ScienceDaily (Feb. 24, 2012) — Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide, especially in developed countries, and there is currently no known treatment or cure or for the vast majority of AMD patients. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Medicine has identified genes whose expression levels can identify people with AMD, as well as tell apart AMD subtypes. It is estimated that 6.5% of people over age 40 in the US currently have AMD. There is an inheritable genetic risk factor but risk is also increased for smokers and with exposure to UV light. Genome-wide studies have indicated that genes involved in the innate immune system and fat metabolism are involved in this disease. However none of these prior studies examined gene expression differences between AMD and normal eyes. In order to address this question, researchers at the University of California Santa Barbara, the University of Utah John Moran Eye Center, and the University of Iowa combined forces and used a human donor eye repository to identify genes up-regulated in AMD. The ability of these genes to recognize AMD was tested on a separate set of samples. The team discovered … Continue reading →

Public release date: 23-Feb-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Dr. Habibul Ahsan habib@uchicago.edu 773-834-9956 Public Library of Science A large-scale genomic study conducted in Bangladesh has discovered genetic variants that control arsenic metabolism and elevate the risk of skin lesions in people chronically exposed to arsenic. In PLoS Genetics, researchers from the University of Chicago, Columbia University, the International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research in Bangladesh, and the University of North Carolina report that genetic variants found near the enzyme for metabolizing the chemical into a less toxic form are associated with an individual's risk of developing arsenic-related disease. Since the installation of hand-pumped wells to tap groundwater sources in the 1970s, as many as 77 million people ? about half the population of Bangladesh ? have been accidentally exposed to dangerous levels of arsenic. The World Health Organization calls the exposure "the largest mass poisoning of a population in history" (WHO, 2000). For over a decade, Habibul Ahsan and colleagues have studied the epidemiology of arsenic-related diseases such as skin lesions, diabetes, and cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses in this population, as well as the effectiveness of interventions to prevent toxicity. In this new study, nearly 3,000 Bangladeshis … Continue reading →

FRIDAY, Feb. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) may sometimes have a genetic component, a team of German researchers reports. DNA analysis from a small group of infants who succumbed to SIDS revealed that many of the male children carried a particular enzyme mutation that may have impaired their ability to breath properly. This was not the case for female SIDS patients. Study author Dr. Michael Klintschar, director of the Institute for Legal Medicine at Medical University Hannover in Germany, said his team tried to build upon previous research suggesting that "abnormalities in the brain stem, the part of the brain that regulates breathing and other basic functions, lead to SIDS." "The reasons for these abnormalities are unclear," he noted, "but some scientists believe that the genes inherited by the parents might be one of several factors." Klintschar and his colleagues found indications that SIDS risk might be higher among male infants who carry a mutation of an enzyme -- called MAOA -- that appears to impede key neurotransmitter function. "Babies that have this variant inherited might have an impaired breathing regulation," he said. "But the risk conveyed by this gene variant is relatively small compared to … Continue reading →

Public release date: 23-Feb-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Robert Mitchum robert.mitchum@uchospitals.edu 773-795-5227 University of Chicago Medical Center One of the first large-scale genomic studies conducted in a developing country has discovered genetic variants that elevate the risk for skin lesions in people chronically exposed to arsenic. Genetic changes found near the enzyme for metabolizing the chemical into a less toxic form can significantly increase an individual's risk for developing arsenic-related disease. The discovery could point the way to new screening and intervention options for people who are exposed to groundwater with high levels of arsenic, said scientists at the University of Chicago Medicine, Columbia University, and in Bangladesh in a study published in PLoS Genetics. "These results add clarity to the genetic architecture that is playing a role in arsenic toxicity and its underlying biology," said senior author Habibul Ahsan, MD, MMedSc, Louis Block Professor of health studies, medicine and human genetics at the University of Chicago Medicine. "It's a rare type of study for a major problem affecting millions of people around the world, and it opens up opportunities for genetic studies of other major public health problems in developing countries." The group's genome-wide association study, … Continue reading →

NEW YORK & PETACH TIKVAH, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. (OTCBB: BCLI.OB - News), a developer of innovative stem cell technologies for neurodegenerative disorders, announced that NurOwn™, its autologous stem cell therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's Disease, was profiled yesterday on CNBC. In the Feature Story about the impact of Iran's nuclear threat, Israeli business and scientific leaders were interviewed about Israel's thriving economy and cutting edge technologies. Among those leaders that met with CNBC were Brainstorm’s President Mr. Chaim Lebovits and Prof. Dimitrios Karussis, Principal Investigator of Brainstorm's Phase I/II clinical trial currently underway at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem. Brainstorm recently announced positive initial results from the clinical trial, resulting in approval from Hadassah's Helsinki committee to proceed with the trial. Accordingly, additional patients have been enrolled in the study, and Brainstorm will announce additional results in the coming months. To see the video online, follow the link at: http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000074883 To read the Feature Story online, follow the link at: http://www.cnbc.com/id/46484576 Safe Harbor Statement Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute "forward-looking statements" and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.'s actual results to … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (Feb. 24, 2012) — The gold standard for nanotechnology is nature's own proteins. These biomolecular nanomachines -- macromolecules forged from peptide chains of amino acids -- are able to fold themselves into a dazzling multitude of shapes and forms that enable them to carry out an equally dazzling multitude of functions fundamental to life. As important as protein folding is to virtually all biological systems, the mechanisms behind this process have remained a mystery. The fog, however, is being lifted. A team of researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), using the exceptionally bright and powerful x-ray beams of the Advanced Light Source, have determined the crystal structure of a critical control element within chaperonin, the protein complex responsible for the correct folding of other proteins. The incorrect or "misfolding" of proteins has been linked to many diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and some forms of cancer. "We identified, for the first time, a region within group II chaperonins we call the nucleotide-sensing loop, which detects the presence of the ATP molecules that fuel the chaperonin folding motion," says Paul Adams, a bioengineer with Berkeley Lab's Physical Biosciences Division and leading authority on … Continue reading →

Bar Harbor – Yijun Ruan, Ph.D., an American geneticist who has pioneered new techniques to sequence and map DNA to better understand cancer growth and stem cell properties, will be the first scientist to join the new Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine (JAX Genomic Medicine) in Farmington, Conn. Ruan is currently associate director and senior group leader at the Genome Institute of Singapore and professor of biochemistry at the National University of Singapore. He is also an investigator with the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project, an international consortium of research groups funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute. Ruan said he was attracted by The Jackson Laboratory’s famously collaborative research environment, and plans to “take a community approach to tackle genomic questions through intensive collaboration.” Through innovating new technologies and studying how the human and mouse genomes are regulated, he said his goal is to translate research findings into personalized medicine. Ruan has also been appointed director of JAX Genomic Sciences, and will be bringing his current research program and team with him to JAX Genomic Medicine. JAX Genomic Medicine will unite doctors, patients, scientists and industry to find new ways to tailor disease diagnosis, prevention and treatment … Continue reading →

Newswise — The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) is pleased to announce the winner of the 2012 McEwen Award for Innovation, a coveted prize in the field of stem cell research and regenerative medicine. The 2012 recipient is Rudolf Jaenisch, MD, Founding Member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Professor of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in recognition of his pioneering discoveries in the areas of genetic and epigenetic control of development in mice that directly impact the future potential of embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells for therapeutic utility. The McEwen Award for Innovation is supported by the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The $100,000 award honors original thinking and groundbreaking research pertaining to stem cells or regenerative medicine that opens new avenues of exploration towards the understanding or treatment of human disease or affliction. “Rudolf Jaenisch has consistently contributed new and groundbreaking discoveries to stem cell biology and regenerative medicines that have changed the way stem cell research is conducted, said Fred H. Gage, PhD, ISSCR President. “Importantly, Rudolf not only has an uncanny sense of the next big question, but also conducts his experiments with … Continue reading →

To: HEALTH, MEDICAL AND STATE EDITORS New hematopoietic stem cell transplant program in Scottsdale, Ariz. offers treatment for blood cancers SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Feb. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare announced today it has added a hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplant cancer treatment program (a/k/a bone marrow transplant) through its new Cancer Transplant Institute. Leaders of the new cancer treatment program expect it to attract transplant patients from greater Phoenix, across Arizona and the southwestern United States. HSC transplants are primarily used to treat patients with aggressive cancers such as myelomas, leukemias and lymphomas. The Cancer Transplant Institute at the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center is located on the campus of Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Center, and includes an outpatient treatment unit and a 13-bed inpatient unit. Cancer patients needing HSC transplants receive very high doses of chemotherapy designed to kill aggressive tumors. In the process their own bone marrow is damaged, resulting in low blood counts and weakened immune systems. Stem cells that are collected prior to therapy are then given to "rescue" the patient from the effects of the high dose therapy. Stem cells can be collected from the patients themselves (autologous) … Continue reading →