Public release date: 1-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Andrew Gould andrew.gould@pcmd.ac.uk 44-018-843-8346 University of Exeter Type 2 diabetes is popularly associated with obesity and a sedentary lifestyle. However, just as there are obese people without type 2 diabetes, there are lean people with the disease. It has long been hypothesised that type 2 diabetes in lean people is more 'genetically driven'. A new study from a research team led by the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry (PCMD), University of Exeter, which involved research institutions from around the world, has for the first time proved that lean type 2 diabetes patients have a larger genetic disposition to the disease than their obese counterparts. The study has also identified a new genetic factor associated only with lean diabetes sufferers. The study is published in PLoS Genetics. Using genetic data from genome-wide association studies, the research team tested genetic markers across the genome in approximately 5,000 lean patients with type 2 diabetes, 13,000 obese patients with the disease and 75,000 healthy controls. The team found differences in genetic enrichment between lean and obese cases, which support the hypothesis that lean diabetes sufferers have a greater genetic predisposition to the … Continue reading →

In a lab in Atlanta, a group of flies is sleeping fitfully. Their naps are fragmented, and their legs are twitching. Their behaviour is uncannily similar to people who have a condition called restless leg syndrome (RLS). When such people are awake, they experience uncomfortable sensations in their limbs that compel them to move to get some relief. Their sleep, which is fragmented and disturbed, is characterised by the same involuntary movements. Theres a good reason for these similarities. Amanda Freeman from the Emory University School of Medicine has engineered the flies so that they have a faulty copy of BTBD9, a gene that has been linked to RLS in humans. The fact that they show the same constellation of symptoms strongly suggests that this gene is genuinely involved in the condition. In 2007, two teams of scientists linked BTBD9 to the repeated limb movements that occur during RLS. A single change in the genes sequence increased the risk of such movements by more than 50 per cent, and was probably involved in around half of such cases. One of the teams wrote that the discovery provides evidence that periodic limb movements in sleep is a genuine syndrome with a … Continue reading →

Stem cell therapy may one day be used to cure disorders such as Fragile-X syndrome, or Cystic fibrosis and other genetic maladies. Matthew Vella The Maltese government wants the European Commission to abandon plans to provide funds for research activities on stem cells that involve "the destruction of human embryos". In a declaration on the ethical principles for the Horizon 2020 programme, which is an 80 billion fund for the EU's programme for research and innovation to create new jobs, the Maltese government said it wanted more detailed guidelines on the bioethical principles that will guide research programmes. Horizon 2020 will allow the financing of research on human stem cells - both adult and embryonic - as long as it is permitted by the national laws of member states. The fund however will not finance human cloning, genetic modification, or the creation of human embryos intended for the purpose of research or stem cell procurement. The European Commission does not explicitly solicit the use of human embryonic stem cells, but Horizon 2020 allows the use of human stem cells according to the objectives of the research, and only if it has the necessary approvals from the member states. The Maltese … Continue reading →

CLEARWATER, FL--(Marketwire -06/01/12)- Biostem U.S., Corporation (HAIR) (HAIR) (Biostem, the Company), a fully reporting public company in the stem cell regenerative medicine science sector, has made its Scientific and Medical Board of Advisors publications available on the company website, http://www.biostemus.com. Chief Executive Officer Dwight Brunoehler stated, "The company is very proud of the many contributions its SAMBA members have made, and continue to make, to the medical community. As their publications and credentials show, this is a very prestigious and influential group. Having worked with them in past projects and now at Biostem, I know them all to be active participants in the development and guidance of the company's objectives. Their diversified areas of expertise and backgrounds are already playing a major role in assisting the company as it moves forward into the expanding field of regenerative medicine." About Biostem U.S., Corporation Biostem U.S., Corporation is a fully reporting Nevada corporation with offices in Clearwater, Florida. Biostem is a technology licensing company with proprietary technology centered on providing hair re-growth using human stem cells. The company also intends to train and license selected physicians to provide Regenerative Cellular Therapy treatments to assist the body's natural approach to healing tendons, ligaments, … Continue reading →