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A team of researchers from the Scripps Research Institute and the University of Kansas has found a protein that could one day be manipulated to make it safer for pain sufferers to use opioids. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes their study of intentional mutations in nematodes and what they learned. Opioids are a class […]
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Researchers at the University of Cambridge have criticised a recent study calling into question guidelines on genetic testing for hereditary breast cancer. In an article published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in December 2018 entitled “Underdiagnosis of Hereditary Breast Cancer: Are Genetic Testing Guidelines a Tool or an Obstacle?”, 27 US researchers argued for expanded genetic testing in all […]
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Researchers from Joslin Diabetes Center, using a genome-wide association study, have identified a genetic factor linked to the development of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. This finding suggests a new target for preventive therapies. The research has been published online and will appear in the August print issue of Diabetes. While neuropathy, which causes pain or numbness in the legs and an […]
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A lot of people say they cannot live without coffee, but for one 11-year-old boy living in France, that may be literally true. When his parents accidently bought decaffeinated capsules recently, a rare genetic muscular disorder—which they knew could be held in check by two shots of espresso per day—flared up, provoking uncontrollable and painful muscle spasms. Four days of […]
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A new study by University of Manitoba, CancerCare Manitoba and Mayo Clinic researchers has found that when women at high risk are provided with the results of genetic testing, they are more likely to take preventive medications to reduce their chances of developing breast cancer. Studies have shown that the risk of breast cancer can be reduced by half using […]
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A nationwide consortium of researchers has identified the first genetic defect linked to biliary atresia, a mysterious liver disease that is the leading cause for liver transplantation in children. The results were published in the journal Hepatology. The causes of biliary atresia were unknown, so this is a major advance that will move the field of pediatric liver disease forward, […]
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St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists have identified genetic variations in a fourth gene that are associated with an increased risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in Hispanic children. The research appears today in the journal Blood. The gene is ERG, a transcription factor that is also mutated in the leukemic cells of some ALL patients. In this study, researchers […]
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There is only scant scientific evidence available on whether the genetic risk for developing specific psychiatric disorders or cognitive traits is manifest in brain structure from childhood, and to date, studies have focused primarily on adult populations. The question remains unanswered. New evidence has now been provided by a study led by a researcher from the Barcelona Institute for Global […]
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Time spent sitting, sleeping and moving is determined in part by our genes, University of Oxford researchers have shown. In one of the most detailed projects of its kind, the scientists studied the activity of 91,105 UK Biobank participants who had previously worn an activity monitor on their wrist for a week. The scientists taught machines to identify active and […]
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The most comprehensive genome-wide association study, or GWAS, of colorectal cancer risk to date, published today in Nature Genetics, has discovered 40 new genetic variants and validated 55 previously identified variants that signal an increased risk of colon cancer. The study, led by a team of investigators at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, also has identified the first rare protective […]
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