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News: February 14, 2012
Mutations in 2 Genes Linked to Rare Autism-Related Disorder
THURSDAY, Jan. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Newly discovered mutations in two adjacent genes cause a rare genetic brain condition called Joubert syndrome, according to a new study. People with Joubert syndrome have malformation or underdevelopment of th...
Family Tree May Affect Diagnosis Age in Some Breast Cancers
THURSDAY, Dec. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Some women who inherit the BRCA1 or BRCA2 breast and ovarian cancer genes from their father may be diagnosed with breast cancer nearly a decade earlier than those who inherit the genes from their mother, a new ...
Gene Mutation Helps Clear Fats From Blood, Study Finds
TUESDAY, Dec. 6 (HealthDay News) -- A gene mutation that helps clear fat from the body has been identified by scientists, but they don't know if people with this mutation have a lower risk of heart disease or other health problems. Researchers in ...
Gene Study Sheds Light on Body Clock's Link to Diabetes
MONDAY, Jan. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers studying the link between diabetes and a hormone that affects your so-called "body clock" have identified a genetic mutation in the receptor for the hormone, melatonin, that may to boost the risk of ...
Mixed News on Tough-to-Treat Lung Cancer
TUESDAY, Jan. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Dutch researchers report disappointing results from an early clinical trial of the drug Nexavar (sorafenib) in fighting a tough-to-treat form of lung cancer. But, in better news, an experimental drug known as g...
Breast Cancer Gene Puts Survivors at Higher Odds for Recurrence
THURSDAY, Dec. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Breast cancer survivors carrying specific genetic mutations, known as BRCA1 or BRCA2, have a 10 percent greater risk for developing cancer in their other breast, and the risk rises further when a woman receives...
Gene Mutation May Be Key to Familial Pancreatic Cancer
THURSDAY, Dec. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Individuals may face a higher hereditary risk for developing pancreatic cancer if they carry abnormalities in the so-called "ATM" gene, new research reveals. The finding, reported in an upcoming issue of Cance...
Gene Research Offers Clues to Parkinson's Disease
TUESDAY, Feb. 7 (HealthDay News) -- In certain people with Parkinson's disease, mutations in the parkin gene disrupt the proper function of dopamine, the brain chemical that controls body movement. The finding could lead to new treatments and scre...
U.S. Advisers Explain Request to Censor Bird Flu Research
TUESDAY, Jan. 31 (HealthDay News) -- Concerns that research into a genetically mutated form of bird flu could escape from labs or fall into the hands of bioterrorists led U.S. scientific advisers to ask two prominent journals to withhold key detai...
Same Genes Key to Early & Late-Onset Alzheimer's: Study
THURSDAY, Feb. 2 (HealthDay News) -- People who develop Alzheimer's disease late in life may have the same gene mutations linked to the inherited, early onset form of the condition, according to a new study. Researchers from Washington University ...
Older Dads Can Pass on Gene Mutations That Lower Intellect
MONDAY, Oct. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Certain genetic abnormalities in a man's chromosomes appear to be linked to intellectual disabilities in his offspring, especially if he fathered them late in life, a new study suggests. These abnormalities are c...
Scientists Discover Key Gene Mutation Behind Lou Gehrig's Disease
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have identified a genetic mutation common to roughly one-third of two devastating neurological disorders, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). ALS, also known as...
Newly Found Gene Mutations May Aid Heart Treatments
TUESDAY, Sept. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have found dozens of new genetic variants involved in high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. Although more than 300 genes for cardiovascular diseases have been identified in the past few ye...
Women With BRCA Mutations Get Cancer Diagnosis Earlier Than Before
MONDAY, Sept. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Women with the genetic BRCA mutations, known to be at higher risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers, are being diagnosed with those cancers earlier than previous generations, researchers now report. ''We...
More Evidence Links Genes to Parkinson's
TUESDAY, Aug. 30 (HealthDay News) -- A genetic variation that reduces the risk of Parkinson's disease by nearly 20 percent in many populations has been found by an international team of scientists. They also identified other variants of the same g...
Gene Mutations Identified in Uterine Fibroids
FRIDAY, Aug. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists report an advance in the genetics of uterine fibroids, the most common noncancerous tumors in women of childbearing age. Uterine fibroids, which can cause abnormal bleeding, abdominal pain and discomf...
Trial Drug Shows Preliminary Promise Against Ovarian Cancer
SUNDAY, Aug. 21 (HealthDay News) -- An experimental drug that's shown promise against ovarian cancer caused by mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes may also be effective against ovarian cancer not caused by those gene mutations, according to a ne...
FDA Approves Potent New Melanoma Drug
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 17 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday gave its approval to Zelboraf (vemurafenib), a first-of-its-kind drug for the treatment of an often lethal form of melanoma. The drug targets a gene mutation...
Gene Study Identifies Non-Hereditary Links to Schizophrenia
SUNDAY, Aug. 7 (HealthDay News) -- More than half the cases of non-hereditary -- or sporadic -- schizophrenia are caused by "new" protein-altering gene mutations, researchers have found. These gene mutations, called "de novo" mutations, are new ge...
Gene Mutation Can Leave People Without Fingerprints
THURSDAY, Aug. 4 (HealthDay News) -- People with a rare condition where they are born without fingerprints may have a genetic mutation, according to a new study. The findings, published in the Aug. 4 online edition of the American Journal of Human...
Scientists May Have Found Missing Link to Common Brain Cancer
THURSDAY, Aug. 4 (HealthDay News) -- A map of the genetic mutations associated with the second most common form of brain cancer appears to reveal the biological cause of the tumors, researchers report. They created the map by sequencing protein-co...
Tarceva Battles Lung Cancer in Some
THURSDAY, July 21 (HealthDay News) -- New research finds that the targeted cancer drug Tarceva nearly triples the amount of time lung cancer patients survive without a recurrence and has fewer side effects than standard chemotherapy. The authors o...
Scientists Spot Possible Target in Ovarian Cancer
TUESDAY, July 12 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers seeking a way to beat cancer have found that a particular gene, known as PAX8, is altered in a significant number of ovarian tumors, according to a new study. The research is part of Project Achille...
Tracking Swine Flu Virus in Pigs Reveals Mutations
THURSDAY, May 26 (HealthDay News) -- Changes in the swine flu virus over the past three decades can be traced, at least in part, to the transportation of live pigs, a new study reports. The finding stems from an analysis of viruses found in swine ...
Scientists Spot Key Gene Mutations in Melanoma
FRIDAY, April 15 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. scientists who completed the world's first "whole-exome sequencing" of melanoma say their accomplishment will improve the ability to diagnose and treat the deadliest form of skin cancer. Whole-exome sequen...
Ovarian Cancer Prognosis May Depend on Gene Mutations
MONDAY, April 4 (HealthDay News) -- Ovarian cancer patients with the BRCA2 gene mutation are more likely to survive than those with the BRCA1 mutation or patients without either mutation, a new study finds. U.S. researchers analyzed 3,531 cases of...
Most Breast Tumors Have Unique Genetic 'Fingerprint,' Study Finds
SATURDAY, April 2 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers who sequenced the entire genomes of tumors from 50 breast cancer patients identified more than 1,700 mutations, most of which were unique to individual patients. The findings help explain why it's ...
Heavy Beer Drinking, Genetics May Raise Risk of Stomach Cancer
MONDAY, April 4 (HealthDay News) -- Heavy beer drinkers who carry a gene mutation involved in the metabolism of alcohol may face a higher risk than others of developing stomach cancer, new European research suggests. Having a certain genetic varia...
Mix of Genetics and Stress Can Impair Mental Abilities
MONDAY, March 7 (HealthDay News) -- Genetics may predispose some people who live in so-called "hazardous" neighborhoods -- where fear and stress are a fact of daily life -- to face a higher risk for age-related cognitive decline, new research warn...
Dwarfism Mutation May Protect From Cancer, Diabetes
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 16 (HealthDay News) -- A genetic mutation that causes a type of dwarfism may also protect against cancer and diabetes, a new study finds. The finding suggests it may be possible to use drugs or other methods to achieve similar prot...
Gene Mutation May Protect Blacks From Heart Disease
THURSDAY, Jan. 27 (HealthDay News) -- About one-fourth of all black men and women carry a genetic mutation that dramatically reduces their risk for coronary artery disease, new research reveals. The mutation is found on a gene that has been linked...
Gene Mutation Suggests New Treatment Target for Specific Lymphoma
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have identified a gene mutation that may offer a target for new treatments for a type of lymphoma. The team found that a mutation of the MYD88 gene is one of the most frequent genetic abnormalitie...
Gene Tied to Inherited Form of Lou Gehrig's Disease
THURSDAY, Dec. 9 (HealthDay News) -- A genetic mutation associated with an inherited form of Lou Gehrig's disease -- known in the medical world as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) -- has been identified by an international team of researchers. ...
Lung Cancer in Smokers, Nonsmokers May Be a Different Disease
MONDAY, Nov. 8 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that lung cancer in people who have never smoked may be a different disease than it is in smokers. Scientists compared the genetic characteristics of lung cancer tumors in 30 people who neve...
Dad's Family History of Breast, Ovarian Cancer Matters, Too
THURSDAY, October 28 (HealthDay News) -- Women with female relatives who have had breast or ovarian cancer are often acutely aware of their own increased risk and may seek genetic counseling. But they should also pay attention to their father's fa...
Genetic Glitch Tied to Disrupted Sperm Production
THURSDAY, Sept. 30 (HealthDay News) -- The cause of male infertility often escapes experts, but scientists have found a genetic mutation that appears to disrupt sperm production. "This may be the most frequent single gene defect that is associated...
Gene Study Adds to Research of Breast Cancer Risk
SUNDAY, Sept. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Newly identified gene mutations may affect breast cancer risk in some women, an international team of researchers has found. It is already known that BRCA1 gene mutations substantially increase the risk of brea...
Dog Gene Offers Clues to Rare Human Brain Disease
MONDAY, Aug. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists who discovered a gene mutation that causes a fatal neurodegenerative disease in American Staffordshire (Pit Bull) terriers say the same gene may also be linked to a similar, rare fatal brain disease i...
Tibetans' Adaptation to High Altitudes Took Only 3,000 Years: Study
THURSDAY, July 1 (HealthDay News) -- It took only a few thousand years for Tibetans to develop gene mutations that help them cope with low oxygen levels at high altitudes, a new study found. Researchers compared the genomes of 50 Tibetans and 40 H...
Virus Plus Gene Mutation Spurs Crohn's Disease in Mice
THURSDAY, June 24 (HealthDay News) -- Mice with a gene variant linked to Crohn's disease only develop the inflammatory bowel disorder if they are infected by a common norovirus called MNV, finds a new study. Noroviruses are a group of viruses that...
H1N1 Flu Undergoing Genetic Changes in Pigs
THURSDAY, June 17 (HealthDay News) -- Although the pandemic H1N1 "swine" flu that emerged last spring has stayed genetically stable in humans, researchers in Asia say the virus has undergone genetic changes in pigs during the last year and a half....
Gene Mutation Offers Clues to Tamoxifen-Blood Clot Link
THURSDAY, June 17 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have identified a gene mutation that increases the risk of blood clots in women taking the anti-cancer drug tamoxifen after surgery for early-stage breast cancer. Tamoxifen is widely used for patie...
Gene Mutations Offer Clues to Autoimmune Disorders
WEDNESDAY, June 16 (HealthDay News) -- A new study finds that rare gene variations are more common in people with disorders in which the immune system attacks the body. These autoimmune disorders include rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes. R...
New Potential Cause of Alzheimer's Disease Detected
THURSDAY, June 10 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have discovered that the mutation of a gene associated with early onset Alzheimer's may block a key recycling process necessary for brain cell survival -- a finding that points the way to possible ...
Single Lung Tumor Contains 50,000 Mutated Genes
WEDNESDAY, May 26 (HealthDay News) -- Malignant lung tumors may contain not one, not two, but potentially tens of thousands of genetic mutations which, together, contribute to the development of the cancer. A sample from a lung tumor from a heavy ...
Heart Disease Among Childhood Cancer Survivors Tied to Gene Mutations
THURSDAY, May 20 (HealthDay News) -- A new study finds that survivors of childhood cancer with certain genetic variations are more likely than other survivors to develop heart disease. Researchers say the findings could help them personalize treat...
Gene Mutation Links Sporadic and Inherited ALS Cases
FRIDAY, May 7 (HealthDay News) -- A newly found genetic link between most cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease, potentially opens the door to new treatments, researchers say. In the majority of cases, A...
Gene Mutation Ups Risk of Sudden Death in People with Epilepsy
WEDNESDAY, April 14 (HealthDay News) -- A mutation in a gene called Kv1.1 appears to be associated with irregular heart beat and sudden death in people with epilepsy, a new study finds. People with epilepsy who are otherwise healthy are 10 times m...
Gene Mutations Up Risk for Cancer in Opposite Breast
TUESDAY, April 6 (HealthDay News) -- Women diagnosed with breast cancer before age 55 who also have a genetic mutation that boosts their risk for the disease are more likely to get cancer in the opposite breast than are women who don't have the ge...
Genetic Mutation Linked to Prostate Cancer in Blacks
MONDAY, Feb. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have identified a mutation in a small number of black American men with a family history of prostate cancer. This germline mutation of the androgen receptor (AR) may prove to be a genetic biomarker f...
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