Public release date: 28-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Raquel Maurier rmaurier@ualberta.ca 780-492-5986 University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry Medical researchers at the University of Alberta have pinpointed a genetic marker for sporadic breast cancer one of a handful identified to date in Caucasians. Researchers have identified many genetic markers for familial breast cancers, but not for sporadic breast cancer which accounts for 80 per cent of all cases. Sambasivarao Damaraju, a professor with the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry and a researcher at the Cross Cancer Institute, worked with his team to scan the DNA of about 7,200 Alberta women, including those who have had sporadic breast cancer and those who have not had cancer. Their genomes were scanned from DNA isolated from blood. The results? Women who had sporadic breast cancer frequently had a genetic marker on chromosome 4 a marker that has never been associated with familial breast cancer cases. "The frequency of this marker occurring was statistically significant," says Damaraju, who works in the Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology. "Genetic factors that predispose women to breast cancer is a subject of intense investigation in the research world. While 60 to 70 … Continue reading →

Public release date: 28-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Shawna Williams shawna@jhmi.edu 410-955-8236 Johns Hopkins Medicine Using a novel method of analyzing genetic variations in families, researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that individually harmless genetic variations affecting related biochemical processes may team up to increase the risk of schizophrenia. They say their findings, reported May 28 in Translational Psychiatry, bring some clarity to the murky relationship between genetics and schizophrenia, and may lead to a genetic test that can predict which medications will be effective for individual patients. "It's long been clear that schizophrenia runs in families, but schizophrenia as a simple inherited disease didn't make sense from an evolutionary point of view because people with the disease tend to have fewer children and the disease-causing genetic variants shouldn't survive," says Dimitri Avramopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor of psychiatry in the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine. Moreover, he says, studies searching for schizophrenia-linked gene variants have found only weak connections to a few genes nothing that would explain the persistent prevalence of the disease, which affects about 1 percent of the population. Most geneticists believe that the culprit in so-called complex genetic diseases such as schizophrenia … Continue reading →

Peyton at vision therapy By: Tara Piantanida-Kelly … Continue reading →

Stem Cell 4 By: Jennifer Etter … Continue reading →

San Diego, California Experiments on rats by a team of international researchers have shown increased mobility and function in spinal injuries after a single injection of human neural stem cells. The team, led by the University of San Diego, published their findings in the May 2013 issue of Stem Cell Research and Therapy. They found that injecting neural stem cells into the rats spinal injury resulted in a number of benefits. The rats experienced less muscle spasticity and researchers saw improvement in the positioning and control of paws during the walking tests conducted on the rats. According to website, Science Daily Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and spinal injury expert, Martin Marsala said often uncontrolled muscle spasms is a serious complication when there has been trauma to the spinal cord. The effect of the stem cells is thus significant, the cells are reported to vigorously take root at the injury site. Marsala added that when rats were treated with the cells, any cysts or cavities around spinal injuries would be filled by the grafted cells. These cells would reportedly undertake to stimulate neuron generation by promoting the growth of new nerve fibres; and also partially replace the functions performed … Continue reading →

Professor Keith Muir, from Glasgow University, said the results were "not what we would have expected" from the group of patients, who had previously shown no indications of their conditions improving. He stressed it is too soon to tell whether the effect is due to the treatment they are receiving. The trial involves injecting stem cells directly into the damaged parts of the patients' brains, with the hope they would turn into healthy tissue or kick-start the body's own repair processes. Nine patients, in their 60s, 70s and 80s are taking part in the trial at Glasgow's Southern General Hospital to assess the safety of the procedure. Among the patients to have shown improvements is former teacher Frank Marsh, who had a stroke five years ago. The stroke left him with poor strength and co-ordination in his left hand, and poor balance. He needs a walking stick to help him move around the house. The 80-year-old took part in the trial at Glasgow's Southern General Hospital, and said he had seen improvements in the use of his left hand. Mr Marsh said: "I can grip certain things that I never gripped before, like the hand rail at the baths, with … Continue reading →

Washington, May 28 : A new research has found that human foetal stem cell grafts improve both motor and sensory functions in rats suffering from a spinal cord injury. This cell replacement therapy also improves the structural integrity of the spine, providing a functional relay through the injury site. The research gives hope for the treatment of spinal cord injuries in humans. Grafting human neural stem cells into the spine is a promising approach to promote the recovery of function after spinal injury. Sebastian van Gorp, from the University of California San Diego, and team's work looks specifically at the effect of intraspinal grafting of human foetal spinal cord-derived neural stem cells on the recovery of neurological function in rats with acute lumbar compression injuries. A total of 42 three month-old female Sprague-Dawley rats, with spinal compression injuries, were allocated to one of three groups. The rats in the first group received a spinal injection with the stem cells, those in the second group received a placebo injection, while those in the third group received no injection. Treatment effectiveness was assessed by a combination of measures, including motor and sensory function tests, presence of muscle spasticity and rigidity that causes … Continue reading →

May 28, 2013 redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports Your Universe Online More than half of the seriously disabled stroke victims participating in preliminary clinical trials of a new stem cell procedure have shown modest signs of recovery, the scientists carrying out the research reported Monday. According to Sam Marsden of The Telegraph, five out of the nine ischemic stroke patients taking part in the PISCES trial were able to regain some movement in their hands and legs after undergoing the procedure, in which stem cells were injected directly into the damaged parts of their brains. The patients showed mild to moderate improvement in their conditions after receiving injections of the ReNeuron Groups ReN001 stem cell therapy, Marsden explained. Some of the patients were able to move their fingers again after several years of complete paralysis, while others found that they could walk around their houses by themselves without assistance, he added. Glasgow University professor Keith Muir, who is treating the patients, told BBC News Science Correspondent Pallab Ghosh that he was surprised by the amount of recovery in the patients. However, he also emphasized that it was too soon to determine whether or not the stem cell treatment is responsible … Continue reading →