Watch the video above:Mississauga woman looking for bone marrow donor against allodds. Laura Zilke reports.

TORONTO A woman in dire need of a bone marrow transplant is trying to find a match within her underrepresented community.

Dorothy Vernon-Brown is African-Canadian and was recently diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Chemotherapy has helped and shes currently in remission but still needs a transplant.

You dont know if youll ever find a match, she said. Next to Caucasians, African-Canadians have the greatest need for stem cells.

Shes most likely to find a match within her own ethnic community but in Canada, only one per cent of all people registered to donate bone marrow are black.

We have patients from all ethnic communities that are currently in need of a stem cell transplant and they are relying on members of their community, whether they are living here in Canada or anywhere in the world, Mary-Lynn Pride, a spokesperson for OneMatch said.

OneMatch does have access to donor registries in over 70 countries but in Vernon-Browns native Jamaica, there isnt a registry.

Theres no studies as to why the level of African-Canadian donors is so low in Canada but she believes its cultural.

Many of us come here [and] its not part of our culture, she said. We continue with what we know.

Its not difficult to register. A simple cheek swab is all thats needed to get your name on the donor list.

Continue reading here:
Woman looking for bone marrow donor among underrepresented ethnic group

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Dubai: An Indian man desperate to save his nine-month-old thalassaemic baby has appealed for financial help to get the child a bone marrow transplant.

Damodaran Gopal, 30, a sales engineer in Sharjah, said his only child Tarun Keshav was diagnosed with thalassaemia major at three months, following which he has been receiving blood transfusions every four weeks.

Children born with thalassemia major show symptoms of severe anaemia and cannot produce normal, adult haemoglobin. This leads to impaired growth, limited physical development, deformities of the bones and enlargement of the liver and spleen. If left untreated, it can lead to death.

Grappling with his childs bleak prospects, Gopal said doctors in India have recommended a bone marrow transplant for Keshav for which he needed to find a stem cell match. The task of finding a match was not easy, but we were lucky to find a suitable donor from the National Marrow Donor Program registry in the US. A transplant doctor at the Apollo Hospital in Chennai is willing to do the transplant using this donor, but we cannot afford the funds needed for the process. A report from the hospital confirmed: Baby Tharun Keshav has thalassaemia major, a genetic condition requiring monthly blood transfusions. Stem cell transplantation would be the only curative option for this condition. We plan to use matched unrelated stem cells for transplantation. The cost of the transplant would be approximately $50,000, which includes $30,000 for the stem cells. This amount may increase in case of any fungal infection or grade lll/lV graft versus host disease.

Gopal said he is the only earning member of his family, which includes his aged mother and handicapped brother. My wife and I also discovered that we were thalassemia carriers after my sons diagnosis. We appeal to kindhearted people in Dubai to please help us save our sons life. He is our only hope.

If you wish to help Kehsav may write to editor@xpress4me.com

Follow this link:
Expat in Sharjah: Help us save our son, he is our only hope

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Doctors in London have devised a way to reconstruct human ears and noses with stem cells taken from body fat, BBC News reported.

In a study published in the journal Nanomedicine, researchers from Great Ormond Street Hospital in London said theyve successfully used fat stem cells to grow cartilage in a laboratory setting. Using ear-shaped scaffolding to ensure that the stem cells grow into the desired shape, physicians said they hope to someday be able to implant lab-grown cartilage underneath a persons skin to correct facial abnormalities.

While more testing needs to be done before the technique is used in patients, researchers hope to use this method to help patients with conditions like microtia a congenital deformity that can leave a child with a missing or malformed ear. Currently, the only corrective procedure available to these children involves taking cartilage from the childs ribs a procedure that leaves permanent scaring and requires multiple surgeries.

"It would be the Holy Grail to do this procedure through a single surgery," study author Dr Patrizia Ferretti told BBC News."So, decreasing enormously the stress for the children and having a structure that hopefully will be growing as the child grows."

The researchers also said the technique could be useful in correcting cartilage damage in the nose.

Click for more from BBC News.

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Doctors grow ears, noses using body fat stem cells

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

4-Mar-2014

Contact: Jen Middleton jen.middleton@ed.ac.uk 44-131-650-6514 University of Edinburgh

Horses suffering from neurological conditions similar to those that affect humans could be helped by a breakthrough from stem cell scientists.

Researchers who are the first to create working nerve cells from horse stem cells say the advance may pave the way for cell therapies that target conditions similar to motor neurone disease.

The research could also benefit horses affected by grass sickness, a neurological condition that affects around 600 horses a year in the UK.

Little is known about the disease, which causes nerve damage throughout the body. It is untreatable and animals with the most severe form usually die or have to be put down.

The advance by the University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute will provide a powerful tool for those studying horse diseases. It will also help scientists to test new drugs and treatments.

The researchers took skin cells from a young horse and turned them into stem cells using a technique that was originally developed for human cells. The reprogrammed cells are pluripotent, which means they can be induced to become any type of cell in the body.

The team used them to create nerve cells in the laboratory and tested whether they were functional by showing that they could transmit nerve signals in a test tube.

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Horses set to gain health benefits from stem cell advance

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

5-Mar-2014

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, March 5, 2014Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can lead to serious diseases such as cirrhosis and cancer of the liver, so viral clearance and prevention of relapse are important treatment goals. Low-dose oral interferon may reduce the risk of HCV relapse in patients with mild liver fibrosis according to a study published in Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research website.

In "A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Study to Evaluate the Efficacy of Low-Dose Oral Interferon-Alpha in Preventing Hepatitis C Relapse," Chuan-Mo Lee and coauthors from several universities and hospitals in Taiwan present the results of a clinical trial comparing the effects of 24 weeks of treatment with two doses of oral interferon-alpha or placebo in patients who achieved viral clearance after successful HCV therapy.

"This is a highly significant study relevant to the optimal use of IFN for HCV treatment," says Co-Editor-in-Chief Ganes C. Sen, PhD, Chairman, Department of Molecular Genetics, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Ohio.

###

About the Journal

Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research (JICR), led by Co-Editors-in-Chief Ganes C. Sen, PhD, and Thomas A. Hamilton, PhD, Chairman, Department of Immunology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly online with Open Access options and in print that covers all aspects of interferons and cytokines from basic science to clinical applications. JICR is an official journal of the International Cytokine and Interferon Society. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed online on the Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research website.

About the Publisher

More:
Can low-dose interferon prevent relapse of hepatitis C virus infection?

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

4-Mar-2014

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-710-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, March 4, 2014Only about 37% of babies around the world are exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life, as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). The benefits of breastfeeding for both infants and mothers are well-established. The effectiveness of different types of interventions for promoting exclusive breastfeeding in high-income countries is the focus of a Review article published in Breastfeeding Medicine, the official journal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Breastfeeding Medicine website at http://www.liebertpub.com/bfm.

Most interventions designed to encourage women to breastfeed use supportive or educational approaches, with varying levels of success, according to study authors Helen Skouteris and colleagues from Deakin University and University of Melbourne (Melbourne, Australia), and Leeds Metropolitan University (Leeds, UK).

In the article "Interventions Designed to Promote Exclusive Breastfeeding in High-Income Countries: A Systematic Review" the authors evaluate the effectiveness of different interventions, comparing prenatal and postnatal approaches, the duration of the interventions, and identify whether they focus on educating mothers or providing emotional support.

"The search for successful interventions that promote the international goal of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of an infant's life has been continual but inconclusive," says Ruth Lawrence, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Breastfeeding Medicine and Professor of Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine. "Authors Helen Skouteris and colleagues in their extensive review point out that a trial of more support and interventions in the postpartum period may be critical to solving this issue."

###

About the Journal

Breastfeeding Medicine, the Official Journal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, is an authoritative, peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary journal published 10 times per year in print and online. The Journal publishes original scientific papers, reviews, and case studies on a broad spectrum of topics in lactation medicine. It presents evidence-based research advances and explores the immediate and long-term outcomes of breastfeeding, including the epidemiologic, physiologic, and psychological benefits of breastfeeding. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Breastfeeding Medicine website at http://www.liebertpub.com/bfm.

Read this article:
Which interventions are most effective to promote exclusive breastfeeding?

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

4-Mar-2014

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, March 4, 2014Nearly a billion people use Facebook, the largest social networking site, but interacting with someone on social media is not the same as meeting them in person. The results of a study to determine whether Facebook exposure increases or reduces arousal during initial face-to-face encounters, especially among socially anxious individuals, are presented in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking website.

"Face to Face Versus Facebook: Does Exposure to Social Networking Web Sites Augment or Attenuate Physiological Arousal Among the Socially Anxious?" Shannon Rauch and colleagues, Benedictine University at Mesa, AZ and Providence College, RI, evaluated the study participants for their level of social anxiety and then exposed each of them to a person via Facebook, a face-to-face encounter, or both. During the exposures the researchers measured physiological arousal using the galvanic skin response measure.

"Results appear to indicate that initial exposure to an individual via Facebook may have a negative impact on consequent face-to-face encounters with that individual for those with high social anxiety," says Brenda K. Wiederhold, PhD, MBA, BCB, BCN, Editor-in-Chief of Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, from the Interactive Media Institute, San Diego, CA.

###

About the Journal

Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking is a peer-reviewed journal published monthly online with Open Access option and in print that explores the psychological and social issues surrounding the Internet and interactive technologies, plus cybertherapy and rehabilitation. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking website.

About the Publisher

See the original post:
Meeting face to face vs. meeting on Facebook -- new study on social anxiety

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

(PRWEB) March 05, 2014

In Latin America, Mexico is the pioneer in genetic test applications. Personalized medicine has only been around for the last 15 years. The ALAMPs intention with personalized medicines was to decrease and identify the predisposition of diseases, and to increase the success rate of therapy.

A list of international and national guests gathered at this ALAMP sponsored event. Attendees included Stefan Long, director of the science department at General Genetics Corporation, the number one laboratory in the study of ADN in the world; Dr Felipe Vzquez Estupin, specialist in family therapy; and Dr. Bernard Esquivel, president of ALAMP, who discussed the transition that personalized medicine proposes for healthy and sick individuals, as well as for health systems, through the integration of personalized medicine into clinical practice of genetic examinations that strengthen such care.

The first international symposium of personalized medicine was directed at any health professional that wanted to incorporate their field in the diverse areas of personalized medicine. This included establishment of the protocols of prevention, follow up and monitoring to the development of specific adequate treatments, and the genetic characteristics of each individual.

As defined by the Presidents Council of Advisors of Science and Technology, personalized medicine discerns if the processes that apply to a patient, or a to a group of patients, are appropriate from view point of the proposed strategies as the response to a specific medicine will be different from the present responses of a patient affected by the same condition. This has allowed, and will continue to allow, the introduction of predictors of any disease, whether it be the presence of mutations of oncogenes, or of regular tumor genes.

This algorithm explains the vision of Mexico for personalized medicine: based on the molecular profile of the patient (his genome), regardless of his age, it identifies the susceptibility of various conditions to develop in the patient. Subsequently they establish educational mechanisms/institutions like nutrition (Nutrigenomics; the individualization of micro-macro nutrients according to the metabolic level expressed by the genes), habits, etc., with the intention of preventing the onset of the disease. Since we are not aware of all the environmental factors that trigger diseases, there is always the possibility of more developing factors. Therefore, it is very important to establish a customized program aimed at the early detection of such pathogens. If one detects many diseases in their initial stage (among these are many types of cancer), one can implement appropriate therapeutic measures that eradicate these diseases or control them quickly, preventing further damage and degeneration of the patient (which is the case in non-communicable chronic diseases, or diabetes).

The first international symposium of personalized medicine addressed issues in various areas of genetic medicine, and addressed the steps that Mexico is taking as the pioneer in its application of personalized medicine in Latin America. As a country, Mexico hopes to reduce the unfavorable economic impact of the 25 chronic-degenerative prevalent diseases in the next 20 years by applying immediate preventive measures through a simple genetic test. The proposed test would cost $420 dollars, which will allow saving on treatment costs. Currently, there are 12.8 million future diabetics that could spend up to $448,000 if they dont detect their disease earlier.

For example, as we know, type 2 diabetes mellitus is one of the major causes of death in Mexico and has a pre-pathogenic period (before it appears, which highlights the genetic susceptibility), and a pathogenic period (with the onset of the disease) stage that doesnt present symptoms. Approximately two years later after the onset of the disease, a large number of the patients are not yet diagnosed, until they have an acute complication, i.e., with the hospital emergency room.

Applying the proposed model of personalized medicine to these patients may:

A)Delay the onset of the diseases by many years, which allows for a better quality of life for the patient and a very important economic savings cost for his or her social security.

Original post:
Personalized Medicine: The New Paradigm in the Prevention and Treatment of Diseases

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

4-Mar-2014

Contact: John Ascenzi ascenzi@email.chop.edu 267-426-6055 Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Two recent genetic studies expand the list of genes involved with body fat and body mass index, and their connection to major Western health problems: heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. One study showed that higher body mass index (BMI) caused harmful effects on the risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and inflammation, while another study found gene signals linked to higher levels of body fat metrics, without showing causality.

"These findings are highly relevant to the obesity pandemic in the United States and many other countries," said geneticist Brendan J. Keating, D. Phil., of the Center for Applied Genomics at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "Of course, much research remains to be performed to discover further genes involved in these complex metabolic diseases, and to better understand how to improve treatments."

Keating, who previously helped create a large gene-discovery tool called the Cardio Chip, was a co-leader of both studies, which drew on large international teams of scientists using DNA, laboratory and disease data from tens of thousands of people.

In the BMI research, published in the Feb. 6 issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics, Keating collaborated with clinical epidemiologist Michael V. Holmes, M.D., Ph.D., of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. That study used a recently developed epidemiology tool called Mendelian randomization (MR) that rules out confounding factors such as behavioral and environmental influences to construct genetic risk scores for specific traits of interest.

The study team analyzed eight population cohorts including over 34,000 individuals of European descent, of whom over 4,400 had type 2 diabetes, over 6,000 had coronary heart disease and over 3,800 had a previous stroke.

Their analysis, concluded the authors, supports the importance of BMI in regulating cardiometabolic traits and the risk of type 2 diabetes. "Our findings suggest that lowering BMI is likely to result in multiple reductions of cardiovascular traits: in blood pressure, inflammation, fasting glucose and insulin, and in the risk of type 2 diabetes," said Keating.

"This study is the first to use this emerging MR technique with a combination of genetic markers known to impact BMI, to assess the causal relationship of BMI and a comprehensive repertoire of traits," said Holmes. He added that, although the study showed that increasing BMI has an undesirable effect on cardiometabolic factors, interestingly, it did not show that higher BMI increased the risk of coronary heart disease.

Visit link:
CHOP researcher finds more genetic signals linking weight and heart health risk factors

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

5-Mar-2014

Contact: Shawna Williams shawna@jhmi.edu 410-955-8632 Johns Hopkins Medicine

Johns Hopkins researchers say they have found one way that a recently discovered genetic mutation might cause two nasty nervous system diseases. While the affected gene may build up toxic RNA and not make enough protein, the researchers report, the root of the problem seems to be snarls of defective genetic material created at the mutation site.

The research team, led by Jiou Wang, Ph.D., an assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, reports its finding March 5 on the journal Nature's website.

Two years ago, researchers linked the gene C9orf72, named for its location on the ninth human chromosome, to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, and to frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

In ALS, motor neurons nerve cells that carry messages from the brain to muscles degenerate and eventually die, which gradually paralyzes the patient. In FTD, neurons in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain die. Some scientists think the same genetic and biological processes cause both disorders, but with very different symptoms, depending on where in the brain they occur.

The mutation in C9orf72 is called a hexanucleotide repeat expansion, a six-letter "word" of DNA repeated over and over, in a part of the gene that doesn't contain instructions for making any proteins. Although it's normal to have up to 20 such repeats, some people with ALS or FTD have dozens or even hundreds of them. Studies show the mutation is likely responsible for 4 to 8 percent of cases of sporadic ALS the kind that isn't necessarily hereditary and, in some groups, up to 40 percent of the kind that is.

To learn how the repeated sequence causes disease, the Johns Hopkins scientists looked at the structure of the DNA that makes up the gene and the RNA that carries its instructions. Although DNA and RNA are generally seen as long strands, they can bunch and curl to make 3-D structures.

Working with DNA and RNA they made that bore the six-letter "word" repeat, the researchers figured out that both were forming structures called G-quadruplexes. In these formations, guanines called "G" for short, one of the letters in the repeating DNA "word" link up, making stacks that stick together like tiny shelves. The RNA also forms other shapes in the repeating section hairpins and bulges. The researchers speculate that the G-quadruplexes and other structures might be getting in the way of the nucleic acids' normal functions.

Read more:
ALS-linked gene causes disease by changing genetic material's shape

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

FORTUNE --FirstMark Capital is known for investing in consumer-facing software companies like Pinterest, Riot Games, and Aereo, as well as enterprise deals. But since Matt Turck, a former investor with Bloomberg Ventures, joined the firm one year ago, he's been looking at deals that are more out-there, related to big data and the Internet of Things. Take, for example, his latest investment: Recombine, a bioinformatics company.

Alongside new early-stage firm Vast Ventures, FirstMark has invested $3.3 million in the New York-based startup. Angel investors who participated in the round include Vivek Garipalli, formerly of Blackstone Group (BX), as well as Alexander Saint-Amand, President and CEO of Gerson Lehrman Group, and Zach Weinberg and Nat Turner, who co-founded health care startup Flatiron Health.

Currently, Recombine provides clinical genetic testing services which are faster and cheaper than those offered by LabCo Diagnostic Network and Quest Diagnostics (DGX), the incumbent providers. Those companies' technology, much of which was created in the 1970s, requires a separate test (and separate blood samples) to test for each individual disease, and it costs up to $1,000 for each test. Recombine tests for 213 genetic disorders at once, costing $500 before insurance.

MORE:Apple's CFO says see you in Sept., after 100,000 shares vest

Recombine CEO Alexander Bisignano says the incumbent services use older technology and aren't incentivized to upgrade because they have exclusive contracts with insurance companies. "It is sort of a monopoly," he says. Recombine's services are in use at 60 different medical practices.

But disrupting the medical lab industry is not Recombine's ultimate goal. The company has its sights on something it believes is much more lucrative: big data for genetics. That's where Recombine fits into FirstMark's investment thesis. More than a biotech company, it's a big data company, Turck argues. From his blog post Tuesday:

Recombine has ambitious plans to fully leverage Big Data technology to help decode the myriad aspects of our genome that are still not well understood.

Naturally, Bisignano agrees. "Genetics is entering a future where it is nothing but a data science," he says.

By processing all of the data from its tests, Recombine can glean insights about genes and diseases. The data is anonymous, and Recombine has already obtained Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval to conduct its first large-scale study. "We're getting really high-quality medical data that allows us to be more confident that the signal is outweighing the noise in our results," Bisignano says.

Read this article:
Genetic testing company Recombine raises $3.3 million

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

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Newswise Philadelphia, March 4, 2014 Two recent genetic studies expand the list of genes involved with body fat and body mass index, and their connection to major Western health problems: heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. One study showed that higher body mass index (BMI) caused harmful effects on the risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and inflammation, while another study found gene signals linked to higher levels of body fat metrics, without showing causality.

These findings are highly relevant to the obesity pandemic in the United States and many other countries, said geneticist Brendan J. Keating, D. Phil., of the Center for Applied Genomics at The Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. Of course, much research remains to be performed to discover further genes involved in these complex metabolic diseases, and to better understand how to improve treatments.

Keating, who previously helped create a large gene-discovery tool called the Cardio Chip, was a co-leader of both studies, which drew on large international teams of scientists using DNA, laboratory and disease data from tens of thousands of people.

In the BMI research, published in the Feb. 6 issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics, Keating collaborated with clinical epidemiologist Michael V. Holmes, M.D., Ph.D., of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. That study used a recently developed epidemiology tool called Mendelian randomization (MR) that rules out confounding factors such as behavioral and environmental influences to construct genetic risk scores for specific traits of interest.

The study team analyzed eight population cohorts including over 34,000 individuals of European descent, of whom over 4,400 had type 2 diabetes, over 6,000 had coronary heart disease and over 3,800 had a previous stroke.

Their analysis, concluded the authors, supports the importance of BMI in regulating cardiometabolic traits and the risk of type 2 diabetes. Our findings suggest that lowering BMI is likely to result in multiple reductions of cardiovascular traits: in blood pressure, inflammation, fasting glucose and insulin, and in the risk of type 2 diabetes, said Keating.

This study is the first to use this emerging MR technique with a combination of genetic markers known to impact BMI, to assess the causal relationship of BMI and a comprehensive repertoire of traits, said Holmes. He added that, although the study showed that increasing BMI has an undesirable effect on cardiometabolic factors, interestingly, it did not show that higher BMI increased the risk of coronary heart disease.

Keating also co-led a second study, published Jan. 6 in Human Molecular Genetics, analyzing genes associated with central adiposity. Measures of central adiposity, or body fat, can be derived using waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio. For assessing the influence of weight-related genes, central adiposity is preferable to BMI, because BMI also reflects the influence of genes affecting height, said Keating.

Excerpt from:
Researcher Finds More Genetic Signals Linking Weight and Risk Factors in Heart Health

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

GATE BT (Biotechnology) Sample Video Lecture by Career Avenues on Genetics
A detailed presentation and VDO by one of our IIT alumni faculty for GATE Biotechnology course.

By: Career Avenues GATE Coaching

More here:
GATE BT (Biotechnology) Sample Video Lecture by Career Avenues on Genetics - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

2014 St Pauls Genetics Total Herd Offering Sale Preview GTSM

By: clearvisionimaging

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2014 St Pauls Genetics Total Herd Offering Sale Preview GTSM - Video

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Becoming Immortal with Advanced Genetics -- BKC Attack of the B-Team -- Episode 4
What does the ultimate lifeform consist of? Flight; immunity to lava, water, and damage in general; speed; health; and some other cool abilities. Today, I sh...

By: martyrsvale

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Becoming Immortal with Advanced Genetics -- BKC Attack of the B-Team -- Episode 4 - Video

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Collegiate Reynolds Genetics VL 2.mp4
Table of Contents: 00:00 - Mendelian Genetics terms 03:07 - Mendel #39;s first cross 03:08 - Mendel #39;s second cross (getting gutsy!) 03:09 - Mendel #39;s first cross ...

By: Marc Reynolds

Originally posted here:
Collegiate Reynolds Genetics VL 2.mp4 - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Collegiate Reynolds Genetics VL3.mp4
Table of Contents: 00:00 - Mendel #39;s second cross (getting gutsy!) 00:17 - Mendel #39;s first cross 02:49 - Mendel #39;s second cross (getting gutsy!) 04:05 - Mendel #39;...

By: Marc Reynolds

Originally posted here:
Collegiate Reynolds Genetics VL3.mp4 - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Recently, favorable data from Myriad Genetics Inc. 's ( MYGN ) PROCEDE 500 study was published in the journal Current Medical Research and Opinion . Per the findings of this data, 65% of physicians changed their original treatment plan on prostate cancer patients based on Myriad Genetic's 46-gene molecular diagnostic testProlaris. Following this news, shares of Myriad Genetics gained 2.2% at yesterday's market close.

As per the PROCEDE 500 study data, 65% cases were voted by physicians as requiring a change in treatment options. Among them, therapeutic burden had been reduced for 40% of the cases while the remaining experienced an increase in therapeutic burden. Further, 37% of the patients revealed a reduction in the need for interventional therapy while 23% recorded an increase in the need for the same.

Overall, there was a 50% reduction in surgical interventions and 30% fall in radiation treatment. Moreover, 96% of the patients whose treatment options were initially undecided, selected non-interventional options after receiving the Prolaris score. According to the company, all these positive data signify high clinical utility of the Prolaris test among urologists.

Myriad is currently opting for Medicare reimbursement of Prolaris and has submitted the PROCEDE 500 data as part of the Prolaris clinical dossier to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Last month, the company had released positive data on its Prolaris testin the Journal of Urology. According to the company, the Prolaris test has been evaluated in more than 5,000 patients across 11 clinical studiesand six publications in peer-reviewed medical journals. Based on this strong data set, Myriad Genetics is highly optimistic about the reimbursement coverage by CMS which the company expects by the end of June 2014.

The Prolaris test correctly predicted those prostate cancer patients who had the risk of biochemical recurrence (BCR) or metastatic disease following a radical prostrate surgery. The predictions were made based on biopsies conducted earlier on these patients. With more than 30,000 patients who might perish on account of this fatal disease in 2014, there is urgent need for improved diagnosis. This is a clear indication of the huge market potential that Prolaris test holds in the forthcoming period.

Myriad Genetics is currently targeting expansion of its pipeline with products for diverse indications including oncology, women's health, urology, dermatology, autoimmune and inflammatory disease and neuroscience. To achieve this objective, the company has decided to pursue internal developments, in-licensing of technologies and acquisitions to expand its business. We are sanguine about these developments as some of the pipeline candidates look promising enough to cater to a billion-dollar market size.

Myriad Genetics' increasing focus on the companion diagnostic market should work in its favor fuelling growth. We look forward to the expansion of indications and derive comfort from the company's plan to foray into the dermatology, autoimmune and neuroscience market in the near future, on the back of portfolio development.

Currently, the stock carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-placed stocks that are worth a look include Amgen Inc. ( AMGN ), Biogen Idec Inc. ( BIIB ) and Actelion Ltd. ( ALIOF ). All the three stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

ACTELION LTD (ALIOF): Get Free Report

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See the article here:
Myriad Genetics Up on Prolaris Data; Aims Reimbursement - Analyst Blog

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

4-Mar-2014

Contact: Press Office presse@helmholtz-muenchen.de 49-893-187-2238 Helmholtz Zentrum Mnchen - German Research Center for Environmental Health

Lentiviruses, which belong to the family of retroviruses, are used as vectors to exchange genetic material in cells and can be used to replace a defective gene as defined by gene therapy. Increasing the efficiency of such a treatment poses a major medical challenge: the virus should specifically track the target cells, but the number of virus used should be as low as possible.

A research team led by Dr. Ines Hfig and Dr. Natasa Anastasov from the Institute of Radiation Biology (ISB) at Helmholtz Zentrum Mnchen in cooperation with Sirion Biotech GmbH in Munich and the Fraunhofer Institute in Aachen has now developed an adjuvant which enhances the effect of the virus transduction. Thus the transfer into the target cells is optimized without additional toxicity.

Surface molecules fuse viruses with target cells

The scientists equipped the viruses with additional surface molecules that facilitate the attachment of the viruses to their target cells. The surface molecules consist of a glycoprotein which is fused to an antibody fragment. This antibody fragment detects the surface receptors of specific target cells, such as EGFR+ or CD30+, and binds to these.

Higher transduction rate less virus used

"Through this specific binding to the target cell we can enhance three fold the transduction rate (transfer of the viruses into the target cells)," said research group leader Anastasov. "Thus, the transduction efficiency is improved, and at the same time fewer transfer viruses are needed."

In further studies, analog to the established system, suitable antibody fragments shall be evaluated for specific surface markers of various target cells, e.g. for bone marrow stem cells and immune cells. Gene therapy can thus be used as a treatment for specific genetic disorders (e.g. metachromatic leukodystrophy, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome).

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Gene transfer optimization

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PTSD Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment Protocols | Personalized Medicine
PTSD Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment Protocols | Personalized Medicine The Institute of Nutritional Medicine Cardiovascular Research has cutting-edge re...

By: Russ Scala

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PTSD & Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment Protocols | Personalized Medicine - Video

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Arkansas Spinal Cord Injury Legal Litigators
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Newswise In a study that began in a pair of infant siblings with a rare heart defect, Johns Hopkins researchers say they have identified a key molecular switch that regulates heart cell division and normally turns the process off around the time of birth. Their research, they report, could advance efforts to turn the process back on and regenerate heart tissue damaged by heart attacks or disease.

This study offers hope that we can someday find a way to restore the ability of heart cells to divide in response to injury and to help patients recover from many kinds of cardiac dysfunction, says cardiologist Daniel P. Judge, M.D., director of the Johns Hopkins Heart and Vascular Institutes Center for Inherited Heart Diseases. Things usually heal up well in many parts of the body through cell division, except in the heart and the brain. Although other work has generated a lot of excitement about the possibility of treatment with stem cells, our research offers an entirely different direction to pursue in finding ways to repair a damaged heart.

Unlike most other cells in the body that regularly die off and regenerate, heart cells rarely divide after birth. When those cells are damaged by heart attack, infection or other means, the injury is irreparable.

Judges new findings, reported online March 4 in the journal Nature Communications, emerged from insights into a genetic mutation that appears responsible for allowing cells to continue replicating in the heart in very rare cases.

The discovery, Judge says, began with the tale of two infants, siblings born years apart but each diagnosed in their earliest weeks with heart failure. One underwent a heart transplant at three months of age; the other at five months. When pathologists examined their damaged hearts after they were removed, they were intrigued to find that the babies heart cells continued to divide a process that wasnt supposed to happen at their ages.

The researchers then hunted for genetic abnormalities that might account for the phenomenon by scanning the small percent of their entire genome responsible for coding proteins. One stood out: ALMS1, in which each of the affected children had two abnormal copies.

The Johns Hopkins researchers also contacted colleagues at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada, who had found the same heart cell proliferation in five of its infant patients, including two sets of siblings. Genetic analysis showed those children had mutations in the same ALMS1 gene, which appears to cause a deficiency in the Alstrm protein that impairs the ability of heart cells to stop dividing on schedule. The runaway division may be responsible for the devastating heart damage in all of the infants, Judge says.

These mutations, it turned out, were also linked to a known rare recessive disorder called Alstrm syndrome, a condition associated with obesity, diabetes, blindness, hearing loss and heart disease.

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Researchers Find Protein 'Switch' Central to Heart Cell Division

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