Investigating Childhood Leukemia in Churchill County, Nevada   (732 KB)
Beginning in 2002, the Nevada State Health Division and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) worked together to try to learn why an unexpectedly large number of children in Churchill County had developed leukemia. The investigation did not identify a specific cause but suggested possible environmental and genetic factors. CDC hopes that this work will help to answer questions about what causes childhood leukemia.

More information from CDC

Spotlight newsletter launched by University of Washington Center for Genomics and Public Health    (336 KB)
In November 2006, the University of Washington Center for Genomics and Public Health (UWA CGPH)  launched the Spotlight newsletter to educate and update public health practitioners, physicians, and the public on topics in genomics. The first issue of this newsletter highlights the importance of family history in improving public health, and initiatives by the U.S. Surgeon General and CDC’s National Office of Public Health Genomics (NOPHG). The newsletter was disseminated to the 25 branches of the Seattle library system, and medical clinics and their satellite locations throughout Washington.

UWA CGPH and the University of Michigan Center for Public Health and Community Genomics are supported through a cooperative agreement with NOPHG. These Centers provide leadership and technical assistance in genomics, and collaborate on various projects with NOPHG projects (e.g., Evaluation of Genomic Applications in Practice and Prevention (EGAPP) Project and the Family History Public Health Initiative), and state and local health departments.

• The following are headlines from on-line news articles published during the past week.
• The headlines and lead sentence are exactly as they appear in the popular press and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or recommendations of CDC.
• Free registration required for some articles.
  

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“NIH Launches dbGaP, a Database of Whole Genome Association Studies” (last accessed 2/2008) (Dec 12) NIH News reports, “The National Library of Medicine (NLM), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announces the introduction of dbGaP, a new database designed to archive and distribute data from genome wide association (GWA) studies. GWA studies explore the association between specific genes (genotype information) and observable traits, such as blood pressure and weight, or the presence or absence of a disease or condition (phenotype information).”

"Gene mutations lead to inability to feel pain" (last accessed 2/2008)
(Dec 13) Reuters Health via Iconocast reports, “A rare inability to perceive pain, which has only been described in a handful of individuals, results from mutations in a specific gene, new research shows. The researchers hope that the findings could lead to new and safer painkillers.”

“Nine new genes discovered”
(Dec 13) People’s Daily Online reports, “The Blood Center in Henan province, has announced that the nine new human HLA alleles which it identified have been approved the World Health Organization (WHO) and the name officially adopted.”

“Leicester breakthrough in eye disease”
(Dec 13) EurekAlert! reports, “Researchers at the University of Leicester have identified for the first time a gene which causes a distressing eye condition.”

“Unfolding The Genetic Code”
(Dec 12) Medical News Today reports, “It turns out that sequencing the human genome - determining the order of DNA building blocks -- has not completely cracked the code of how DNA directs various cellular processes.”

“Searching for Disease Genes Gets Easier”
(Dec 11) Technology Review reports, “Over the next year, scientists expect to uncover genetic secrets of such complex diseases as diabetes, heart disease, and autism.”

“Gene therapy—fiction or reality?”
(Dec 11) Express Pharma reports, “They are the basis of life and hold the keys to unlock the code to counter genetic diseases.”

“Gene Mutation Predicts Outcome In Blood Disorder”
(Dec 11) Medical News Today reports, “Both the cause and cure for polycythemia vera, a disorder of uncontrolled blood cell production, remain elusive, but researchers from the University of Florence, Italy, may be a step closer to both.”

“Gene Mutations Predict Treatment Outcomes In Patients With Leukemia”
(Dec 11) Medical News Today reports, “Curing acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a rapidly progressing bone-marrow cancer, is possible, but only in about 20-30 percent of patients, depending on a number of prognostic factors.”

“AVN944 inhibits IMPDH & induces apoptosis-related biomarkers in patients with hematologic
cancers”
(Dec 11) EurekAlert! reports, “Avalon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., presented a poster detailing the effect of AVN944 on a comprehensive set of genetic and biochemical biomarkers at the American Society of Hematology 48th Annual Meeting.”

“Genetic map offers new tool for malaria research”
(Dec 10) EurekAlert! reports, “An international research team announced today the completion of a genome-wide map that charts the genetic variability of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum.”

“Inheritance outside DNA” (last accessed 2/2008)
(Dec 10) EurekAlert! reports, “Most people have heard that human inheritance is spelled out in our DNA and activated through our genes.”

“Cancer immunoresistance linked to loss of tumor suppressor gene”
(Dec 10) EurekAlert! reports, “Cancer immunoresistance may be partially due to loss of a well-known tumor suppressor gene, according to new research led by Andrew T. Parsa, MD, PhD, assistant professor of neurological surgery at the University of California, San Francisco.”

“Researchers Developing Molecular Delivery Vehicles For Genetic Therapies”
(Dec 10) Science Daily reports, “Researchers at New York University are working to develop molecular delivery vehicles that can be used to transport nucleic acids into diverse cell types, which may lead to eventual applications in genetic therapies.”

“Mayo Clinic Cancer Center -- individualizing treatment for multiple myeloma patients”
(Dec 10) EurekAlert! reports, “Researchers at Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, in cooperation with industry partners, have, for the first time, identified tumor specific alterations in the cellular pathway by which the multiple myeloma drug bortezomib (Velcade) works, and they have identified nine new genetic mutations in cancer cells that should increase a patient's chance of responding to the agent.”

“Quebecers said perfect gene pool for medical research”
(Dec 8) Reuters Health reports, “Quebecers, many of them descended from a handful of families who arrived from France, could hold the key to medical breakthroughs as their tiny gene pool provides the perfect testing ground for researchers and pharmaceutical firms.”

“'Best of both worlds' -- Targeting a single gene could inhibit bone decay and stimulate bone
growth”
(Dec 8) EurekAlert! reports, “Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine have found by targeting the function of a single gene that it is possible to inhibit bone decay while simultaneously stimulating bone formation.”

“Ped Med: The hunt for autism genes”
(Dec 12) Science Daily reports, “Having uncovered what they deem to be convincing evidence of genes' involvement in autism, scientific sleuths are now trying to hunt them down.”

“Local family helps identify gene tied to deadly cancer”
(Dec 12) The Seattle Times reports, “Scientists at the University of Washington have identified a gene important in the inherited form of pancreatic cancer, a discovery that caps a decade of research and could eventually lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment of one of the deadliest forms of cancer.”

“Breast-feeding can keep genetic ear infections risk at bay” (last accessed 2/2008)
(Dec 10) SAWF News reports, “A new study by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has found yet another reason why women should breast-feed their babies, for it helps infants overcome a genetic tendency toward ear infections.”

“EDITORIAL: To Your Health: Family Medical History Could Mean the Gift of Life” (last accessed 2/2008)
(Dec 10) Red Orbit reports, “What could be more Christmasy than sitting around the dinner table talking about Grandma's gallstones or Uncle Al's asthma?”

Influence of family history to type 2 diabetes on the body composition and homeostasis model assessment: a comparison between young active and sedentary men
Pomara F, et al.
Minerva Med 2006 Oct;97(5):379-83

“United Therapeutics Affiliate Initiates First-Ever Gene-Therapy Trial For Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension”
(Dec 13) Medical News Today reports, “United Therapeutics Affiliate Initiates First-Ever Gene-Therapy Trial For Pulmonary Arterial HypertensionLung Rx, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of United Therapeutics Corporation, announced that its Canadian affiliate, Northern Therapeutics, Inc., has commenced the first-ever human trial of a novel, cell-mediated gene therapy for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension.

“Florida Doctor Creates New Families With Technology That Measure Genetic Viability Of
Embryos”
(Dec 12) Medical News Today reports, “Six miscarriages and a trip across the ocean brought a Romanian couple to the South Florida offices of Dr. Mark S. Denker.”

“Blood test in the works to detect breast cancer” (last accessed 2/2008)
(Dec 11) azcentral.com reports, “Millions of American women each year must go through the uncomfortable task of having their breasts pushed, poked and scanned to screen them for cancer.”

Genetic screening for autosomal recessive nonsyndromic mental retardation in an isolated population in Israel
Basel-Vanagaite L, et al.
Eur J Hum Genet 2006 Dec

Articles that report on population prevalence of genotypes, gene-disease associations, gene-environment and gene-gene interactions and evaluation of genetic tests. For more information on HuGE, please visit the HuGENet™ home page

For the week ending December 13, 2006, there are HuGE articles in the following areas:

Infectious and Parasitic Diseases
Neoplasms
Endocrine, Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases
Mental Disorders
Diseases of the Nervous System and Sense Organs
Diseases of the Circulatory System
Diseases of the Respiratory System
Diseases of the Genitourinary System
Complications of Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Puerperium
Diseases of the Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue
Congenital Anomalies
Symptoms, Signs, and Ill-defined Conditions

For more information on HuGE, please visit the HuGENet™ home page

Public Health Genetics Unit, UK, Newsletter, November 2006
The Public Health Genetics Unit (PHGU) of the United Kingdom (UK) aims to keep abreast of developments in molecular and clinical genetics, and in their ethical, legal, social and public health implications.

Workshop on Privacy, Confidentiality and Identifiability in Genomic Research
On October 3-4, 2006, the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) sponsored a workshop on Privacy, Confidentiality and Identifiability in Genomic Research in Bethesda, Md.

Understanding Cancer Series: Genetic Variation (SNPs)
The National Cancer Institute presents a graphic-rich tutorial on Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs).