Sep. 25, 2013 A Mayo Clinic researcher, along with his collaborators, has shown that an individual's genomic makeup and diet interact to determine which microbes exist and how they act in the host intestine. The study was modeled in germ-free knockout mice to mimic a genetic condition that affects 1 in 5 humans and increases the risk for digestive diseases. The findings appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Our data show that factors in the differences in a host's genetic makeup -- in this case genes that affect carbohydrates in the gut -- interact with the type of food eaten. That combination determines the composition and function of resident microbes," says Purna Kashyap, M.B.B.S., a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist and first author of the study. He is also a collaborator in the Microbiome Program of the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine. Significance of the Findings Roughly 20 percent of humans lack the gene that encodes proteins for processing a specific carbohydrate, a sugar in the intestinal mucus called fucose. The interaction shown by the research team is valuable because many bacteria are adept at utilizing carbohydrates such as fucose, which are abundant in the gut. Confronted … Continue reading →

FRIENDSWOOD, Texas, Sept. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Castle Biosciences Inc. today announced data from a study of a genetic test demonstrating high accuracy in differentiating thymomas from thymic carcinoma tumors. Thymomas and thymic carcinomas are both rare epithelial tumors of the thymus gland that can be challenging to differentiate, yet have very different metastatic behaviors. The study results were presented by researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine at the Fourth International Thymic Malignancy Interest Group (ITMIG) Annual Meeting on September 7. Based on these study results, the genetic test now offers doctors an accurate and accessible method for making a precise diagnosis. This information can help choose the most effective and personalized treatment options for patients. "This study shows that the gene signature can predictably differentiate thymomas from thymic carcinomas, two thymic cancers which can have a similar appearance but greatly varying behaviors," commented Sunil Badve, M.D., FRCPath, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine. "Thymic cancers are typically much more aggressive and require immediate post-surgery treatment, while some thymomas are slow growing and patients may benefit from avoiding or delaying treatments associated with severe toxicities." Study DetailsTwenty-three genes were analyzed in … Continue reading →

An upcoming film, The Perfect 46, is about a fictional genomics company with a not-so-fictional idea. What if finding The One meant finding the person whose genome is most compatible with your own? Thats the question raised by an upcoming movie called The Perfect 46. Writer/director Brett Ryan Bonowicz presented a near-final version of the film on Wednesday night at the Consumer Genetics Conference in Boston. Self-driving cars and disposable electronic package trackers set the film in an unspecified year in the future, but one that isnt so far away that you cant find a VCR or bulky television set. The story centers around a genome-analysis company, The Perfect 46, that has developed an algorithm to determine the likelihood of prospective parents having a child with genetic disease. The promise is that future generations could be free of single-gene disorders like cystic fibrosis or even complex diseases like diabetes, if only everyone would work together to prevent these conditions in their children. Sure, it sounds a bit like Gattaca, but unlike that 1997 film, The Perfect 46 does not feel like its happening in some distant era. In fact, I was struck by how unfuturistic it all seemed. The real … Continue reading →

Newswise Although heavily studied, the specific genetic causes of complex diseases, a category of disorders which includes autism, diabetes and heart disease, are largely unknown due to byzantine genetic and environmental interactions. Now, scientists from the University of Chicago have created one of the most expansive analyses to date of the genetic factors at play in complex diseasesby using diseases with known genetic causes to guide them. Analyzing more than 120 million patient records and identifying trends of co-occurrence among hundreds of diseases, they created a unique genetic map that has the potential to guide researchers and clinicians in diagnosing, identifying risk factors for and someday developing therapies against complex diseases. The work was published Sept. 26 in Cell. For the first time weve found that almost every complex disease has a unique set of associations with single-gene diseases. This essentially gives us barcodes of specific gene loci, which we can use to help untangle the complex genetics of complex diseases, said Andrey Rzhetsky, PhD, professor of genetic medicine and human genetics at the University of Chicago, who led the study. The majority of human diseases are complex and caused by a combination of genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors. On … Continue reading →

ROCKVILLE, Md., Sept.26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --Neuralstem, Inc. (NYSE MKT: CUR) announced that President and CEO, Richard Garr, will present at the Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine Congress, on Monday, September 30 at 12:00 PM at the Hyatt Regency in Cambridge, MA (http://www.terrapinn.com/2013/stem-cells-usa-regenerative-medicine/index.stm). Mr. Garr will give an overview of Neuralstem's ongoing trial testing NSI-566 stem cells in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease), now in Phase II, as well as a clinical progress update. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20061221/DCTH007LOGO ) In a separate presentation, ALS patient, Ted Harada, who received transplants in both his lumbar and cervical spinal regions in Phase I of the Neuralstem trial, will talk about his experience as a patient on Monday, September 30, at 9:00 AM. About Neuralstem Neuralstem's patented technology enables the ability to produce neural stem cells of the human brain and spinal cord in commercial quantities, and the ability to control the differentiation of these cells constitutively into mature, physiologically relevant human neurons and glia. Neuralstem's NSI-566 spinal cord-derived stem cell therapy is in an FDA-approved Phase II clinical trial for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease. Neuralstem has been awarded orphan status designation by the FDA for … Continue reading →

An unprecedented stem cell procedure that's been used on athletes overseas is now helping to improve the quality of life for mans best friend. The technique is only available at one animal hospital in Louisiana. Dale Landry loves his dog, Ratchet, unconditionally. He said he's a friend who's stuck by him through many of life's adventures. "He comes to my office; he's a very active dog. He's done water sports until about two years ago, rides in the boat, rides the Seado. He actually used to wakeboard with me," Landry said. Ratchet has been a little less active lately. The almost 15-year-old labrador mix has recently been suffering from joint pain and hip arthritis. "He's been more and more hunched in the back and crouched down in the hind end, so you could definitely tell he was having a little trouble getting up in the morning," said Dr. Gordy Labbe of the Metairie Small Animal Hospital. Ratchet has been taking medication and has undergone laser treatments for a year, but Labbe tried a new option Wednesday in the form of stem cell therapy. It's a breakthrough technique that has yet to be used on small animals. It's a new tool … Continue reading →

Miami, FL (PRWEB) September 26, 2013 S Stem Cell Training, Inc., a division of the Global Stem Cells Group, announced today the launch of a post-graduate diploma program with the Research Center in Tissue Engineering and Cellular Therapy at Maimonides University in Buenos Aires. The diploma program, the first of its kind worldwide, is designed for physicians and practitioners to bridge the gap between advanced laboratory practices and the practitioners office. According to Gustavo Antonio Moviglia, M.D., a lead trainer for Stem Cell Training, Inc., the decision to launch the post-graduate diploma coursework has evolved out of advances in cell biology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries which have given rise to a new form of medical therapy in which cells and tissues are used as healing elements, no longer just to supplement or replace deficient or ailing cells. Since 2000, Maimonides University and Moviglia have worked to generate scientific and medical applications based on tissue engineering and cellular therapy, to enrich this specialty and establish their own philosophy. Their work will be the basis for the postgraduate course, aiming to create academic space for training professionals and developing new knowledge in this area of medicine. With many … Continue reading →

In a step that brings stem cells closer to the clinic, researchers in Japan have found that transplanting reprogrammed stem cells into the brains of primates elicits little rejection by their immune systems. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are created when skin cells, for example, are genetically reprogrammed to an embryonic-like state. This kind of stem cells holds great potential for the treatment of disease, since the cells are genetically identical to the patient they are taken from. However, studies in rodents have suggested that the immune system may still recognize cells derived from iPSCs as foreign, and mount an attack on them. This has cast doubt on the feasibility of similar cell therapy for humans. To test this in an animal more closely related to humans, researchers studied macaques. Using cells taken from the monkeys mouths or from their bloodstream, the researchers created iPSCs which they then, in turn, transformed into neurons. These neurons were of a specific kind: dopamine-producing neurons, the type depleted by Parkinsons disease. Each monkey got six injections of these neurons into its brainsome which had been made from their own cells and others which were from another individual and therefore mismatched. The team could … Continue reading →