familymednews.com
In 2006, a few hundred mostly local researchers gathered in La Jolla to discuss the emerging but still science-fictiony field of stem cells. Since then, stem cells, enhanced by gene therapy, have progressed to yield breakthrough treatments, most spectacularly in cancer. Likewise, the conference known as the Cell & Gene Meeting on the Mesa has mushroomed into an international event. […]
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Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have demonstrated that gene therapy can be effective without causing a dangerous side effect common to all gene therapy: an autoimmune reaction to the normal protein, which the patient’s immune system is encountering for the first time. The researchers showed this in a mouse model that accurately recapitulates Duchenne muscular dystrophy. One in every […]
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University of Toronto researchers have shone light on a well-known but mysterious gene that plays a key role in the growth of cancer. Genes contain blueprints for making proteins, the molecules that actually carry out tasks in a cell. The p53 gene helps make a protein known as p53, which tells cells to grow or not. This protein helps stop […]
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Pediatric researchers have identified a gene mutation that causes a serious lymphatic condition, and used that knowledge to restore normal lymphatic vessels in model animals. The laboratory findings may lead to a new therapy for patients with this type of abnormal lymphatic circulation. “This discovery offers a potential avenue for intervening with existing drugs to treat patients with this complex, […]
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Cocaine can have a devastating effect on people. It directly stimulates the brain’s reward center, and, more importantly, induces long-term changes to the reward circuitry that are responsible for addictive behaviors. Alban de Kerchove d’Exaerde from the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, and his colleagues have now uncovered that a gene called Maged1 plays a crucial role in controlling these […]
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Six genes contain mutations that may be passed down in families, substantially increasing a person’s risk for pancreatic cancer. That’s according to Mayo Clinic research published in the June 19 edition of the JAMA. However, because researchers found these genetic mutations in patients with no family history of pancreatic cancer, they are recommending genetic testing for all pancreatic cancer patients […]
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Scientists may now be able to predict whether carrying a specific genetic variant increases a person’s risk for disease using gene editing and stem cell technologies, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation. For the first time, the study demonstrates the unique potential of combining stem cell-based disease modeling (Induced pluripotent stem cells) and CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome […]
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People with a gene variant called APOE4 have a higher risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer’s disease: APOE4 is three times more common among Alzheimer’s patients than it is among the general population. However, little is known about why this version of the APOE gene, which is normally involved in metabolism and transport of fatty molecules such as cholesterol, confers higher […]
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A Vanderbilt-led research team has discovered genetic variations that increase the risk of heart attack even when patients are receiving a statin drug like Lipitor or Crestor to lower their blood cholesterol. The finding, published by the journal Circulation, helps explain why some patients experience a heart attack or the need for coronary revascularization to open blocked heart arteries while […]
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Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have uncovered a previously unknown gene mutation that is linked to a highly aggressive form of a brain tumour called glioblastoma. This deadly tumour grows and spreads very quickly in the brain, and is difficult to treat. Even with available treatment, patients survive on average only for 15 to 17 months after […]
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