A new method of genetic testing appears to be able to help doctors diagnose critically ill babies more quickly than ever before, according to a new study. The method allows doctors for decode a baby's entire genome in two days -- breathtakingly fast compared to current methods that can take six weeks or more. In the new study, the researchers report using the approach to decode the entire genomes of six acutely ill newborns admitted to neonatal intensive care units, two of whom had already been determined to have genetic diseases. What they found in this proof of concept, they said, could be used in the future to more quickly diagnose sick newborns and treat them early. The study was published Wednesday in the journal Science Translational Medicine. "We think that we have come up with a solution for the tragic families who have a baby who's born and the doctors are not sure of what the cause of the baby's illness is," said the study's senior author, Dr. Stephen F. Kingsmore, director of the Center for Pediatric Genomic Medicine at Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, Mo. Many of the 3,500 known genetic diseases cause medical problems … Continue reading →

A new technology can diagnose rare genetic disorders in critically ill newborns within a few days, rather than the weeks that are needed with current methods, researchers say. The technology involves sequencing the infant's genome, and then using new software to hone in on the genes most likely to be disease culprits. In a new study, researchers identified the genetic cause of a newborn's illness in three out of four babies tested. The whole process takes about 50 hours, they said. The speed of the new test is what could make it useful for sick babies in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), the researchers said. Currently, it can take weeks for doctors to diagnose a genetic disorder in an ill infant, and many babies die before their test results are available, said study researcher Stephen Kingsmore, director of the Center for Pediatric Genomic Medicine at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. A faster diagnosis for genetic conditions would allow doctors to provide earlier treatments if there are any or to give parents an earlier warning, and potentially more time together with their child, if the condition is untreatable and fatal, the researchers say. Doctors already routinely screen newborns for a … Continue reading →

Contributed photo Dr. Nabil Dib They're called "no-option patients." They've endured angioplasty, stent procedures, bypasses and a long line of medications. None of the treatments has fixed the plaque-plugged coronary arteries that trigger angina, starve the heart of blood and force people to hunch in pain after walking twoblocks. Adult stem cell research at an Oxnard hospital is aimed at giving themchoices. "A patient who has no hope will have some hope," said Dr. Nabil Dib, a world-renowned researcher partnering with St. John's Regional Medical Center. "It's a hope for potential therapy that will revise the way we treat cardiovasculardisease." Stem cells are blank cells that function as the body's building blocks. They are able to grow into many different kinds of cells, including blood, muscle and tissue. Dib's work involves adult stem cells harvested from his patients, as opposed to stem cells that come from embryos and trigger ethicaldebates. In a clinical trial starting at St. John's and 49 other hospitals across the country, the adult stem cells will be isolated and used to create new blood vessels. It's a way of manipulating the body into building new pathways for blood flow impeded by barricadedarteries. "We're doing like a … Continue reading →

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Nanobiotix announced today a collaboration with key European nanomedicine players which is funded by the European Commission. This strong partnership of relevant stakeholders aims to identify key areas of nanomedicine with novel concepts for translation of nanomedical innovations into clinical practice. The project called Nanomed2020 started on 1stSeptember 2012 and has a duration of 18 months. Making Europe a center for nanomedicine research, development and translation is the goal of this project. To achieve this goal, the proposed project unites partners already representing the largest network of active stakeholders in the nanomedicine area as of today in Europe, embracing roughly 200 Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals and Public Health Institutions, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and small and large industry organizations. What are the needs and the problems? Excellent academic research groups may need to better understand the market and the medical needs. There are a large number of pharmaceutical and medtech companies that have a comprehensive and direct access to market but these companies struggle to handle radical innovation. At the same time, there is a small number of SMEs trying to add new innovation onto the market, but these few companies are too small to exploit the … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (Oct. 3, 2012) New research appearing online October 3 in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), suggests that long-term survivors of hematopoietic cell transplants (HCT) are at an increased risk of developing heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol when compared to the general population. These risk factors, combined with exposure to pre-HCT therapy, contribute to a noticeably increased risk of heart disease over time. HCT, the transplantation of blood-forming stem cells from the bone marrow, circulating blood, or umbilical cord blood, is the primary treatment option for many patients with blood disorders. The healthy transplanted stem cells replace patients' damaged cells that caused their illness. Advances in transplantation strategies have contributed to marked improvements in patient outcomes, resulting in a growing number of long-term transplant survivors, many of whom struggle with one or more chronic, post-transplant health conditions. Previous researchers have speculated that survivors' exposure to potentially heart damaging pre-transplant chemotherapy and radiation or treatment for a life-threatening transplant complication known as graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) can increase their risk of developing heart disease and its associated risk factors. However, there have been limited data to validate the contribution of … Continue reading →

STAMFORD, CT--(Marketwire - Oct 3, 2012) - Noble Financial Capital Markets (Noble) announced today that it has released a full high definition video catalog of its Life Sciences Exposition, BIOX, an investor exposition that was held at the University of Connecticut in Stamford, CT on September 24-25, 2012. In addition to the participation of more than two dozen biotechnology companies, the event featured world renowned key opinion leaders Dr. Mark Noble (University of Rochester), R. Phil Greenberg (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center), Dr. Jeffrey Infante (Sarah Cannon Research Institute), and Dr. Charles Vacanti (Harvard Medical School). Opening remarks were provided by Dr. Sharon White, Director of the UCONN Stamford campus and Richard Blumenthal, United States Senator for Connecticut. "Washington is dysfunctional and broken," Blumenthal said. "The good news is that scientific advancements and research offer a real opportunity to reach across the aisle; this is an area that should inspire bipartisan cooperation." Overwhelmingly, the message coming from the Exposition was one of encouragement that we are making great strides in the effective treatment of catastrophic disease, in particular cancers. Determining genetic differences in tumors, which has posed challenges for biomarkers, has improved significantly with advancements in molecular biology. Novel and … Continue reading →

Contributed photo Dr. Nabil Dib They're called "no-option patients." They've endured angioplasty, stent procedures, bypasses and a long line of medications. None of the treatments has fixed the plaque-plugged coronary arteries that trigger angina, starve the heart of blood and force people to hunch in pain after walking twoblocks. Adult stem cell research at an Oxnard hospital is aimed at giving themchoices. "A patient who has no hope will have some hope," said Dr. Nabil Dib, a world-renowned researcher partnering with St. John's Regional Medical Center. "It's a hope for potential therapy that will revise the way we treat cardiovasculardisease." Stem cells are blank cells that function as the body's building blocks. They are able to grow into many different kinds of cells, including blood, muscle and tissue. Dib's work involves adult stem cells harvested from his patients, as opposed to stem cells that come from embryos and trigger ethicaldebates. In a clinical trial starting at St. John's and 49 other hospitals across the country, the adult stem cells will be isolated and used to create new blood vessels. It's a way of manipulating the body into building new pathways for blood flow impeded by barricadedarteries. "We're doing like a … Continue reading →