of processing power under the hood, so it will be interesting to see how the Acer Liquid Metal has been optimised to squeeze the most from this chip.

Officially announced less than two months ago, the Garmin-Asus M10 has just been launched in India, being the countrys first Windows Mobile 6.5.3 smartphone. The M10 offers maps for 62 major Indian cities, Garmin turn-by-turn navigation, lane assistance, and a Ciao feature that keeps you informed on the roads your friends are traveling on.

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Mobilephone | IPSCELLTHERAPY

Recommendation and review posted by sam

The field of Health Sciences is a very expansive and fast-growing area of study that provides a variety of job opportunities. It is the combination of health research and the application of that knowledge in the health industry. Health Sciences can be a blend of biology, public health, physical therapy, biochemistry and medicine. Various related majors in college are allied health, applied science, health and wellness, health management, health education, nursing and geriatric health. Choosing a career in this field can depend on many things, including interest in the job description, the type and length of education needed and the demand of that occupation.

This job usually takes place in a laboratory setting. As a technician, responsibilities are to prepare the specimens for the technologist to analyze and perform less-complicated tests than them as well. Technicians are supervised by the laboratory technologists or laboratory managers and are generally required to be certified or have an associate degree. A technologist completes more complicated tests that are more related to chemistry and blood. They are also responsible for analyzing results of these tests and require at least a bachelor's degree with usually a major of medical technology. The earnings of Medical Technicians in 2008 averaged $35,380, and Medical Technologists annual earnings averaged $53,500 in 2008.

Also commonly called Health Care Administrators, the Medical and Health Services Manager either supervise an entire department or a specialized clinical area such as nursing, therapy, health information or surgery. To become this type of manager, a master's degree is mostly likely to be required, but smaller settings may need a bachelor's degree. There are many fields that would be acceptable for this position, but a specific degree in health management is available. The average salary of this position in 2008 was $80,240.

As a Physical Assistant, responsibilities are determined by Physician or Surgeon and usually include working directly with patients through examination, interpretation of x-rays and other tests, and treating injuries. The requirements for this position are an associate degree or bachelor's degree and generally in allied health programs, medical schools or academic health centers. The average annual salary for this position is $81,230.

Health Educators teach people about prevention of common health issues, illness, and injury in institutions such as schools, colleges/universities, public health and medical-care facilities. Entry-level jobs require a bachelor degree in a health education program as well as related experience. Other positions and opportunity for advancement in the field require a master's degree in a specialized area and especially necessary to work in public health. The average salary of a Health Educator is $44,000 a year.

What Jobs Can I Do With a Health Science Degree?

Top 10 Highest Paid Science Jobs

Jobs That Require a Health Science Degree

Health sciences is an umbrella category for a large number of academic, technical and clinical professions related to medicine and general well...

List of Jobs in the Science Field. Finding a job in the science field requires a combination of education and skills. ......

Original post:
Jobs in the Field of Health Science | eHow

Recommendation and review posted by sam

(Biotechnology Pay Scales)

What are the average salary ranges for jobs in the Biotechnology category? Well there are a wide range of jobs in the Biotechnology category and their pay varies greatly. If you know the pay grade of the job you are searching for you can narrow down this list to only view Biotechnology jobs that pay less than $30K, $30K-$50K, $50K-$80K, $80K-$100K, or more than $100K. If you are unsure how much your Biotechnology job pays you can choose to either browse all Biotechnology salaries below or you can search all Biotechnology salaries. Other related categories you may wish to browse are Healthcare -- Technicians jobs and Pharmaceuticals jobs.

Accounting Administrative, Support, and Clerical Advertising Aerospace and Defense Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing Architecture Arts and Entertainment Automotive Aviation and Airlines Banking Biotechnology Clergy Construction and Installation Consulting Services Customer Services Education Energy and Utilities Engineering Entry Level Environment Executive and Management Facilities, Maintenance, and Repair Financial Services Fire, Law Enforcement, and Security Food, Beverage, and Tobacco Government Graphic Arts Healthcare -- Administrative Healthcare -- Nursing Healthcare -- Practitioners Healthcare -- Technicians Hotel, Gaming, Leisure, and Travel Human Resources Insurance Internet and New Media IT -- All IT -- Computers, Hardware IT -- Computers, Software IT -- Executive, Consulting IT -- Manager IT -- Networking Legal Services Library Services Logistics Manufacturing Marketing Materials Management Media -- Broadcast Media -- Print Military Mining Non-Profit and Social Services Personal Care and Service Pharmaceuticals Planning Printing and Publishing Public Relations Purchasing Real Estate Restaurant and Food Services Retail/Wholesale Sales Science and Research Skilled and Trades Sports and Recreation Telecommunications Training Transportation and Warehousing jobs in All Aerospace & Defense Biotechnology Business Services Chemicals Construction Edu., Gov't. & Nonprofit Energy & Utilities Financial Services Healthcare Hospitality & Leisure Insurance Internet Media MFG Durable MFG Nondurable Pharmaceuticals Retail & Wholesale Software & Networking Telecom Transportation industry All $100,000+ $80,000 - $100,000 $50,000 - $80,000 $30,000 - $50,000 $10,000 - $30,000 salary range

Alternate Job Titles: Entry Level Biochemist , Chemist I, biological

Alternate Job Titles: Intermediate Level Biochemist , Chemist II, biological

Alternate Job Titles: Senior Biochemist , Chemist III, biological

Alternate Job Titles: Entry Level Biologist

Alternate Job Titles: Intermediate Level Biologist

Alternate Job Titles: Senior Biologist

Alternate Job Titles: Biologist - Specialist , Biologist - Consultant

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Biotechnology Salaries | Salary.com

Recommendation and review posted by sam

Bone Marrow Stem Cells

Dr. Steenblock performing a bone marrow stem cell treatment

The latest discovery in the world of natural medical therapies is STEM CELLS!

You have within you a powerful set of tools to repair your body and keep you healthy. The future of medicine is NOT better drugs but better use and application of your bodys own stem cells. As of now stem cell-rich tissue can be extracted from your hip with virtually no discomfort and used to help restore your body. This opens up an exciting new horizon in terms of preventing and treating disease and tackling the symptoms of aging if not aging itself. Already, patients are returning to Dr. Steenblock for additional bone marrow treatments because they are seeing that their gray or white hair is turning back to its original color. Their skin not infrequently looks younger too and they report having more energy and less arthritic aches and pains!

Over the past six years, Dr. Steenblock and his medical team have done over 2,000 bone marrow procedures with much success. Contrary to the conventional painful methods used, he and his colleagues have developed an almost painless approach to extract bone marrow and the hidden trove of stem cells contained within. Using the patients own bone marrow rather than someone elses has totally eliminated the risk of graft versus host disease and the need for toxic chemotherapy to suppress the immune system. Since Dr. Steenblock is merely transferring stem cells from a persons bones into their blood stream there is never an allergic or rejection type of reaction since these are the patients own cells. The results have at times been phenomenal especially for those under 40 and for those who are really physically fit and walk or run a lot every day. The stronger an individuals bones are the better the bone marrow stem cells are. Even children that are paralyzed and who do not put weight on their legs are generally not going to have good results unless add another facet is added to their treatment. For those people who do not walk much, are not physically fit and who are older than 40, Dr. Steenblock generally recommends that they undergo five successive daily injections of a natural bone marrow mobilizer called Neupogen (Filgrastim) beginning 19 days before they come to his office for their bone marrow treatment(s). The ideal treatment for anyone with a complicated health issue is to first have certain tests done to determine if they have any problems that could interfere with the treatments success. These tests include standard blood tests for anemia, hormones, metabolism, infections, autoimmunity, inflammation and special tests for heavy metal poisons and intestinal infections and infestations. If problems are discovered with these tests then the underlying problem should be corrected before beginning the process of using the Neupogen and the scheduling of the bone marrow treatment(s). The word marrows is pleural intentionally because a person in general has a better result if more stem cells are given. By having two bone marrow procedures on successive days an individual will double the number of stem cells they receive. For example, if a 60 year old sedentary person comes in and does only one bone marrow treatment Dr. Steenblock will generally extract about 400 milliliters of stem cell-rich bone marrow (buffy coat after centrifugation) which is put directly back into the blood stream by intravenous means. The number of active, healthy stem cells in this simple procedure may only be 100 million and these in general will not be as healthy or as active as they will be if the patient first has any known or potential impediments to their post-infusion activity eliminated and they are given the 5 daily injections of Neupogen. When a person comes to the clinic 14 days after their last Neupogen injection, that same 400 ml of bone marrow will have somewhere between 500 and 1000 million stem cells and then if they repeat the process the next day they will get another 500-1000 million stem cells. By this combination of eradicating infections, correcting other problems discovered using our testing, and then using Neupogen followed by two bone marrow treatments patients will be receiving well over a billion stem cells.

Benefits of Bone Marrow Stem Cells

What is the secret behind the successes Dr. Steenblock has seen with the bone marrow treatments? While bone marrow transplants have been done for the past 50 years for cancer patients and those with blood disorders, the whole bone marrow procedure done by Dr. Steenblock is different because it is so SIMPLE! He uses a persons own bone marrow and instead of isolating one type of stem cell, he takes and uses the whole raw bone marrow which contains a rich variety of stem and progenitor cells. In fact, bone marrow is rich in two different types of stem cells: One type turns into blood cells, blood vessels, and cells of the immune system and are called hematopoietic stem cells (heme meaning blood-related). The other type of stem cell is the support (stromal or mesenchymal) stem cell that produces bone, fat, tendons, skin, muscles and connective tissue. Recent research shows that these hematopoietic and the support stem cells are also able to divide into all types of brain cells, including glial cells (white matter) and neurons (gray matter). The bone marrow also contains retinal progenitor cells and several patients have actually commented on how their vision improved as a side benefit of their bone marrow procedure. These two type of stem cells work better together in a ratio of one hematopoietic to 4 to 8 support (stromal or mesenchymal) stem cells which is the ratio found normally in most peoples bone marrow.

In regard to its anti-aging effects, the bone marrow contains primitive progenitor cells that are associated with the early development of the fetus. These primitive cells reside dormant deep inside each of our bones and sport a virginal profile from early development in that these stem cells are generally resting and not active. This inactivity protects them from chemicals or stresses that induce mutations such as occurs in those bone marrow stem cells that are located in the more superficial areas of the bone which are constantly making red and white blood cells. When these primitive, more pure cells are released into a persons system, there can be a revitalization of the body that physiologically sets the clock back in-a-way since these stem cells get into all parts of the body and produce more growth factors than would otherwise be possible. It is this increase in growth factors that induces the regenerative processes. For those that can afford it Dr. Steenblock uses growth factors oriented toward improving the organs that are diseased. For example, if a patients chief problem is their lungs then he may suggest some lung growth factors to be taken right along with the Neupogen and then continued for 6 weeks to help push the stem cells into becoming more like lung tissue cells.

Bottom line: Bone marrow stem cells have the potential to repair damaged tissues and organs. Whether a person wants an anti-aging treatment or needs the procedure to repair damage in joints, liver, kidneys, heart or brain, bone marrow transplants is an efficient and sure way to flood their body with stem cells.

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bone marrow stem cells - Stem Cells Adult Stem Cells ...

Recommendation and review posted by sam

These are images of normal (above) and diseased retinas. Patients with MFRP mutations, a cause of retinitis pigmentosa, lose the function of most retinal cells, particularly at the periphery of the retina, leaving them with drastically reduced vision. Personalized gene therapy, using iPS cells, may offer a way to correct this genetic disorder.

Vision loss patients own cells transformed into model for studying disease and developing potential treatment

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have created a way to develop personalized gene therapies for patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a leading cause of vision loss. The approach, the first of its kind, takes advantage of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology to transform skin cells into retinal cells, which are then used as a patient-specific model for disease study and preclinical testing.

Using this approach, researchers led by Stephen H. Tsang, MD, PhD, showed that a form of RP caused by mutations to the gene MFRP (membrane frizzled-related protein) disrupts the protein that gives retinal cells their structural integrity. They also showed that the effects of these mutations can be reversed with gene therapy. The approach could potentially be used to create personalized therapies for other forms of RP, as well as other genetic diseases. The paper was published recently in the online edition of Molecular Therapy, the official journal of the American Society for Gene & Cell Therapy.

In normal, or wild-type, retinal cells (left), the protein actin forms the cells cytoskeleton, creating an internal support structure that looks like a series of connected hexagons. In cells with MFRP mutations (center), this structure fails to form, compromising cellular function. When diseased retinal cells are treated with gene therapy to insert normal copies of MFRP (right), the cells cytoskeleton and function are restored. (Image credit: Lab of Stephen H. Tsang, MD, PhD/Columbia University Medical Center.)

The use of patient-specific cell lines for testing the efficacy of gene therapy to precisely correct a patients genetic deficiency provides yet another tool for advancing the field of personalized medicine, said Dr. Tsang, the Laszlo Z. Bito Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and associate professor of pathology and cell biology.

While RP can begin during infancy, the first symptoms typically emerge in early adulthood, starting with night blindness. As the disease progresses, affected individuals lose peripheral vision. In later stages, RP destroys photoreceptors in the macula, which is responsible for fine central vision. RP is estimated to affect at least 75,000 people in the United States and 1.5 million worldwide.

More than 60 different genes have been linked to RP, making it difficult to develop models to study the disease. Animal models, though useful, have significant limitations because of interspecies differences. Researchers also use human retinal cells from eye banks to study RP. As these cells reflect the end stage of the disease process, however, they reveal little about how the disease develops. There are no human tissue culture models of RP, as it would dangerous to harvest retinal cells from patients. Finally, human embryonic stem cells could be useful in RP research, but they are fraught with ethical, legal, and technical issues.

The use of iPS technology offers a way around these limitations and concerns. Researchers can induce the patients own skin cells to revert to a more basic, embryonic stem celllike state. Such cells are pluripotent, meaning that they can be transformed into specialized cells of various types.

In the current study, the CUMC team used iPS technology to transform skin cells taken from two RP patientseach with a different MFRP mutationinto retinal cells, creating patient-specific models for studying the disease and testing potential therapies.

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Patient-specific stem cells and personalized gene therapy ...

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Tsai et al./Stem Cell Reports 2015

Weill Cornell investigators have discovered how to generate large numbers of rare cells in the network that pushes the heart's chambers to consistently contract. In this image, investigators stained these cells, generated from embryonic stem cells, to reveal cell-specific genes (green and red, indicated by arrows). The blue represents stained cell nuclei.

For the first time, scientists can efficiently generate large numbers of rare cells in the network that pushes the heart's chambers to consistently contract. The technique, published May 28 in Stem Cell Reports, could be a first step toward using a person's own cells to repair an irregular heartbeat known as cardiac arrhythmia.

This study, while done using mouse cells, will now allow us to develop human heart cells and test their function in repairing damaged hearts, said the study's senior author, Dr. Todd Evans, vice chair for research and the Peter I. Pressman Professor in the Department of Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College.

The human heart beats billions of times during a lifetime, so it's not surprising that development of irregular heartbeats can lead to a variety of cardiac diseases, Evans says. But treatments for these disorders are costly, and often ineffective.

The government pays more than $3 billion each year for cardiac arrhythmia-related diseases. Despite this enormous expense, the treatments we have available are inadequate, Evans said. For example, artificial pacemakers are often used, but these can fail, and are particularly challenging therapies for children.

One solution is to coax a patient's own cells to generate the specific kinds of cells in the cardiac conduction system (CCS) that maintain a regular heartbeat.

We can imagine someday using these cells, for example, to create patches that can replace defective conduction fibers. Of course this is still a long way off, as we would need to study how to coax them into integrating properly with the rest of the CCS, Evans said. But previously, we did not even have the capacity to generate the cells, and now we can do so in a manner that is scalable, so that such preclinical research is now feasible.

Evans worked with Dr. Shuibing Chen, an expert in stem cell and chemical biology, and Dr. Su-Yi Tsai, a postdoctoral fellow and the study's lead investigator. Other key contributors were from the laboratory of Dr. Glenn Fishman, who specializes in cardiac physiology at New York University.

Their first goal was to increase the efficiency of coaxing mouse embryonic stem cells to become CCS cells. They created mouse stem cells that can express a CCS marker gene that can be quantified. This allows them to measure how many embryonic cells morph into CCS cells.

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Stem cell technology could lead to ailing heart mending ...

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Charles A. Goldthwaite, Jr., Ph.D.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD), which includes hypertension, coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, and congestive heart failure (CHF), has ranked as the number one cause of death in the United States every year since 1900 except 1918, when the nation struggled with an influenza epidemic.1 In 2002, CVD claimed roughly as many lives as cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, accidents, diabetes mellitus, influenza, and pneumonia combined. According to data from the 19992002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), CVD caused approximately 1.4 million deaths (38.0 percent of all deaths) in the U.S. in 2002. Nearly 2600 Americans die of CVD each day, roughly one death every 34 seconds. Moreover, within a year of diagnosis, one in five patients with CHF will die. CVD also creates a growing economic burden; the total health care cost of CVD in 2005 was estimated at $393.5 billion dollars.

Given the aging of the U.S. population and the relatively dramatic recent increases in the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity and type 2 diabetes,2,3 CVD will continue to be a significant health concern well into the 21st century. However, improvements in the acute treatment of heart attacks and an increasing arsenal of drugs have facilitated survival. In the U.S. alone, an estimated 7.1 million people have survived a heart attack, while 4.9 million live with CHF.1 These trends suggest an unmet need for therapies to regenerate or repair damaged cardiac tissue.

Ischemic heart failure occurs when cardiac tissue is deprived of oxygen. When the ischemic insult is severe enough to cause the loss of critical amounts of cardiac muscle cells (cardiomyocytes), this loss initiates a cascade of detrimental events, including formation of a non-contractile scar, ventricular wall thinning (see Figure 6.1), an overload of blood flow and pressure, ventricular remodeling (the overstretching of viable cardiac cells to sustain cardiac output), heart failure, and eventual death.4 Restoring damaged heart muscle tissue, through repair or regeneration, therefore represents a fundamental mechanistic strategy to treat heart failure. However, endogenous repair mechanisms, including the proliferation of cardiomyocytes under conditions of severe blood vessel stress or vessel formation and tissue generation via the migration of bone-marrow-derived stem cells to the site of damage, are in themselves insufficient to restore lost heart muscle tissue (myocardium) or cardiac function.5 Current pharmacologic interventions for heart disease, including beta-blockers, diuretics, and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, and surgical treatment options, such as changing the shape of the left ventricle and implanting assistive devices such as pacemakers or defibrillators, do not restore function to damaged tissue. Moreover, while implantation of mechanical ventricular assist devices can provide long-term improvement in heart function, complications such as infection and blood clots remain problematic.6 Although heart transplantation offers a viable option to replace damaged myocardium in selected individuals, organ availability and transplant rejection complications limit the widespread practical use of this approach.

Figure 6.1. Normal vs. Infarcted Heart. The left ventricle has a thick muscular wall, shown in cross-section in A. After a myocardial infarction (heart attack), heart muscle cells in the left ventricle are deprived of oxygen and die (B), eventually causing the ventricular wall to become thinner (C).

2007 Terese Winslow

The difficulty in regenerating damaged myocardial tissue has led researchers to explore the application of embryonic and adult-derived stem cells for cardiac repair. A number of stem cell types, including embryonic stem (ES) cells, cardiac stem cells that naturally reside within the heart, myoblasts (muscle stem cells), adult bone marrow-derived cells, mesenchymal cells (bone marrow-derived cells that give rise to tissues such as muscle, bone, tendons, ligaments, and adipose tissue), endothelial progenitor cells (cells that give rise to the endothelium, the interior lining of blood vessels), and umbilical cord blood cells, have been investigated to varying extents as possible sources for regenerating damaged myocardium. All have been tested in mouse or rat models, and some have been tested in large animal models such as pigs. Preliminary clinical data for many of these cell types have also been gathered in selected patient populations.

However, clinical trials to date using stem cells to repair damaged cardiac tissue vary in terms of the condition being treated, the method of cell delivery, and the primary outcome measured by the study, thus hampering direct comparisons between trials.7 Some patients who have received stem cells for myocardial repair have reduced cardiac blood flow (myocardial ischemia), while others have more pronounced congestive heart failure and still others are recovering from heart attacks. In some cases, the patient's underlying condition influences the way that the stem cells are delivered to his/her heart (see the section, quot;Methods of Cell Deliveryquot; for details). Even among patients undergoing comparable procedures, the clinical study design can affect the reporting of results. Some studies have focused on safety issues and adverse effects of the transplantation procedures; others have assessed improvements in ventricular function or the delivery of arterial blood. Furthermore, no published trial has directly compared two or more stem cell types, and the transplanted cells may be autologous (i.e., derived from the person on whom they are used) or allogeneic (i.e., originating from another person) in origin. Finally, most of these trials use unlabeled cells, making it difficult for investigators to follow the cells' course through the body after transplantation (see the section quot;Considerations for Using These Stem Cells in the Clinical Settingquot; at the end of this article for more details).

Despite the relative infancy of this field, initial results from the application of stem cells to restore cardiac function have been promising. This article will review the research supporting each of the aforementioned cell types as potential source materials for myocardial regeneration and will conclude with a discussion of general issues that relate to their clinical application.

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6. Mending a Broken Heart: Stem Cells and Cardiac Repair ...

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Bone marrow stem cells

Diseases such as aplastic anaemia, or infections (such as tuberculosis) can negatively impact the ability of the bone marrow to produce blood cells or platelets. Other diseases, such as leukaemia, also affect the progenitor/stem cells in the bone marrow and are diagnosed by a bone marrow biopsy where a sample of the tissue is taken using a large hollow needle inserted into the iliac crest (the pelvic bone). Harvesting bone marrow is usually done under general anaesthetic, although local anaesthetic is also a possibility.

Recent advances in stimulating and harvesting stem cells from the peripheral blood may mean that the invasiveness of bone marrow harvesting can be avoided for some donors and patients. Stimulatory pharmaceuticals, such as GM-CSF, and G-CSF, which drive the stem cells out of the bone marrow and into the peripheral circulation, can allow for a large yield of stem cells during apheresis. However, bone marrow stem cells have been found through research in the past five years or so to be able to differentiate into more cell types than previously thought. Mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow have been successfully cultured to create beta-pancreatic cells, and neural cells, with possible ramifications for treatment of diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases. Clinical trials involving stem cell treatments for such conditions in humans remain theoretical however as there are a number of issues that need further investigation to confirm efficacy and safety.

The stem cells contained within bone marrow are of three types; haematopoietic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, and endothelial stem cells. Haematopoietic stem cells differentiate into both white and red blood cells, and platelets. These leukocytes, erythrocytes, and thrombocytes, respectively, play a role in immune function, oxygen transportation, and blood-clotting and are destroyed by chemotherapy for cancers such as leukaemia. This is why bone marrow transplants can mean the difference between life and death for someone suffering from such a disease as it is vital to replace and repopulate the bone marrow with stem cells that can then create new blood- and immune-forming cells.

Mesenchymal stem cells are also found in the bone marrow and are responsible for creating osteoblasts, chrondrocytes, and mycocytes, along with a number of other cell types. The location of these stem cells differs from that of the haematopoietic stem cells as they are usually central to the bone marrow, which makes it easier to extract specific populations of stem cells during a bone marrow aspiration procedure.

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells have also been found to differentiate into beta-pancreatic islet cells, with potential ramifications for treating those with diabetes (Moriscot, et al, 2005). Neural-like cells have also been cultured from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells making the bone marrow a possible source for stem cell treatment of neurological disorders (Hermann, et al, 2006). More recent research appears to show that donor-heterogeneity (genetic differences between those donating the bone marrow) is at the heart of the variability in mesenchymal stem cells ability to differentiate to neural cells (Montzka, et al, 2009). This means that careful selection of donor stem cells would have to be carried out in order for treatment to be successful if the research ever displays clinical significance. Conditions such as spinal cord injury, Alzheimers Disease, and Multiple Sclerosis, may be able to be treated in the future using mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow that were previously thought to only be able to produce bone and cartilage cell types.

Patients with leukaemia or other cancer are likely to be treated with radiation and/or chemotherapy. Both of these treatements kill the stem cells in the bone marrow to some degree and it is the effect that this has on the immune system that is responsible for many of the symptoms of chemotherapy and radiation sickness. In some cases, a patient with cancer may have bone marrow harvested and some stem cells stored prior to radiation treatment or chemotherapy. They then have their own stem cells infused after the cancer treatment in order to repopulate their immune system. This presents little risk of graft versus host disease which is a concern with, non-autologous, allograft bone marrow transplants. The use of a patients own stem cells is unlikely to be helpful in cases where an in-borne mutation of the blood and lymph system is present and such procedures are not usually performed in such cases.

Bone marrow transplantation from a donor source will normally require the destruction of the patients own bone marrow in a process called myeloablation. Patients who undergo myeloablation will lose their acquired immunity and are usually advised to undergo all vaccinations for diseases such as mumps, measles, rubella, and so on. Myeloablation also means that the patient has extremely low white blood cell (leukocyte) levels for a number of weeks as the bone marrow stem cells begin to create new blood and immune system cells. Patients undergoing this procedure are, therefore, extremely susceptible to infection and complication making bone marrow transplants only appropriate in life-threatening situations. Many patients will take antibiotics during this time in an attempt to avoid sepsis, infections, and septic shock. Some patients will be given immunosuppressant drugs to lower the risk of graft versus host disease and this can make them even more susceptible to infection.

It is also possible that the new stem cells do not engraft, which means that they do not begin to create new blood and immune-system cells at all. Peripheral blood stem cells harvested at the same time as bone marrow harvesting were found in one study to speed the recovery of the patients immune systems following myeloablation, thus reducing the risk if infection (Rabinowitz, et al, 1993). Peripheral blood stem cells do appear to be quicker in general at engrafting and they may become more widely involved in the treatment of diseases traditionally addressed through bone marrow transplants (Lewis, 2005).

Read the original here:
Bone Marrow Stem Cells - Stem Cell Research

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The American health-care industrys pivot to personalized medicine has attracted the interest of an unlikely group of companies government contractors.

As health-care providers explore this new model of treatment, which involves the study of the human genome to provide personalized care, they face a problem with which many in government are familiar: analyzing an overwhelming amount of data.

Were literally drowning in data, said Norman Sharpless, an oncologist and director of the University of North Carolinas Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The amount of information generated from sequencing human genes is growing at a rapid clip, and it has triggered a rush of clinical trials aimed at linking that knowledge to medical treatment. Cataloguing all this new information requires computational power and sophisticated analysis, Sharpless said.

For IT contractors, many of which are based in the Washington region, the flood of information presents a simple business opportunity: The same skills used to crunch massive amounts of data for cyberthreats or warfare intelligence can be applied to personalized medicine.

The governments growing interest in this field also is a factor.

In his State of the Union speech this year, President Obama outlined an initiative to explore the uses of precision medicine. His budget includes a request for $215million to fund research in this area. The White House also hired its first chief data scientist, DJ Patil, who has made precision medicine one of his priorities.

Many contractors, especially those in information technology, have been eager to pursue opportunities in precision medicine as they look to add lines of business to make up for cuts in other parts of the federal budget as overall spending slows.

That is why so many different kinds of businesses including defense giants Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, and cloud storage providers such as Amazon Web Services and Google are getting in on the game.

Lockheed Martin announced a partnership this year with Illumina, a San Diego company that provides relatively inexpensive genome sequencing technology, to study the DNA of populations and develop personalized health-care solutions. For Illumina, the partnership offered access to Lockheeds experience in managing large-scale information systems, Alex Dickinson, Illuminas senior vice president of strategic initiatives, said at the time.

Read the rest here:
Personalized medicine could mean big business for D.C ...

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Spinal Cord Injury Facts The most common cause of spinal cord injury is trauma. Spinal cord injury is most common in young, white men. Spinal cord injury can be either complete or incomplete. In complete injuries there is no function below the level of injury. In incomplete injuries there is some function remaining below the level of injury. Early immobilization and treatment are the most important factors in achieving recovery from spinal cord injury. Aggressive rehabilitation and assistive devices allow even people with severe spinal cord injuries to interact in society and remain productive. What is the spinal cord injury?

The spinal cord is a collection of nerves that travels from the bottom of the brain down your back. There are 31 pairs of nerves that leave the spinal cord and go to your arms, legs, chest and abdomen. These nerves allow your brain to give commands to your muscles and cause movements of your arms and legs. The nerves that control your arms exit from the upper portion of the spinal cord, while the nerves to your legs exit from the lower portion of the spinal cord. The nerves also control the function of your organs including your heart, lungs, bowels, and bladder. For example, signals from the spinal cord control how fast your heart beats and your rate of breathing.

Other nerves travel from your arms and legs back to the spinal cord. These nerves bring back information from your body to your brain including the senses of touch, pain, temperature, and position. The spinal cord runs through the spinal canal. This canal is surrounded by the bones in your neck and back called vertebrae which make up your back bone. The vertebrae are divided into 7 neck (cervical) vertebrae, 12 chest (thoracic) vertebrae and 5 lower back (lumbar) vertebrae. The vertebrae help protect the spinal cord from injury.

The spinal cord is very sensitive to injury. Unlike other parts of your body, the spinal cord does not have the ability to repair itself if it is damaged. A spinal cord injury occurs when there is damage to the spinal cord either from trauma, loss of its normal blood supply, or compression from tumor or infection. There are approximately 12,000 new cases of spinal cord injury each year in the United States. They are most common in white males. Specifically, 80% of spinal cord injuries occur in males, and 65% occur in whites. Most injuries occur in patients under 30 years of age.

Spinal cord injuries are described as either complete or incomplete. In a complete spinal cord injury there is complete loss of sensation and muscle function in the body below the level of the injury. In an incomplete spinal cord injury there is some remaining function below the level of the injury. In most cases both sides of the body are affected equally.

An injury to the upper portion of the spinal cord in the neck can cause quadriplegia-paralysis of both arms and both legs. If the injury to the spinal cord occurs lower in the back it can cause paraplegia-paralysis of both legs only.

Medically Reviewed by a Doctor on 1/28/2014

Spinal Cord Injury - Causes Question: What was the cause of your spinal cord injury?

Spinal Cord Injury - Symptoms Question: What were the symptoms associated with your spinal cord injury?

Spinal Cord Injury - Treatment Question: What was the treatment for your spinal cord injury?

Link:
Spinal Cord Injury: Read About the Levels - MedicineNet

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What is a Spinal Cord Injury?

A spinal cord injury, or damage to the spinal cord, is an extremely serious type of physical trauma. It will likely have a lasting and significant impact on most aspects of daily life.

According to the National Institutes of Health, the group that is most at risk for spinal cord injuries are males between the ages of 15 and 35. Most people who are injured are both young and in good health at the time the trauma occurs (NIH).

The spinal cord is a bundle of nerves and other tissue contained and protected by the vertebrae of the spine, which are the bones stacked on top of each other that make up the spine. It is composed of many nerves, and extends from the brains base down the back, ending close to the buttocks.

The spinal cord is responsible for transporting impulses (messages) from the brain to all parts of the body, and from the body to the brain. We are able to perceive pain and move our limbs because of messages transmitted through the spinal cord.

If the spinal cord is injured, some or all of these impulses may be prevented from getting through. The result is a complete or total loss of sensation and mobility below the injury. Therefore, a spinal cord injury closer to the neck will typically cause paralysis throughout a larger part of the body than one in the lower back area.

Some signs that a person may have a spinal cord injury include:

Spinal cord injuries are often the result of unpredictable accidents and/or violent events. The following can all result in damage to the spinal cord:

Anyone who believes they or someone else has sustained a spinal cord injury should follow the tips below:

When the person arrives at the hospital, doctors will do a physical exam as well as a complete neurological exam. This will help them determine whether the spinal cord was indeed injured and, if so, where. CT scans, MRIs, X-rays of the spine, and evoked potential testing (which measures how quickly nerve signals reach the brain) are all diagnostic tools that doctors may use.

See the article here:
Spinal Cord Injury: Signs, Causes & Prevention

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Stem Cells, Regenerative Medicine, and Tissue Engineering

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Treatments classed as regenerative medicine help our natural healing processes work more rapidly and more effectively. These technologies can enable regeneration in missing or damaged tissue that would not ordinarily regrow, producing at least partial regeneration, and in some promising animal studies complete regeneration.

Strategies presently either under development, in clinical trials, or available via medical tourism include stem cell transplants, manipulation of a patient's own stem cells, and the use of implanted scaffold materials that emit biochemical signals to spur stem cells into action. In the field of tissue engineering, researchers have generated sections of tissue outside the body for transplant, using the patient's own cells to minimize the possibility of transplant rejection. Regenerative therapies have been demonstrated in the laboratory to at least partially heal broken bones, bad burns, blindness, deafness, heart damage, worn joints, nerve damage, the lost brain cells of Parkinson's disease, and a range of other conditions. Less complex organs such as the bladder and the trachea have been constructed from a patient's cells and scaffolds and successfully transplanted.

Work continues to bring these advances to patients. Many forms of treatment are offered outside the US and have been for a decade or more in some cases, while within the US just a few of the simple forms of stem cell transplant have managed to pass the gauntlet of the FDA in the past few years.

What Are Stem Cells?

Some of the most impressive demonstrations of regenerative medicine since the turn of the century have used varying forms of stem cells - embryonic, adult, and most recently induced pluripotent stem cells - to trigger healing in the patient. Most of the earlier successful clinical applications were aimed at the alleviation of life-threatening heart conditions. However, varying degrees of effectiveness have also been demonstrated for the repair of damage in other organs, such as joints, the liver, kidneys, nerves, and so forth.

Stem cells are unprogrammed cells in the human body that can continue dividing forever and can change into other types of cells. Because stem cells can become bone, muscle, cartilage and other specialized types of cells, they have the potential to treat many diseases, including Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, diabetes and cancer. They are found in embryos at very early stages of development (embyonic stem cells) and in some adult organs, such as bone marrow and brain (adult stem cells). You can find more information on stem cells at the following sites:

Embryonic and adult stem cells appear to have different effects, limitations and abilities. The current scientific consensus is that adult stem cells are limited in their utility, and that both embryonic and adult stem cell research will be required to develop cures for severe and degenerative diseases. Researchers are also making rapid progress in reprogramming stem cells and creating embryonic-like stem cells from ordinary cells.

Progress in Stem Cell Research

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Stem Cells, Regenerative Medicine, and Tissue Engineering

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by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP

Systemic or chronic inflammation has a domino effect that can seriously undermine your health. So how does it all begin?

Many experts now see inflammation as arising from an immune system response thats out of control. When you catch a cold or sprain your ankle, your immune system switches into gear. Infection or injury trigger a chain of events called the inflammatory cascade. The familiar signs of normal inflammation heat, pain, redness, and swelling are the first signals that your immune system is being called into action. In a delicate balance of give-and-take, inflammation begins when pro-inflammatory hormones in your body call out for your white blood cells to come and clear out infection and damaged tissue. These agents are matched by equally powerful, closely related anti-inflammatory compounds, which move in once the threat is neutralized to begin the healing process.

Acute inflammation that ebbs and flows as needed signifies a well-balanced immune system. But symptoms of inflammation that dont recede are telling you that the on switch to your immune system is stuck. Its poised on high alert even when you arent in imminent danger. In some cases, what started as a healthy mechanism, like building scar tissue or swelling, just wont shut off.

Are you walking around on simmer? Just yesterday I saw Nancy, a patient who has been with me for years. When she first came to see me, her triglycerides were sky-high (in the 400s!), her cholesterol was elevated, and she was overweight, unhappy and stressed. Her face was flushed and chapped, her lips were dry, and she seemed fluttery and agitated. On the surface she looked like a heart disease candidate, but when I probed deeper I saw a woman on fire from the inside out.

Currently there is no definitive test for inflammation the best that conventional medicine can do is measure blood levels of C-reactive protein (a pro-inflammatory marker) and the irritating amino acid called homocysteine. I use the high-sensitivity CRP test now available at most labs. Anything above 1 mg/dL with this test is too high in my book. With the older tests a reading of between 25 mg/dL was considered normal. (If youve been tested, be sure to ask your doctor for the results). Newer ways to assess risk early on for future inflammatory disease include markers such as the apolipoprotein B to A1 ratio (ApoB/ApoA-1). This and other tests are in experimental use and only available through a few labs.

When I first ran Nancys tests, I was surprised to see that her CRP levels were normal (this was before the high-sensitivity CRP test was widely available as it is today). This was good news for her heart, since elevated CRP and cholesterol increase your risk of heart disease threefold. But her homocysteine levels were high and all of her other symptoms pointed to inflammation. I prescribed an anti-inflammation diet, essential fatty acids, other anti-inflammatory supplements, and a daily exercise regime (for more information, read our article Reducing Inflammation The Natural Approach.) When Nancy next came in, her triglycerides were down by 200 points, her skin was clear, and her mood was much better. Later tests revealed her cholesterol had gone down, too.

A year went by, and as Nancy entered a stressful period in her life, she again began snacking on unhealthy food and going for days without exercise. Her cholesterol crept back up and she started having irritable bowel symptoms. After a brief pep talk, she got back on track and today shes feeling great. When I saw her yesterday she looked like a different person. Her blood tests all looked good and her inflammation was back under control. Nancys fires are well-tended now, and I feel confident she knows what to do if they start to flare up again.

Here is the original post:
Causes Of Inflammation | Women to Women

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Can you please explain why inflammation is now thought to be so harmful and what to do about whole-body inflammation?

Answer (Published 10/27/2011)

Inflammation in the body is a normal and healthy response to injury or attack by germs. We can see it, feel it and measure it as local heat, redness, swelling, and pain. This is the body's way of getting more nourishment and more immune activity into an area that needs to fend off infection or heal. But inflammation isn't always helpful. It also has great destructive potential, which we see when the immune system mistakenly targets the body's own tissues in (autoimmune) diseases like type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

Whole-body inflammation refers to chronic, imperceptible, low-level inflammation. Mounting evidence suggests that over time this kind of inflammation sets the foundation for many serious, age-related diseases including heart disease, cancer and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Recent evidence indicates that whole-body inflammation may also contribute to psychological disorders, especially depression - for more on this, see my new book, Spontaneous Happiness, which will be released November 8, 2011.

The extent of this chronic inflammation is influenced by genetics, a sedentary lifestyle, too much stress, and exposure to environmental toxins such as secondhand tobacco smoke. Diet has a huge impact, so much so that I believe that most people in our part of the world go through life in a pro-inflammatory state as a result of what they eat. I'm convinced that the single most important thing you can do to counter chronic inflammation is to stop eating refined, processed and manufactured foods.

You can also try my anti-inflammatory diet, as illustrated by my anti-inflammatory diet and food pyramid. This isn't a weight-loss diet (though you can lose weight if you follow it). Instead, it is designed to help you reduce chronic inflammation by eating fresh, healthy and delicious foods. One of the most important things the diet does is provide balanced amounts of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Most people consume an excess of omega-6 fatty acids, which the body uses to synthesize compounds that promote inflammation. You get a lot of omega 6 fatty acids from snack foods and fast foods. Omega-3 fatty acids - from oily fish, walnuts, flax, hemp and to a lesser degree canola oil and sea vegetables - have an anti-inflammatory effect.

If you look at the food pyramid on this site you'll see that it emphasizes fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans and legumes, fish and sea food, whole soy foods, and tells you how much of these foods to eat daily or weekly. You get a wide variety of fresh foods on this diet, plus some red wine daily, if you so desire, and healthy sweet treats such as dark chocolate (make sure it has a minimum content of 70 percent cocoa). Along with influencing inflammation, this diet will provide steady energy and ample vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, dietary fiber, and protective phytonutrients. What's more, I think you'll enjoy it.

Andrew Weil, M.D.

Learn more about Dr. Weil's new book and online program: Spontaneous Happiness

Can you please explain why inflammation is now thought to be so harmful and what to do about whole-body inflammation?

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Reducing Whole Body Inflammation? - Ask Dr. Weil

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Frequently Asked Questions About Genetic Testing What is genetic testing?

Genetic testing uses laboratory methods to look at your genes, which are the DNA instructions you inherit from your mother and your father. Genetic tests may be used to identify increased risks of health problems, to choose treatments, or to assess responses to treatments.

There are many different types of genetic tests. Genetic tests can help to:

Genetic test results can be hard to understand, however specialists like geneticists and genetic counselors can help explain what results might mean to you and your family. Because genetic testing tells you information about your DNA, which is shared with other family members, sometimes a genetic test result may have implications for blood relatives of the person who had testing.

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Diagnostic testing is used to precisely identify the disease that is making a person ill. The results of a diagnostic test may help you make choices about how to treat or manage your health.

Predictive and pre-symptomatic genetic tests are used to find gene changes that increase a person's likelihood of developing diseases. The results of these tests provide you with information about your risk of developing a specific disease. Such information may be useful in decisions about your lifestyle and healthcare.

Carrier testing is used to find people who "carry" a change in a gene that is linked to disease. Carriers may show no signs of the disease; however, they have the ability to pass on the gene change to their children, who may develop the disease or become carriers themselves. Some diseases require a gene change to be inherited from both parents for the disease to occur. This type of testing usually is offered to people who have a family history of a specific inherited disease or who belong to certain ethnic groups that have a higher risk of specific inherited diseases.

Prenatal testing is offered during pregnancy to help identify fetuses that have certain diseases.

Newborn screening is used to test babies one or two days after birth to find out if they have certain diseases known to cause problems with health and development.

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FAQ About Genetic Testing - Genome.gov

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