The University of California, Davis three-year effort to establish itself and the Sacramento region as a hub for genetic testing on the West Coast took a step forward last week with the opening of universitys new genomic testing facility in Sacramento. Once its fully operational, the center is expected to conduct high-level genetic sequencing to advance the universitys research in the realms of medicine and agricultural science. A genome is a collection of all the genes in an organism. The human genome, for example, has about three billion genetic characters. In genetic sequencing, a genetic sample is tested to determine an organisms DNA sequence. Knowing this helps researchers identify genetic mutations, which in some cases cause cancer. UC Davis new genetic testing facility, housed at the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, is opening in partnership with BGI, a Chinese company founded in 1999 that is now the largest genomic sequencing firm in the world. The opening of the center coincided with Sacramento hosting the International Conference on Genomics in the Americas, which ended Friday and drew 45 genomics experts to the California capital. Within a month, a staff of 30 will be doing genetic testing at the facility in … Continue reading →

Southern California Dermatologist Dr. Tess Mauricio: Regenerative Stem Cell Therapy w/Patient Marie America's Favorite Dermatologist, Dr. Tess Mauricio, talks Regenerative Stem Cell Therapy with her patient Marie, who is over 50 and now running Marathons! D... By: awPVT … Continue reading →

Newswise WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. Sept. 13, 2013 Melanie Vandyke cant wait to get her drivers license. I just want to get back out in the world, she said. For nearly 15 years, Vandykes world was severely restricted by epileptic seizures during which she couldnt control her speech or actions and didnt know what she was doing or saying, and afterwards couldnt remember what had happened. These unpredictable episodes prevented her from driving, pursuing a career, having a social life, living independently and doing countless other things that most people take for granted. But since undergoing a cutting-edge, minimally invasive surgical procedure called MRI-guided laser ablation at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Vandyke is poised to reclaim her life. The surgery, I do believe, has turned my life around, said the resident of Buchanan County in southwestern Virginia. In the operation, the source of Vandykes seizures a lesion on her right medial temporal lobe was destroyed with heat generated by light from a thin laser-tipped probe inserted into her brain through a tiny hole in her skull while the surgeon viewed real-time MRI images of the process. Wake Forest Baptist is one of only 25 medical centers nationwide, and the only one … Continue reading →

Sep. 13, 2013 Melanie Vandyke can't wait to get her driver's license. "I just want to get back out in the world," she said. For nearly 15 years, Vandyke's world was severely restricted by epileptic seizures during which she couldn't control her speech or actions and didn't know what she was doing or saying, and afterwards couldn't remember what had happened. These unpredictable episodes prevented her from driving, pursuing a career, having a social life, living independently and doing countless other things that most people take for granted. But since undergoing a cutting-edge, minimally invasive surgical procedure called MRI-guided laser ablation at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Vandyke is poised to reclaim her life. "The surgery, I do believe, has turned my life around," said the resident of Buchanan County in southwestern Virginia. In the operation, the source of Vandyke's seizures -- a lesion on her right medial temporal lobe -- was destroyed with heat generated by light from a thin laser-tipped probe inserted into her brain through a tiny hole in her skull while the surgeon viewed real-time MRI images of the process. Wake Forest Baptist is one of only 25 medical centers nationwide, and the only one between … Continue reading →

CINCINNATI - The U.S. Department of Education is telling Ohio officials that an intensive treatment for autism must be made available to any child who is considered a good candidate. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the letter comes amid a legal fight over whether federal law requires Ohio to provide the treatment, known as applied behavior analysis. A Clermont County couple filed a lawsuit last year, accusing the state of discriminating against children with autism by failing to provide the treatment. A federal judge issued a temporary order earlier this year that the state make sure the child received the treatment, saying his parents had established likelihood of proving their claims that the Ohio Health Department and a county board violated a federal act requiring states to provide early intervention services for children with autism, a developmental disorder. The federal department's director of special education programs told state officials in a letter last week that Ohio must make early intervention services available that "include applied behavior analysis." Melody Musgrove also said the department is monitoring the litigation in Ohio and that the state is responsible for following the rules. "The U.S. government has ordered the state to fix what is … Continue reading →

A comprehensive autism treatment center that Parkview Health officials planned to open in Huntington this year will not come to fruition. There were delays in the states review and approval of the project, which were coupled with a lack of the necessary partnerships with behavioral therapists, Parkview officials announced Friday. Without those, the center could not be established as envisioned. What was to be dubbed the Parkview Huntington Hospital Autism Center would have offered both behavioral and physical therapy to autistic children ages 2 to 18. The hospital will still offer speech and physical therapy to pediatric autistic patients, after officials invested nearly $100,000 in its pediatric rehabilitation area. But without the states approval for a behavioral facility and a partnership with a behavioral therapist, it cannot be called a comprehensive autism center, according to Parkview spokesman Eric Clabaugh. A statement from Parkview said the proposal for the autism center was announced in October 2012 and, shortly thereafter, plans for the behavioral therapy facility within the center were submitted to the Indiana State Department of Health for review. As of Friday, the statement said, Parkview had received no response from the health department. There was a little bit of a … Continue reading →

Acute stroke patients will not be seen in Shrewsbury until a review of the service has been carried out, it has emerged. Stroke services were temporarily moved to the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford because of a shortage of consultants, although stroke rehabilitation services remain at both sites. The move had sparked fears that the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital might lose out and a petition calling for stroke and accident and emergency services to remain in the county town has now been signed by almost 8,500 people. But health chief insist patients are now getting faster access to stroke treatment than before. At the annual general meeting of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust yesterday, health bosses insisted no decisions had been made about the future of either hospital, but admitted stroke services would remain in Telford for the time being. Councillor Joy Jones, of Newtown, who set up the petition, asked chief executive Peter Herring if services would move back to Shrewsbury and if not, whether it would mean the town would also lose its full A&E department. Mr Herring said: We did move stroke services temporarily to Telford because we were a consultant down. We have now found … Continue reading →