Body

People with coeliac disease may develop osteoporosis because their immune system attacks their bone tissue, a new study has shown.

It is the first time an autoimmune response – a condition whereby the body can attack itself – has been shown to cause damage to bones directly.

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh studied a protein called osteoprotegerin (OPG) in people with coeliac disease – a digestive condition that affects 1 in 100 people.

Clinical research out of University Hospitals Case Medical Center has found that African Americans with a common form of lung cancer have a lower frequency of drug-sensitizing genetic mutations, which may impact response to new cancer-fighting drugs. Published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the study by Rom Leidner, MD, and colleagues report that ethnicity plays a significant role in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) genetics and more personalized treatments may be beneficial to cancer patients.

New York, NY (October 7, 2009) – Autism Speaks' Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE) and the Autism Tissue Program (ATP) continue to play an integral role in continuing genetic research and new findings in the complex autism inheritance and causation puzzle. In a study published in the October 7, edition of the journal Nature, an extensive research team of more than 75 research institutions identified semaphoring 5A, a gene implicated in the growth of neurons to form proper contacts and connections with other neurons.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center are helping to lead a massive international study on the possible genetic effects of radiation and cancer drug exposures on future generations. The study's principal investigators are meeting this week at the OU Health Sciences Center to discuss their recent findings, which will be presented at an upcoming meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics.

This press release is available in Japanese.

The debut issue of Science Translational Medicine -- a new journal intended to help speed basic research advances into clinics and hospitals -- describes a microfluidics device for detecting tiny amounts of estrogen, which could potentially improve breast cancer screening.

Scientists at the University of Toronto have developed a new "lab-on-a-chip" technique that analyses tiny samples of blood and breast tissue to identify women at risk of breast cancer much more quickly than ever before.

BOSTON--A new technique being tested in stem-cell transplants from imperfectly matched donors has revealed a striking, unforeseen response that can suppress graft-versus-host disease, a common and dangerous complication of mismatched transplants, report scientists from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Analysis of blood samples from a small number of clinical trial patients showed that the novel method -- which inactivates specific immune cells from the donor that would attack the recipient's body -- also unleashes a surge of T-cells that further dampen the immune reaction.

DURHAM, N.C. – The natural cycle of building bone to maintain skeletal strength and then breaking it down for the body's calcium needs is delicately balanced, but diseases like osteoporosis break down too much bone without adequate bone replacement, leading to bone fractures.

In research published today by Nature, an international team describes the finest map of changes to the structure of human genomes and a resource they have developed for researchers worldwide to look at the role of these changes in human disease. They also identify 75 'jumping genes' - regions of our genome that can be found in more than one location in some individuals.

In one of the first studies of its kind, an international team of researchers has uncovered a single-letter change in the genetic code that is associated with autism. The finding, published in the October 8 issue of the journal Nature, implicates a neuronal gene not previously tied to the disorder and more broadly, underscores a role for common DNA variation. In addition, the new research highlights two other regions of the genome, which are likely to contain rare genetic differences that may also influence autism risk.

(Boston) – Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have identified genes which may influence the onset age of Parkinson's Disease (PD). The findings, which currently appear on-line in BMC Medical Genetics, are the first to identify genes contributing to the variation in onset age and may help identify mechanisms and therapeutic targets capable of delaying symptoms.

SAN DIEGO – Researchers at Henry Ford Hospital have identified tumor-suppressing genes that may provide a more accurate diagnosis of disease stage and survival for laryngeal cancer patients than current standards.

The study finds genetic abnormalities of the ESR1(estrogen specific receptor 1) gene and the HIC1 (hypermethylated in cancer 1) gene are predictors of late-stage laryngeal cancer and shorter survival, respectively, for patients with the disease.

There is no doubt that modern contraception has enabled women to have unprecedented control over their own fertility. However, is it possible that the use of oral contraceptives is interfering with a woman's ability to choose, compete for and retain her preferred mate?

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A Florida State University College of Medicine researcher has solved a century-old mystery about proteins that play a vital role in the transfer of the human genetic code from one cell to another. The discovery could lead to finding new ways to help the body fight a variety of diseases, including cancer.

OTTAWA – One of the biggest mysteries about diabetes is why specialized cells in the pancreas stop secreting insulin, which the body needs in order to store glucose from food. A team from the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Research Institute has identified a protein that inhibits insulin production in mice - work that offers a new way of understanding, and perhaps of one day treating, both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.