PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 18-Nov-2014 Contact: Karen Astle karen.astle@heart.org 214-706-1392 American Heart Association @HeartNews Adults counseled on their genetic risk of coronary heart disease believe they have more control over their fate, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2014. Researchers examined the impact of disclosing risk of 10-year heart disease with or without genetic risk information to 207 patients (48 percent male, average age 58) participating in Myocardial Infarction GENES (MI-GENES), a randomized controlled study. The study's key elements included a risk score based on established risk factors and a genetic risk score based on 28 single nucleotide polymorphisms; risk disclosure by a genetic counselor in a 30-minute session; and two questionnaires about patient satisfaction - perceived personal control and genetic counseling satisfaction. Researchers found that patients who received the genetic risk information had a higher perceived personal control value compared to those who didn't (8.85 vs. 8.54). Patients who received genetic risk information also reported a higher genetic counseling satisfaction (9.08 vs. 8.3). "We have shown that disclosure of genetic risk led to increased perceived personal control and counseling satisfaction, which are associated with the increased likelihood of adopting healthier behaviors that may reduce coronary … Continue reading →

worldhealth.net SOUTH BEND, Ind.--- In 1990 the Human Genome Project started. It was a massive scientific undertaking that aimed to identify and map out the body's complete set of DNA. This research has paved the way for new genetic discoveries, and one of those has allowed scientists to study how to fix bad chromosomes. Case Western Reserve University scientist, Anthony Wynshaw-Boris, is studying how to repair damaged chromosomes. Our bodies contain 23 pairs of chromosomes, 46 in total, but if chromosomes are damaged, they can cause birth defects, disabilities, growth problems and even death. Wynshaw-Boris is taking skin cells and reprogramming them to work like embryonic stem cells, which can grow into different cell types. "We are taking an adults, or a child's, skin cells, said Wynshaw-Boris. We are not causing any loss of an embryo, and you're taking those skin cells to make a stem cell." Scientists studied patients with a specific defective chromosome that was shaped like a ring. They took the patients' skin cells and reprogrammed them into embryonic-like cells in the lab. They found this process caused the damaged "ring" chromosomes to be replaced by normal chromosomes. Read more here: New DNA discovery could lead to … Continue reading →

Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise UCLA stem cell researchers have pioneered a stem cell gene therapy cure for children born with adenosine deaminase (ADA)-deficient severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), often called Bubble Baby disease, a life-threatening condition that if left untreated can be fatal within the first year of life. The groundbreaking treatment was developed by renowned stem cell researcher and UCLA Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research member Dr. Donald Kohn, whose breakthrough was developed over three decades of research to create a gene therapy that safely restores immune systems in children with ADA-deficient SCID using the patients own cells with no side effects. To date, 18 children with SCID have been cured of the disease after receiving the stem cell gene therapy in clinical trials at UCLA and the National Institutes of Health. All of the children with SCID that I have treated in these stem cell clinical trials would have died in a year or less without this gene therapy, instead they are all thriving with fully functioning immune systems said Kohn, a professor of pediatrics and of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics in Life Sciences. To protect children … Continue reading →