The condition causes extreme daytime sleepiness, and sudden muscle weakness. Japanese researchers found a genetic variant linked to a much higher risk of narcolepsy, publishing their results in the journal Nature Genetics. It is linked to genes involved in regulating sleep, and the scientists say their finding could help unravel narcolepsy's causes.

via news.bbc.co.uk

The centre for Human Genetics and Molecular Medicine has opened at Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) on Thursday, which will likely help for early detection of hereditary diseases and treatment of cancer, said SIUT spokesperson. This centre will conduct researches on association of diseases that can be predicted on the basis of genetic make up such as adult polycystic kidney disease, according to SIUT press release.

via thenews.com.pk

Victor McKusick, a cardiologist who helped to invent the field of medical genetics just four years after the structure of DNA was discovered, died Tuesday. He was 86. McKusick was drawn to genetics by a single patient with Marfan syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by multiple symptoms including tall stature and problems with the heart, blood vessels eyes and skin.

via blogs.wsj.com

Cutting Calories May Stress Cells, Prompting Genes to Spur Cell Survival in Lab Tests

Scientists may have a new clue about how calorie restriction may lengthen life.

Previous research has linked calorie restriction to longevity, though many of those studies have been done in rodents and other short-lived species including worms, flies, and yeast.

Certain genes may be the link between calorie restriction and cell survival, a new study shows. Those genes, called SIRT3 and SIRT4, might eventually be targets for drugs to treat age-related diseases, according to Harvard Medical School's David Sinclair, PhD.

Sinclair's team studied a complex chemical chain reaction in which these genes nudge cells to live longer in the face of stress.Read the rest of this entry »

via medicinenet.com

Age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in older adults, is greatly influenced by a person's genes, according to a study of twins.

"Based on what is, to our knowledge, the largest twin study of age-related macular degeneration to date ... we quantified substantial genetic influences," study author Johanna Seddon of Harvard Medical School wrote in the most recent issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology.
Read the rest of this entry »

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Scientists in Singapore have identified a brain gene, which may hold the key to treating many disorders and diseases, a published report said on Tuesday.
The gene, named Sirtuin 2, has been found to slow down the growth of a cell responsible for the formation of a fatty sheath protecting the nerves in the brain and spinal cord, said associate professor Liang Fengyi, head of the research team at the University of Singapore.
Read the rest of this entry »

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Age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in older adults, is greatly influenced by a person�s genes, according to a study of twins released Monday.

"Based on what is, to our knowledge, the largest twin study of age-related macular degeneration to date ... we quantified substantial genetic influences," study author Johanna Seddon of Harvard Medical School wrote in the most recent issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology.

In the study of 840 people with a twin, identical twins with macular degeneration were twice as likely than fraternal twins with the disease to suffer the same degree of blindness...more click on heading

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There�s more evidence the key to human behaviors such as addiction and aggression may lie in your genes. In one study, University of Colorado behavioral scientists found that mice with an alteration in a gene called Chrna4 consumed much more nicotine than mice with another form of the same gene.

The researchers believe that this addiction-linked change in the gene, called a "threonine polymorphism," may enable mice to tolerate higher levels of nicotine before they suffer nervous system side effects...more click on heading

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Smoking may be an environmental trigger that activates pancreatic cancer in people with a family history of this usually fatal disease, a new study suggests.

The finding underscores the importance of not smoking if your family members have had pancreatic cancer. In addition, you should consider being screened for the disease beginning at around 40. About 10 percent to 15 percent of those with pancreatic cancer have a family history of the disease...more click on heading

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Variants of genes involved in inflammation and blood vessel constriction can hint at the likelihood of kidney damage occurring during heart bypass surgery, a new study finds.

Kidney damage after such operations affects one out of every 12 patients; 750,000 people worldwide have bypass surgery every year, the researchers noted. Until now, there has been no way of predicting which patients are at risk for this serious complication.

But Duke University researchers have found that people with these particular gene variants are two to four times more likely to suffer kidney damage after undergoing heart surgery, according to their report in the March issue of the American Journal of Kidney Disease...more click on heading

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Among girls at increased risk of type1 diabetes, those whose mothers had colds or certain other infections during pregnancy might be less likely to develop diabetes, new study findings suggest.

Researchers found that in early childhood, these children were 80 percent less likely than other at-risk girls to develop autoantibodies -- that is, antibodies targeting "self" proteins -- that precede type 1 diabetes...more click on heading

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Depression is more common in women than in men as researchers have identified several gene variants linked to depression that occur only in women, including one that is related to female hormone regulation, a study said.

However, women acknowledge their symptoms while men are more reluctant to admit the problem or reach out for help...more click on heading

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You do not need to make sudden changes in your diet any more because of any hereditary disease. Nutrogenomics, the latest buzzword in the field of health sciences, can help you have your own personalised diet in accordance with the genetic makeup of your body.

Health expert Dr. Sam Rehnborg, the president of Nutrilite Health Institute, California, says that now one doesn't have to go through the depression of making a sudden change in diet because of hereditary diseases like ailments of the heart or diabetes...more click on heading

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You do not need to make sudden changes in your diet any more because of any hereditary disease. Nutrogenomics, the latest buzzword in the field of health sciences, can help you have your own personalised diet in accordance with the genetic makeup of your body.

Health expert Dr. Sam Rehnborg, the president of Nutrilite Health Institute, California, says that now one doesn't have to go through the depression of making a sudden change in diet because of hereditary diseases like ailments of the heart or diabetes...more click on heading

via

You do not need to make sudden changes in your diet any more because of any hereditary disease. Nutrogenomics, the latest buzzword in the field of health sciences, can help you have your own personalised diet in accordance with the genetic makeup of your body.

Health expert Dr. Sam Rehnborg, the president of Nutrilite Health Institute, California, says that now one doesn't have to go through the depression of making a sudden change in diet because of hereditary diseases like ailments of the heart or diabetes...more click on heading

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