New findings suggest twins who survive the loss of their co-twin face an elevated risk of psychiatric disorders in the short and longer term. ELIFE The death of a twin, especially earlier in life, can increase the risk of their surviving twin being diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder, finds a new study published today in...
Tag: <span>Genetics</span>
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DRUG SHOWS PROMISE FOR FIGHTING RARE ALS
An experimental drug for a rare, inherited form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis has shown promise in a phase 1/phase 2 clinical trial, researchers report. The trial indicated that the experimental drug, known as tofersen, shows evidence of safety that warrants further investigation and lowers levels of a disease-causing protein in people with a type of...
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Nanoparticles for Large Gene Therapy to Cure Common Eye Diseases
MEDGADGET EDITORS GENETICS, NANOMEDICINE, OPHTHALMOLOGY Wet age-related macular degeneration and a number of other eye diseases, including congenital conditions, are related to mutated genes that result in blood vessel abnormalities. These can be treated with gene therapy, but delivering genetic material has proven to be difficult when dealing with large gene sequences that are common...
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Lung cancer proteome builds on genetic findings to reveal therapeutic strategies
by Tom Ulrich, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard Lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths, killing more per year than breast, colon, and prostate cancers combined. Over the years, studies of the lung cancer genome have fueled the development of drug therapies that target mutations...
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Spatial mapping method pinpoints potential new therapeutic targets in lupus
by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia A team of researchers from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) used a new method of pinpointing potential disease-causing changes in the genome to identify two new potential therapeutic targets for lupus, while also paving the way for more accurately identifying disease-causing variations in other autoimmune disorders. The findings were published...
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New Clues To ALS And Alzheimer’s From Physics
JON HAMILTON This light micrograph from the brain of someone who died with Alzheimer’s disease shows the plaques and neurofibrillary tangles that are typical of the disease. A glitch that prevents healthy cell structures from transitioning from one phase to the next might contribute to the tangles, researchers say. Jose Luis Calvo/ Science Source The...
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RNA key in helping stem cells know what to become
Findings could lead to new therapies for cancer, heart abnormalities UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDER Look deep inside our cells, and you’ll find that each has an identical genome -a complete set of genes that provides the instructions for our cells’ form and function. But if each blueprint is identical, why does an eye cell...
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Researchers develop new approach to study the genetics of human disease
by Sheila Evans, University of Chicago Medical Center Many heritable immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and blood-cell related traits derive from critical proteins not being made or not functioning correctly. But exactly how a person’s genes, the regulation of these genes and how the resulting proteins interact to cause disease is not widely understood....
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Putting genomics into practice to combat common diseases
Genomics carries great expectations: the power to help health-care providers assess and assist their patients in managing their individualized risks for common, serious medical conditions, such as cancer and heart disease. However, how to effectively meld genetic risk assessments into health care is a complex question. Several medical research institutions across the nation, including UW...
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Giant leap in diagnosing liver disease
Stool microbes make a challenging diagnosis easier SCHEMATIC SHOWING HOW THE MICROBIOME SIGNATURE FROM STOOL SAMPLES CAN BE USED TO TEST FOR CIRRHOSIS. view more CREDIT: SALK INSTITUTE LA JOLLA–(July 1, 2020) Chronic liver disease represents a major global public health problem affecting an estimated 844 million people, according to the World Health Organization. It...