• 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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“Worldwide study looks to find causes of type 1 diabetes” (last accessed 2/2008) (February 13) The Medical College of Georgia reports, “Scientists are casting a wide, tightly woven net with the goal of catching the causes of type 1 diabetes.”

“New laws urged to stop discrimination on genetic grounds”
(February 15) The Guardian Unlimited reports, “The government's advisory body on genetics said yesterday that new legislation was needed to stop workplace and insurance discrimination on genetic grounds.”

“Genes provide clue to rare illness”
(February 14) chron.com reports, “Genes prove it: A rare but devastating esophageal illness that's on the rise isn't hard-to-treat acid reflux as once suspected but a different disease — one linked to allergies.”

“Genes Dictate Response to Lupus Drugs”
(February 13) Medline Plus reports, “Drugs commonly used to fight malaria are also used by lupus patients to fight that illness. Now a new study shows that anti-malarials are most effective in lupus patients genetically prone to specific levels of inflammatory compounds called cytokines.”

“NCI Launches New Initiative to Identify Genetic Risk Factors for Breast and Prostate Cancer”
(February 13) NIH News reports, “The National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, today launched an initiative to identify genetic alterations that make people susceptible to prostate and breast cancer, two of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in the United States.”

“Gene mutation discovered that causes a rare form of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease”
(February 13) News Medical.net reports, “A multi-national research team that includes a Saint Louis University neurologist has discovered a gene mutation that causes a rare form of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, an inherited progressive nerve disorder.”

“Genetic screening programme to detect rare disorders in newborns”
(February 13) M & C News reports, “Doctors plan to introduce a new screening programme in Singapore to detect rare genetic metabolic disorders in newborns, two hospitals said Monday.”

“Anti-malarials Most Effective In Lupus Patients Genetically At Risk Of High Levels Of TNF-alpha”
(February 13) Medical News Today reports, “Anti-malarial drugs are most effective in people with lupus who are genetically predisposed to high levels of tumour necrosis factor alpha and low levels of the cytokine IL-10.”

“Test targets addiction gene”
(February 11) The New York Daily News reports, “A simple test revealing genetic predisposition for drug and alcohol addiction will be available within the year and researchers are urging mass testing - even of babies.”

“UCSD Research Center to host scientific symposium on celiac disease”
(February 10) EurekAlert! reports, “A scientific symposium on celiac disease, "Genetic and Immune Mechanisms in Celiac Disease," will be held at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine on Friday, February 10, from 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon.”

“The future of nutritional genomics is collaboration”
(February 9) EurekAlert! reports, “Nutrigenomics experts worldwide have aligned, and they are calling for teamwork.”

Seaches for the genes associated with periodontitis with gene polymorphisms
Kamei H, et al.
Clin Calcium 2006;16(2):305-10

Update on hereditary breast cancer
Smith KL & Robson ME
Curr Oncol Rep 2006 Jan;8(1):14-21

Molecular genetics of human hypertension
Gong M & Hubner N
Clin Sci (Lond) 2006 Mar;110(3):315-26

Genetics of suicide
Bondy B, et al.
Mol Psychiatry 2006 Feb

Pharmacogenomics and cardiovascular drugs: need for integrated biological system with phenotypes and proteomic markers
Siest G, et al.
Eur J Pharmacol 2005 Dec;527(1-3):1-22

Parental lung cancer as predictor of cancer risks in offspring: clues about multiple routes of harmful influence?
Hemminki K & Chen B
Int J Cancer 2006 Mar;118(3):744-8

Common deletion polymorphisms in the human genome
McCarroll SA, et al.
Nat Genet 2006 Jan;38(1):86-92

Knowledge and Attitudes Toward a Free Education and Ashkenazi Jewish Carrier Testing Program
Hegwer G, et al.
J Genet Couns 2006 Feb:1-10

Assessing BRCA carrier probabilities in extended families
Barcenas CH, et al.
J Clin Oncol 2006 Jan;24(3):354-60

Unilateral retinoblastoma, lack of familial history and older age does not exclude germline RB1 gene mutation
Brichard B, et al.
Eur J Cancer 2006 Jan;42(1):65-72

Clinical and pathologic findings of prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomies in 159 BRCA1 and BRCA2 carriers
Finch A, et al.
Gynecol Oncol 2006 Jan;100(1):58-64

The Fragile X premutation: new insights and clinical consequences
Van Esch H
Eur J Med Genet 2006 Jan-2006 Feb;49(1):1-8

Haplotype association analysis for late onset diseases using nuclear family data
Li C & Boehnke M
Genet Epidemiol 2006 Feb

A model of disease-specific worry in heritable disease: the influence of family history, perceived risk and worry about other illnesses
Dilorenzo TA, et al.
J Behav Med 2006 Feb:1-13

Interleukin 1 genetics, inflammatory mechanisms, and nutrigenetic opportunities to modulate diseases of aging
Kornman KS
Am J Clin Nutr 2006 Feb;83(2):475S-83S

Genetic interactions with diet influence the risk of cardiovascular disease
Ordovas JM
Am J Clin Nutr 2006 Feb;83(2):443S-6S

Influence of human genetic variation on nutritional requirements
Stover PJ
Am J Clin Nutr 2006 Feb;83(2):436S-42S

Can RGS4 Polymorphisms Be Viewed as Credible Risk Factors for Schizophrenia? A Critical Review of the Evidence
Talkowski ME, et al.
Schizophr Bull 2006 Feb

           

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 February 15, 2006, there are HuGE articles in the following areas:

Gene Variant Frequency
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 Digestive System
Diseases of the Genitourinary System
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

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Genetic Home Reference Genetics Home Reference is the National Library of Medicine's website for consumer information about genetic conditions and the genes or chromosomes responsible for those conditions.

Public Health Genetics Unit, UK, Newsletter, February 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.

Council for Responsible Genetics (CRG)
The Council for Responsible Genetics fosters public debate about the social, ethical and environmental implications of genetic technologies.