by American Academy of Neurology An early stage trial of an investigational therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) suggests that people could tolerate the experimental drug and, in exploratory results, the experimental drug was linked to possible slower progression in people with a genetic form of the disease caused by mutations in a gene called superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1). The preliminary study released today will...
Tag: <span>Genetic</span>
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Handheld CRISPR Device Diagnoses Genetic Disease in 15 Minutes
The device could make genetic testing easier and more accessible. Dan Robitzski Standardized Testing To help make genetic screening easier and more accessible, scientists built a handheld device that uses CRISPR gene-editing technology to scan for mutations much more easily than existing labs can. The device, which Keck Graduate Institute bioengineer Kiana Aran told Futurism...
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23andMe will tell you how your DNA affects your diabetes risk. Will it be useful?
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — As more people get genetic testing to assess their risk of getting cancers and other serious conditions, diabetes has been almost entirely left out — largely because of the difficulty of developing a useful test. But at the South by Southwest festival on Sunday, the consumer genomics giant 23andMe announced that...
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Genetic polymorphisms and zinc status
This article by Dr. Angela Polito et al. is published in Current Pharmaceutical Design, 2018 BENTHAM SCIENCE PUBLISHERS Zinc is one of the essential components in the diet of all living organisms. It is the second most abundant biological trace element after iron. Zinc is of great importance in various metabolic functions and its deficiency can cause many...
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‘Consider a number of factors’ before buying an at-home genetic testing kit
Direct-to-consumer laboratories now offer at-home testing kits that allow individuals to mail in a saliva sample and receive a variety of genetic test results. These at-home kits had an unprecedented year in 2017. According to MIT Technology Review, more people took genetic tests last year than in all previous years combined. Research has estimated that...
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Genetic testing helps predict disease recurrence in myelodysplastic syndrome
A DNA-based analysis of blood cells soon after a stem cell transplant can predict likelihood of disease recurrence in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a group of cancerous disorders characterized by dysfunctional blood cells, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Such a practice could help doctors identify patients...
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Stray proteins cause genetic disorders
The seizures typically begin in the first months of life. It often takes years, however, before those suffering from the rare glucose transporter type 1 (Glut1) deficiency syndrome obtain a correct diagnosis. If the disorder goes untreated, affected children experience developmental delay and frequently have neurological problems. Various defects in one gene underlie the syndrome....
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Scientists identify genetic marker for gastric cancer prognosis
Although immunotherapy is seen as a very promising treatment for cancer, currently only 20 to 30 percent of patients respond positively. Being able to identify the people most likely to benefit from the costly therapy is a Holy Grail for oncologists. Histopathology of Helicobacter pylori infection in a gastric foveolar pit demonstrated in endoscopic gastric...
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Genetic variation may increase risk of liver damage in patients with chronic hepatitis B
July 27, 2018, Westmead Institute for Medical Research A new study has shown that genetic variation may increase the risk of severe liver damage in Caucasians with chronic hepatitis B infection. First author Dr. Rasha El Sharkawy. Credit: The Westmead Institute for Medical Research Researchers from the Westmead Institute for Medical Research found that Caucasian...
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How ‘gatekeepers’ to a cell’s nucleus let genetic instructions pass through
New structural details emerge about one of the body’s biggest protein assemblages, the nuclear pore complex CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Standing guard between a cell’s nucleus and its main chamber, called the cytoplasm, are thousands of behemoth protein structures called nuclear pore complexes, or NPCs. NPCs are like the bouncers of a cell’s nucleus, tightly...