By Jim Dryden - Part of the risk for alcohol dependence is genetic, and the same is true for eating disorders. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found its likely some of the same genes are involved in both. In clinical practice, its been observed that individuals with eating disorders also have high rates of alcohol abuse and dependence, said Melissa A. Munn-Chernoff, PhD, the studys first author. Other studies have focused on the genetic connections between alcohol dependence and eating disorders, but all of those studies looked only at women. Ours was the first to include men as well. According to Munn-Chernoff, a postdoctoral research scholar in psychiatry, thats important because although eating disorders tend to be thought of as a female problem, they affect men, too. By studying twins, the researchers used statistical methods to determine the odds that certain traits result from the same genes. Those statistical insights are based on the fact that identical twins share 100 percent of their genetic makeup while fraternal twins share about half. By comparing the findings in identical and fraternal twins, we can develop estimates of how much of the difference in particular traits … Continue reading →

7 hours ago Aug. 23, 2013 - 7:23 AM PDT Plenty of genetic testing and analysis startups want to use personalized medicine to revolutionize healthcare but theres one thing they may have to do first: help consumers understand what that actually means. According to a report released this week from research firm GfK, just 27 percent of U.S. consumers said theyd heard of the term personalized medicine, and just 4 percent could accurately describe it as medical care that matched a persons genetic makeup. Once respondents were told what it meant, the study, which included more than 600 people in the general population over the age of 30, found that 55 percent of people with work-sponsored health plans said they were interested in having a genetic test. Not surprisingly, that figure rose to 80 percent among those who have or have had cancer and, in general, interest increased among those who have more medical conditions. With the approach of the more-affordable so-called $1,000 genome, the phrase personalized medicine has become more ubiquitous. Several companies, from genetic testing firms 23andme and Gene by Gene to genomic data processing and analysis startups Bina Technologies and Spiral Genetics, are working on technology to … Continue reading →

Public release date: 23-Aug-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Dr. Yubo Fan yubofan@buaa.edu.cn Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine Researchers at the Beihang University School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, led by Dr. Yubo Fan, have discovered that Biphasic Electrical stimulation (BES), a non-chemical procedure, may be used as a strategy for preventing cell apoptosis in stem cell-based transplantation therapy. The article describing their studies will be published in the August 2013 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine. The scientists believe that their technique will be used for spinal cord injury patients in the future. Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a serious disease of the central nervous system. According to Spinal Cord Injury Facts & Statistics, 250,000 Americans are spinal cord injured patients. Approximately 52% of spinal cord injured individuals are considered as paraplegic, and 47% patients are quadriplegic. In addition, 11,000 new injuries occur each year, and 82% are male. Transplantation of Stem Cells is a potential clinical therapy for repair and regeneration of injured spinal cord, and brings new hope for patients. However, the survival rate of transplanted cells is relatively low because the cells are particularly vulnerable to apoptosis in the spinal cord. Factors … Continue reading →

Administering clot-busting drugs within 90 minutes of mild stroke boosts odds for recovery, experts say WebMD News from HealthDay By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter THURSDAY, Aug. 22 (HealthDay News) -- People suffering mild to moderate ischemic strokes who get immediate medical treatment can greatly reduce their odds of disability, a new study suggests. An ischemic stroke occurs when a clot blocks blood flow to the brain. According to the American Stroke Association, nearly nine out of every 10 strokes are ischemic strokes. Current guidelines recommend giving a clot-dissolving drug within 4.5 hours of stroke onset. However, the new study found that when these clot-busting drugs were administered even sooner -- within 90 minutes of the appearance of stroke symptoms -- patients had little or no disability after three months compared with patients who got the drugs later. "Despite the time window of 4.5 hours to give clot-busting drugs, there are clear differences between patients treated ultra-early -- within 90 minutes -- and those treated later," said lead researcher Dr. Daniel Strbian, an associate professor of neurology at Helsinki University Central Hospital in Finland. "This finding calls for streamlining the processes starting from symptom recognition, ambulance call, transport to hospital and … Continue reading →

Public release date: 22-Aug-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Maggie Francis maggie.francis@heart.org 214-706-1382 American Heart Association DALLAS, August 22, 2013 In the case of mild or moderate strokes, getting treatment ultra-fast within 90 minutes of experiencing symptoms greatly reduces the risk of suffering disability, according to a new study reported in the American Heart Association's journal Stoke. The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association recommends getting to a hospital within three hours of the onset of stroke symptoms. According to guidelines, clot-busting drugs may be given to treat stroke up to 4.5 hours after the onset of symptoms. The study found that survivors with mild to moderate strokes who were given the clot-busting drugs in the first 90 minutes of the recommended time window had little or no disability three months later compared to those who were treated between 90 and 270 minutes. "Ultra-early treatment increases the likelihood of excellent outcome in patients with moderately severe symptoms, and in secondary analysis also in those with mild symptoms," said Daniel Strbian, M.D., Ph.D., from the Department of Neurology at Helsinki University Central Hospital in Helsinki, Finland. "All measures must be taken to reduce onset-to-treatment time as much as possible." The … Continue reading →

The main goal in stroke treatment: saving brain. Time is brain, the saying goes. The faster people get treatment for a stroke, the less brain damage they suffer. A new study says much faster is much better, especially for mild and moderate strokes. People treated with a clotbusting drug within 90 minutes of having symptoms of a stroke had excellent recoveries, with less lasting disability. The scientists compared the records of 6,856 people who were treated for strokes in 10 European stroke centers. About 20 percent of the people were treated with clotbusting drugs within 90 minutes of reporting sudden symptoms like vision problems, weakness in a limb, or difficulty talking. "What this just reinforces is that earlier is better," says Dr. Larry Goldstein, a professor of neurology and director of the Duke Comprehensive Stroke Center. "There's nothing magical about 90 minutes." That 90 minutes was the cutoff picked by the researchers in the study, which was published Thursday in the journal Stroke. Clotbusting drugs are approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use within three hours of symptoms, but Goldstein says "three hours was never good enough." The real gold standard in the United States is treatment within … Continue reading →