Category Archives: Genetic Therapy

Financial Times

PM meets Asif Ali Zardari, raises Saeed issue; says will visit Pak at ... NDTV New Delhi: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari is back in Pakistan after offering prayers at Ajmer; also, he promised, prayers for Indo-Pak peace. In Delhi, on the way to Ajmer, Mr Zardari's private visit resulted in a diplomatic "yes" from Prime ... Step forward: PM presses terrorism, and accepts invitation to PakistanFirstpost Manmohan Singh - Asif Ali Zardari meet a good beginning: Mufti Mohammad SayeedEconomic Times China 'happy' to see improved India-Pak ties, welcomes Zardari visitThe Hindu Times of India -ABC Online -IBNLive.com all 1,950 news articles »

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AFP

Will Odisha Govt give in to all demands? Times Now.tv Just when a glimmer of hope for the release of abducted Italian national Paolo Bosusco emerged, Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda has issued a fresh audio message for the Naveen Patnaik government, saying that his group needs more clarity from the state ... Maoist leader seeks clarification for Italian's release in new tapeHindustan Times Maoists' message leads to uncertainty over Italian's releaseTimes of India Hostage crisis worsens in OdishaThe Hindu IBNLive.com -Economic Times all 470 news articles »

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The Hindu

Curfew clamped in old city areas of Hyderabad after communal clashes Times of India Armed policemen guard a street near Charminar after shops were closed on request by the police following clashes between two groups in Hyderabad on Sunday. HYDERABAD: An indefinite curfew was on Sunday clamped in some parts of the walled city here ... Indefinite curfew in parts of HyderabadNDTV Curfew imposed in old HyderabadEconomic Times Curfew imposed in Hyderabad's Saidabad, MadannapetAll India Radio IBNLive.com -Indian Express all 30 news articles »

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News | Health

The parasite that causes malaria is becoming immune to artemisinin, the most effective drug. Pinpointing the resistance genes could offer a way to beat back the disease

By Katherine Harmon | April 5, 2012|

New grounds for resistance: A camp in western Thailand, where drug-resistant malaria is becoming increasingly common Image: Timothy Anderson

The malaria parasite is a wily organism, shifting its life stages as it flits from human to mosquito and back again. It still kills some 600,000 people each year and has outwitted eradication efforts, having developed resistance to previously popular drugs and, thus far, eluded vaccine-induced immunity.

The arrival of a powerful drug in the late-20th century gave researchers new hope. Called artemisinin and based on a traditional Chinese herbal remedy, it cleared the parasite faster and more thoroughly than any other current antimalarial. Researchers are still somewhat uncertain about exactly how it works, but they know that it targets the parasite as it infects red blood cells.

But the hope that artemisinin would serve as a final, exterminanting blow against malaria has begun to fade. Since 2008 patients in Southeast Asia have been slower to lose the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum than they once were. And this precursor to resistance seems to be spreading, despite efforts to carefully use artemisinin (by giving it in combination with other drugs) to avoid the emergence of resistance.

Researchers have been tracking that spreadand looking into the genetic basis of the traitto try to develop more effective ways of keeping the disease in check. The findings, described in two related papers published online April 5 in Science and The Lancet, were called "a tour de force" by David Sullivan, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, who was not involved in the new research.

Loci of resistance The confirmation of additional resistance will likely be a blow to malaria battlers. "Artemisinin-based compounds have really been the key to success in pushing back malaria in recent years," says Timothy Anderson, of the Texas Biomedical Research Institute and a co-author on both new studies. "But there's been a cloud on the horizon: patients in western Cambodia have been showing very, very slow parasite clearance." As a result, such patients have a greater chance of having the parasite return. They also provide a wider window for mosquitoes to bite them and then transmit their (more resistant) infection to other people.

For their Lancet study, Anderson and his colleagues (from the U.S. and Southeast Asia) studied the infections of 3,202 malaria patients on the western border of Thailand over the course of a decade. They found that the time it took the artemisinin-based combination therapy to clear the parasites steadily increased, from a mean of 2.6 hours in 2001 to 3.7 hours in 2010. They also found that the infections that persisted with a half-life of more than 6.2 hours jumped from 0.6 percent at the beginning of the study to 20 percent at the end.

Excerpt from:
Drug-Resistant Malaria Spreads, Scientists Hunt Down Genetic Causes

It is being billed as the worlds first bedside genetic test for heart patients. A nurse merely swabs the inside of a patients mouth and places the saliva sample into a compact machine thats the size of a toaster. In less than an hour, the device analyzes the DNA and determines the best drug option for the patient.

Normally, this type of test would be sent to a lab that could take up to a week to return the results.

In cardiology, especially with patients coming into the hospital with heart attacks, we often have to make decisions very quickly said Derek So, an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. This is essentially the first step to making fast decisions based on genetics.

The genetic test, developed by researchers at the heart institute and Ottawa-based Spartan Bioscience, helps predict how patients will respond to Plavix, a widely-prescribed blood thinner.

Plavix is often given to people with advanced cardiovascular disease to prevent blood clots that cause heart attacks and strokes. It is also used to keep blood flowing freely through stents devices that prop open narrowed blood vessels.

Plavix, or its genetic equivalent clopidogrel, is considered to be standard therapy. But not everyone does well on the treatment. In fact, research has revealed some people carry a genetic variant that can impede Plavix from working to its full potential.

And thats where the new rapid genetic test could come in handy, said Dr. So. It can pinpoint those individuals who should be getting an alternative anti-clotting agent such as Effient or Brilinta, he said.

Dr. So, along with his co-investigator Jason Roberts, recently completed a proof-of-concept study to see if the genetic test worked in a real hospital setting. As part of the study, nurses were given 30 minutes of training on how to collect the saliva samples and use the DNA analyzing machine.

The findings, published last week in The Lancet medical journal, showed the system can produce the desired results. Accurate bedside tests were performed on almost 200 patients.

The same technology could be applied to other areas of medicine where there are genetic associations to either a diagnosis or a treatment, said Dr. So.

Here is the original post:
New bedside genetic tests pick the right drug, right away

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. A genetic test can be found for any one of about 1,300 conditions, and three to five new tests emerge every month.

Millions of people, from cancer patients to would-be parents, have tapped into these tests to reveal what is making them sick or could sicken their children.

Two-thirds of doctors report that the technology has helped them identify diseases they couldnt have identified otherwise, according to a survey commissioned by health care giant UnitedHealth Group. The survey is part of a study that concludes that a $5 billion-a-year market in genetic testing is poised to mushroom to $15 billion to $25 billion within a decade.

Genetic science offers unprecedented potential to prevent disease and improve diagnosis and treatment, ushering in an era of truly personalized care, Simon Stevens, UnitedHealths executive vice president, said in a prepared statement.

Doctors and other health care professionals echo that sentiment, saying they have seen the benefits of genetic testing firsthand and are eager to see more breakthroughs.

But they also note the concerns, mapped out in the study, that come with this explosion of knowledge and possibilities:

Gathering enough genetic information to create personalized treatments that work, and making sure doctors know about them.

Ensuring patient privacy and preventing genetic discrimination.

Addressing the potential for skyrocketing health care costs.

Testing related to cancer

The rest is here:
Genetic testing starting to boom