Being told you have a genetic predisposition to alcoholism could make you feel you have less control over your drinking, a new study suggests. The unique study adds to growing concern about the potential perils of direct-to-consumer genetic tests. Psychologist Ilan Dar-Nimrod from the University of Sydney and colleagues report their findings in the journal Genetics in Medicine. He says the latest findings show how genetic information has the power to change a person's emotional state, behaviour and attitudes. "We have about 1,600 genetic tests available now," Dar-Nimrod tells the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "We should have better knowledge about how to communicate these results in a manner that doesn't create harm." He says for a few genetic-related diseases, having a particular gene means you will definitely get the disease, unless you die of other causes first. But in 98 per cent of cases the gene only increases your risk of a condition and that risk may be very small or very uncertain. Despite the lack of certainty around the impact of many disease-related genes, Dar-Nimrod says there is some evidence that people who test positive for them can become fatalistic and believe they will definitely develop the condition in question. … Continue reading →

By: Lira Dalangin-Fernandez, InterAksyon.com September 11, 2012 7:21 PM InterAksyon.com The online news portal of TV5 MANILA, Philippines - Former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said Tuesday she was thankful to her doctors at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center for recognizing her right to seek stem cell treatment for her medical condition. In her Twitter account (@gmarroyo), Arroyo said, "I'm glad my Veterans attending physicians recognize my right to seek alternative treatment and don't consider it in conflict with the conventional treatment they're giving me." Arroyo on Monday underwent her fourth stem cell intravenous treatment while still attending her weekly therapy at the VMMC. "Procedure was not only intravenous injection of the stem cell material but also other naturalist treatment therapies," she said in her Twitter account. "It has to be done under very hygienic conditions. Then I proceeded to my 3x (three times) weekly physical therapy at Veterans," she added. Earlier, she said her treatment would involve cultured stem cells, which would be "much more modest in price that the one coming from sheep or one's own body." Stem cell therapy involves the use of fresh cells injected into the body to regenerate cells to reverse aging … Continue reading →

LOS ANGELES UCLA stem cell researchers have found that a gene therapy regimen can safely restore immune systems to children with so-called "bubble boy" disease, a life-threatening condition that if left untreated can be fatal within one to two years. In the 11-year study, researchers were able to test two therapy regimens for 10 children with ADA-deficient severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), which has come to be known as "bubble boy" disease because some of its victims have been forced to live in sterile environments. During that time, the researchers refined their approach to include a light dose of chemotherapy to help remove many of the blood stem cells in the bone marrow that were not creating the enzyme adenosine deaminase (ADA), which is critical for the production and survival of healthy white blood cells, said study senior Dr. Donald Kohn, a member of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA. The refined gene therapy and chemotherapy regimen proved superior to the other method tested in the study, restoring immune function to three of the six children who received it, said Kohn, who is also a professor of pediatrics and of microbiology, immunology … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (Sep. 11, 2012) UCLA stem cell researchers have found that a gene therapy regimen can safely restore immune systems to children with so-called "Bubble Boy" disease, a life threatening condition that if left untreated can be fatal within one to two years. In the 11-year study, researchers were able to test two therapy regimens for 10 children with ADA-deficient severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). During the study, they refined their approach to include a light dose of chemotherapy to help remove many of the blood stem cells in the bone marrow that are not creating an enzyme called adenosine deaminase (ADA), which is critical for the production and survival of healthy white blood cells, said study senior Dr. Donald Kohn, a professor of pediatrics and of microbiology, immunology, and molecular genetics in Life Sciences and a member of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA. The refined gene therapy and chemotherapy regimen proved superior to the other method tested in the study, restoring immune function to three of the six children who received it, Kohn said. Going forward, an even further refined regimen using a different type of virus delivery system will … Continue reading →

MANILA, Philippines Former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo thanked the public for their support as she undergoes medical treatment to address complications from a dislodged titanium implant along her cervical spine. Hi everyone. Thank you for your support, Arroyo posted on her official Twitter account on Tuesday. Arroyo also expressed her appreciation for the government doctors for allowing her to seek alternative medical care to address complications from her ailment. Replying to reporters queries on the micro-blogging site Twitter, Arroyo described the stem cell procedure she took on Monday. Procedure was not only intravenous injection of the stem cell material but also other naturalist treatment therapies. It has to be done under very hygienic conditions, she said. Arroyo said that after her stem cell treatment, she proceeded to her therapy at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center. Then I proceeded to my 3x weekly physical therapy at Veterans. I'm glad my Veterans' attending physicians recognize my right to seek alternative treatment and don't consider it in conflict with the conventional treatment they're giving me. In earlier tweets on Sunday, Arroyo explained to netizens that her stem cell therapy is not meant to address the mechanical problem directly but … Continue reading →

Public release date: 11-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Kim Irwin kirwin@mednet.ucla.edu 310-435-9457 University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences UCLA stem cell researchers have found that a gene therapy regimen can safely restore immune systems to children with so-called "Bubble Boy" disease, a life threatening condition that if left untreated can be fatal within one to two years. In the 11-year study, researchers were able to test two therapy regimens for 10 children with ADA-deficient severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). During the study, they refined their approach to include a light dose of chemotherapy to help remove many of the blood stem cells in the bone marrow that are not creating an enzyme called adenosine deaminase (ADA), which is critical for the production and survival of healthy white blood cells, said study senior Dr. Donald Kohn, a professor of pediatrics and of microbiology, immunology, and molecular genetics in Life Sciences and a member of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA. The refined gene therapy and chemotherapy regimen proved superior to the other method tested in the study, restoring immune function to three of the six children who received … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (Sep. 11, 2012) The brain is a notoriously difficult organ to treat, but Johns Hopkins researchers report they are one step closer to having a drug-delivery system flexible enough to overcome some key challenges posed by brain cancer and perhaps other maladies affecting that organ. In a report published online on Aug. 29 in Science Translational Medicine, the Johns Hopkins team says its bioengineers have designed nanoparticles that can safely and predictably infiltrate deep into the brain when tested in rodent and human tissue. "We are pleased to have found a way to prevent drug-embedded particles from sticking to their surroundings so that they can spread once they are in the brain," says Justin Hanes, Ph.D., Lewis J. Ort Professor of Ophthalmology, with secondary appointments in chemical and biomolecular engineering, biomedical engineering, oncology, neurological surgery and environmental health sciences, and director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Nanomedicine. After surgery to remove a brain tumor, standard treatment protocols include the application of chemotherapy directly to the surgical site to kill any cells left behind that could not be surgically removed. To date, this method of preventing tumor recurrence is only moderately successful, in part, because it is hard to … Continue reading →

By: Lira Dalangin-Fernandez, InterAksyon.com September 11, 2012 7:21 PM InterAksyon.com The online news portal of TV5 MANILA, Philippines - Former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said Tuesday she was thankful to her doctors at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center for recognizing her right to seek stem cell treatment for her medical condition. In her Twitter account (@gmarroyo), Arroyo said, "I'm glad my Veterans attending physicians recognize my right to seek alternative treatment and don't consider it in conflict with the conventional treatment they're giving me." Arroyo on Monday underwent her fourth stem cell intravenous treatment while still attending her weekly therapy at the VMMC. "Procedure was not only intravenous injection of the stem cell material but also other naturalist treatment therapies," she said in her Twitter account. "It has to be done under very hygienic conditions. Then I proceeded to my 3x (three times) weekly physical therapy at Veterans," she added. Earlier, she said her treatment would involve cultured stem cells, which would be "much more modest in price that the one coming from sheep or one's own body." Stem cell therapy involves the use of fresh cells injected into the body to regenerate cells to reverse aging … Continue reading →

Public release date: 11-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Kim Irwin kirwin@mednet.ucla.edu 310-435-9457 University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences UCLA stem cell researchers have found that a gene therapy regimen can safely restore immune systems to children with so-called "Bubble Boy" disease, a life threatening condition that if left untreated can be fatal within one to two years. In the 11-year study, researchers were able to test two therapy regimens for 10 children with ADA-deficient severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). During the study, they refined their approach to include a light dose of chemotherapy to help remove many of the blood stem cells in the bone marrow that are not creating an enzyme called adenosine deaminase (ADA), which is critical for the production and survival of healthy white blood cells, said study senior Dr. Donald Kohn, a professor of pediatrics and of microbiology, immunology, and molecular genetics in Life Sciences and a member of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA. The refined gene therapy and chemotherapy regimen proved superior to the other method tested in the study, restoring immune function to three of the six children who received … Continue reading →