Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise BOSTON (Nov. 20, 2014) Investigators at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmology and colleagues reported the development and characterization of a comprehensive genetic test for inherited eye disorders in the online version of the Nature journal Genetics In Medicine today. The Genetic Eye Disease (GEDi) test includes all of the genes known to harbor mutations that cause inherited retinal degenerations, optic atrophy and early onset glaucoma. These disorders are important causes of vision loss, and genetic treatments such as gene therapy hold promise for preserving vision in affected individuals. The GEDi test is offered on a CLIA-certified basis through the Ocular Genomics Institute (OGI) at Mass. Eye and Ear. The retina is the neural tissue in the back of the eye that initiates vision. It is responsible for receiving light signals and converting them into neurologic signals, which are then transmitted via the optic nerve to the brain so that we can see. Mutations that disrupt vision by damaging the retina and optic nerve have been identified in more than 200 genes. This genetic diversity made genetic diagnostic testing difficult until the recent development of high throughput … Continue reading →

Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise Denver, Colorado -- The American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Foundation (ACVIMF), in partnership with the Veterinary Pharmacology Research Foundation (VPRF), announced today that they have funded a new study for animal health with a pharmacologic focus. The study will be conducted by Dr. Lauren Trepanier of the University of Wisconsin-Madison for the Genetic risk for cyclophosphamide toxicity in dogs. The strategic partnership between VPRF and ACVIMF began in 2009 in an effort to solicit, review and administer research grants with a pharmacologic focus. The Veterinary Pharmacology Research Foundation (VPRF) was formed by the governing bodies of American Academy of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics (AAVPT) and the American College of Veterinary Clinical Pharmacology (ACVCP) in June of 2006. These organizations recognized that the lack of funding for basic pharmacology research was limiting both growth and innovation in the development of new veterinary therapeutics and the number of trained researchers in the field. As such, they sought to invest their collective resources in the growth of veterinary pharmacology through research grants and training programs. Jane Owens, President, VPRF. The first call for proposals went out in November 2009. Since then, the partnership has … Continue reading →

Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise November 19, 2014, New York, NY A team led by Ludwig and Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) researchers has published a landmark study on the genetic basis of response to a powerful cancer therapy known as immune checkpoint blockade. Their paper, in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, describes the precise genetic signatures in melanoma tumors that determine whether a patient will respond to one such therapy. It also explains in exquisite detail how those genetic profiles translate into subtle molecular changes that enable the immune system attack of cancer cells in response to immune checkpoint blockade. The genetic signature we have found will be invaluable to understanding the biological mechanisms that drive therapeutic responses to immunotherapy for metastatic melanoma, says Jedd Wolchok, MD, PhD, director of the Ludwig Collaborative Laboratory and associate director of the Ludwig Center for Cancer Immunotherapy at MSK, who co-led the study with Timothy Chan, MD, PhD, of MSKs Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program. Further, our strategy can now be applied to determine the genetic signatures associated with the efficacy of a number of other immunotherapies and cancers. Few approaches to treating cancer have … Continue reading →

Kilian Before After Stemlogix Stem Cell Therapy dog with arthritis treated with autologous stem cells. By: mark Greenberg … Continue reading →

Low back, neck, hip, shoulder, and knee arthritis 7 months after stem cell therapy by Adelson Spence describes his outcome from his "full-body make-over" by Harry Adelson, N.D.. Seven months ago, Spence had his own bone marrow stem cells injected into his low back, neck, hips, shoulders,... By: Harry Adelson, N.D. … Continue reading →