Arcadia, CA (PRWEB) July 09, 2013 Retina Institute (RIC) now offers RetnaGene, a genetic test to evaluate the risk of a patient with early age-related macular degeneration (AMD) progressing to advanced choroidal neovascular disease within 2, 5, and 10 years. Efficient monitoring of this chronic disease greatly reduces the chances of partial or complete loss of vision in patients. "RetnaGene testing represents the leading edge of clinically impactful genetic medicine in ophthalmology, stated RIC surgeon, Joshua Hedaya, MD. This technology will fundamentally improve our ability to treat and prevent vision loss from AMD. It is a very exciting time for doctors and patients alike." The reported risk scores for developing CNV are based on four risk factors including genotype, phenotype, age and environmental factors such as smoking. With the information provided by the RetnaGene test, RIC can customize an approach to monitoring and treatment for each individual patient based on their reported risk scores for disease progression. This provides a tremendous advantage when managing a condition such as AMD, in which loss of vision is often severe, unpredictable, and variably responsive to treatment. With this test, RIC can safely reduce the screening burden for lower risk patients, many of whom … Continue reading →

NEW YORK & LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Scil is launching a service, the first of its kind, that allows individuals to benefit from 2012 Nobel Prize-winning medical research to store a backup of their adult selves literally freezing their healthy cells in time. Scils world-leading experts use cutting-edge techniques to take cells from a small sample of an individuals skin and reboot them at the "Day Zero state". These skin cells are processed into stem cells (iPS) that are stored long-term for potential future uses, which could repair damaged organs, rebuild tissue or fight disease, as personalised genetic-based medicine continues to develop. Andr Choulika, CEO of Scil, said: Scil offers people the best possible chance in the future. People should be able to live young, no matter how old they grow. Scil gives them the opportunity to take advantage of the wave of regenerative medicine. Were offering the potential for people to use their cells for their cure as soon as regenerative medicine treatments become available. iPS (induced pluripotent stem cells) are capable of developing into any cell type. They can be derived from adult cells at any time of life, but given the fast rate at which cell DNA degenerates … Continue reading →

An in vitro fertilization (IVF) milestone has been announced by British researchers. For the first time, a baby was born using a new embryo screening technique combs through genetic data looking for risk for diseases and other abnormalities. The researchers say the technique, known as "next generation sequencing" will revolutionize embryo selection for families turning to IVF. Play Video "In the past few years, results from randomized clinical trials have suggested that most IVF patients would benefit from embryo chromosome screening, with some studies reporting a 50 percent boost in pregnancy rates. However, the costs of these genetic tests are relatively high, putting them beyond the reach of many patients," lead researcher Dr. Dagan Wells, a scientist at the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at the University of Oxford in the U.K., said in a statement. "Next generation sequencing is a way which could make chromosome testing more widely available to a greater number of patients, improving access by cutting the costs." Wells presented the case study of the first birth Monday at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in London. Play Video Next generation DNA-sequencing technology is used in other areas of medicine, such as in research of … Continue reading →

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/96mtm2/personalized) has announced the addition of Jain PharmaBiotech's new report "Personalized Medicine - Scientific and Commercial Aspects" to their offering. This updated 2013 report now features even more company profiles and collaborations! The aim of personalized medicine or individualized treatment is to match the right drug to the right patient and, in some cases, even to design the appropriate treatment for a patient according to his/her genotype. This report describes the latest concepts of development of personalized medicine based on pharmacogenomics, pharmacogenetics,pharmacoproteomics, and metabolomics. Basic technologies of molecular diagnostics play an important role, particularly those for single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping. Diagnosis is integrated with therapy for selection of the treatment as well for monitoring the results. Biochip/microarray technologies are also important and finally bioinformatics is needed to analyze the immense amount of data generated by various technologies. Pharmacogenetics, the study of influence of genetic factors on drug action and metabolism, is used for predicting adverse reactions of drugs. Several enzymes are involved in drug metabolism of which the most important ones are those belonging to the family of cytochrome P450. The knowledge of the effects of polymorphisms of genes for the enzymes is applied … Continue reading →

LIVINGSTON, NJ--(Marketwired - Jul 9, 2013) - Reprogenetics, one of the largest providers of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) services announced today that one of their researchers Dr. Dagan Wells of the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at the University of Oxford, UK, Reprogenetics UK and Reprogenetics LLC, has been acknowledged by the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), in London, UK for his work in the area of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). His research led to the first ever successful birth of a baby through this unique science revealing extensive genetic information derived from human embryos. This impressive science can significantly impact the process for, and success rate of, embryo selection for in vitro fertilization in the future. "Reprogenetics congratulates Dr. Wells on his outstanding accomplishment to genetic analysis and achieving this monumental goal in the reproductive space," said Dr. Jacques Cohen, Reprogenetics Scientific Director. "We are proud of the quality team we have established including Dr. Wells who all play an integral role in us reaching the goal of predicting viability of embryos with our NGS technique, and what it can ultimately mean for patients." About the studyTo test the accuracy and predictability of NGS, the international study … Continue reading →

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The HIV gene medicines company Calimmune announced today that the first patient has begun treatment in a Phase I/II clinical trial designed to determine whether a pioneering genetic medicine approach can help to protect individuals infected with HIV from the effects of the virus. The study, Safety Study of a Dual Anti-HIV Gene Transfer Construct to Treat HIV-1 Infection, utilizes a gene medicine called Cal-1, developed in the lab of Nobel Laureate Dr. David Baltimore and by Calimmune. In the study, 12 HIV-positive participants will be infused with their own T cells and stem cells (hematopoietic stem cells, HSC), which have been modified to block the HIV receptor CCR5, and to prevent HIV fusion. The procedure is designed to prevent the virus from entering and damaging protected cells. The dual approach used in the study is designed to reduce the possibility that HIV can develop resistance to the procedure. The goal of the study is to assess the safety, feasibility and tolerability of Cal-1 in HIV-infected individuals who have previously been on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) but are not currently taking any antiretroviral agent. In addition to routine clinical and laboratory assessments to monitor general health … Continue reading →

Testimonial: Heart Attack, Kidney Failure, Hyperuricemia (Mr. Say Bee) Follow me on YouTube and Facebook for more updates and information! Contact Evelyn @ +65 8699 5092 Facebook: Purtier - Live Stem Cell Therapy. By: PurtierSG … Continue reading →

Testimonial: Muscular Dystrophy (Mr. Ngo Pek Kooi) Follow me on YouTube and Facebook for more updates and information! Contact Evelyn @ +65 8699 5092 Facebook: Purtier - Live Stem Cell Therapy. By: PurtierSG … Continue reading →