Category Archives: Gene Medicine

The right drug at the right dose at the right time. Those goals drive pharmacogenomics how genetics influence a person's response to medications.

Chemotherapy drugs are more effective when treating certain types of cancers. Codeine offers no pain relief in some patients and in others causes life-threatening reactions, such as respiratory depression. Other individuals experience harmful side effects from statin drugs designed to lower cholesterol levels. Finding the right dose of blood-thinning agents, such as warfarin, can involve a long process of trial and error.

Some Food and Drug Administration-approved drug labels contain warnings or information about potential adverse event risks, variable responses, drug-action mechanisms or genotype-based drug dosing. Recommendations are based on genomic information about the drug.

Pharmacogenomics drives greater drug effectiveness, with increased safety and reduced side effects. At Mayo Clinic, drug-gene alerts are part of the electronic medical record system, assisting providers in delivering safer, more effective care.

Each day, research uncovers new gene variants or novel drug-gene interactions that influence whether a patient may be harmed or helped by a medication. Keeping up to date with complex, new genomic information is a challenging task for clinicians, but decision-support tools and online education helps.

The Center for Individualized Medicine at Mayo Clinic is adding drug-gene interactions to the patient electronic medical record to alert physicians and pharmacists at the point of care as part of the clinical decision-support system.

If genomic information exists for a drug-gene interaction, alerts are triggered in the patient's electronic medical record to guide the clinician regarding prescription choices and dosing recommendations.

A team of physicians, pharmacists, genetic counselors and medical educators provides just-in-time education linked to these pop-up alerts. Online resources provide information about:

Ongoing discovery and validation of new drug-gene pairs at Mayo Clinic and elsewhere will result in additional alerts being added to the electronic medical record.

Applied pharmacogenomics resolves patient's lifelong anxiety and depression.

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Drug-Gene Alerts - Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized ...

Richard Dawkins' brilliant reformulation of the theory of natural selection has the rare distinction of having provoked as much excitement and interest outside the scientific community as within it. His theories have helped change the whole nature of the study of social biology, and have forced thousands of readers to rethink their beliefs about life. In his internationally bestselling, now classic volume, The Selfish Gene, Dawkins explains how the selfish gene can also be a subtle gene. The world of the selfish gene revolves around savage competition, ruthless exploitation, and deceit, and yet, Dawkins argues, acts of apparent altruism do exist in nature. Bees, for example, will commit suicide when they sting to protect the hive, and birds will risk their lives to warn the flock of an approaching hawk. This revised edition of Dawkins' fascinating book contains two new chapters. One, entitled "Nice Guys Finish First," demonstrates how cooperation can evolve even in a basically selfish world. The other new chapter, entitled "The Long Reach of the Gene," which reflects the arguments presented in Dawkins' The Extended Phenotype, clarifies the startling view that genes may reach outside the bodies in which they dwell and manipulate other individuals and even the world at large. Containing a wealth of remarkable new insights into the biological world, the second edition once again drives home the fact that truth is stranger than fiction.

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The Selfish Gene (Popular Science): 9780192860927 ...

Home Asia Unhedged China banks on gene power firms for precision medicine

By Asia Unhedged on January 6, 2016 in

(From Caixin Online)

By staff reporter Wang Qionghui

The Chinese government is powering a homegrown precision medicine initiative aimed at improving patient treatment for chronic ailments such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes.

Human genome

Officials have declared precision medicine a customized form of health care based on genome-sequencing technology as one of the nations foremost science and technology projects under the 13th Five-Year Plan for the 2016-20 period.

A document published after a March meeting hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology says the central government plans to spend 20 billion yuan to support precision medicine research by 2030, matching an anticipated 40 billion yuan in private investment. Moreover, the top public health authority, the National Health and Family Planning Commission, is drafting a strategic plan for promoting precision medicines development nationwide.

Companies that expect to benefit from the initiative include Shenzhen-based BGI Genomics Co., Hangzhous Berry Genomics Co. and Beijing Biomarker Technologies. Although young, the genetics services sector in the country is already diversifying, with firms staking claims in specialties such as prenatal care and niche services like disease and cancer detection through genetic testing.

BGI, the nations leader in genome sequencing, is a 16-year-old company that bought U.S. medical equipment maker Complete Genomics in 2012 and last October rolled out its first homegrown genome sequencing machine. Berry, established in 2010, is Chinas second-largest genome sequencer and the developer of non-invasive prenatal testing procedure thats been offered since 2011. Beijing Biomarker, founded in 2009, serves research institutions with genetic analyses and testing services.

The precision medicine movement has also won the attention of Internet and computer companies. In October, the U.S. chip maker Intel Corp. and Chinas e-commerce leader Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. announced a three-way partnership with BGI. The firms said they will collaborate to build a cloud-based online platform allowing clinics to access genetic data and other precision medicine services.

Precision medicine requires sharing an individuals genetic data and comparing it to huge amounts of data from similar patients, said Li Yingrui, chief executive of BGI Tech Solution Co., a subsidiary of BGI. Health specialists then use those comparisons to find differences and similarities to work out precise treatment regimes for individual patients. Read more

Categories: Asia Unhedged, China

Tags: BGI Genomics, Caixin Online, Chinese 13th five-year plan, Chinese government precision medicine efforts, Chinese human genome companies, Chinese human genome research

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Following on the heels of Angelina Jolie's widely celebrated decision to remove her breasts 'preventively,' few truly understand how important preventing environmental chemical exposures and incorporating cancer-preventing foods into their diet really is in reducing the risk of gene-mediated breast cancer.

There is so much fear and misinformation surrounding the so-called 'Breast Cancer Associated' genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, that it should help to dispel some prevailing myths by looking at the crucial role that epigenetic factors play in their expression. Literally 'above' (epi) or 'beyond' the control of the genes, these factors include environmental chemical exposures, nutrition and stress, which profoundly affect cancer risk within us all, regardless of what variant ('mutated' or 'wild')* that we happen to carry within our genomes.

In 2012, a very important study was published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry that looked at the role a natural compound called resveratrol may play in preventing the inactivation of the BRCA-1 gene. BRCA-1 is known as a "caretaker" gene because it is responsible for healing up double-strand breaks within our DNA. When the BRCA-1 gene is rendered dysfunctional or becomes inactivated, either through a congenital/germline inheritance of DNA defects ('mutation') or through chemical exposures, the result is the same: harm to the DNA repair mechanisms within the affected cells (particularly breast and ovary; possibly testicular), hence increasing the risk of cancer.

Ironically, while the prevalence of a "bad" inherited BRCA1 variation is actually quite low relative to the general population (A 2003 study found only 6.6% of breast cancer patients even have either a BRCA1 and BRCA2 germline mutation[1]), everyone's BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are susceptible to damage from environmental chemical exposures, most particularly xenobiotic (non-natural) chemicals and radiation. This means that instead of looking to a set of "bad" genes as the primary cause of cancer, we should be looking to avoid exposing both our "bad" and "good" genes alike to preventable chemical exposures, as well as avoiding nutrient deficiencies and/or incompatibilities, which also play a vital role in enabling us to express or silence cancer-associated genes. [For more on why genes don't "cause" disease see: The Great DNA Data Deficit.]

The aforementioned resveratrol study is titled "BRCA-1 promoter hypermethylation and silencing induced by the aromatic hydrocarbon receptor-ligand TCDD are prevented by resveratrol in MCF-7 Cells."

Quite a mouthful.

Essentially, the BRCA-1 promoter is the gene sequence within the BRCA1 gene that drives the production of the protein that enables our cells to repair DNA damage, and when "silenced" (i.e. hypermethylated) via the receptor for aromatic hydrocarbons (which are primarily xenobiotic petrochemical compounds), it leads to chromosomal damage within those cells. This study looked at the role of resveratrol, a natural compound found in grapes, wine, chocolate, and peanuts, in preventing these chemically-induced changes in gene methylation, also known as 'gene silencing.'

According to the study:

"The aberrant hypermethylation of tumor suppressor genes has been recognized as a predisposing event in breast carcinogenesis [1]. For example, BRCA-1 promoter hypermethylation has been linked to loss or silencing of BRCA-1 expression in sporadic breast tumors [27] and the development of high-grade breast carcinomas [810]. Higher incidence (30%90%) of BRCA-1 hypermethylation has been reported in infiltrating tumors [2,1012], suggesting that epigenetic repression of BRCA-1 may accompany the transition to more invasive phenotypes. Moreover, BRCA-1 promoter methylation was found to be positively associated with increased mortality among women with breast cancer [13].

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of GreenMedInfo or its staff.

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Beyond the 'Breast Cancer" Gene BRCA: Why Food Is Your ...

Welcome to the website of the Oxford University Gene Medicine Research Group. We are a University of Oxford research group based in the Radcliffe Department of Medicine at the John Radcliffe Hospital.

We are focused on the development of clinical gene therapies for the treatment of lung diseases. Our primary focus has been Cystic Fibrosis (CF) lung disease.

Together with colleagues at the University of Edinburgh and Imperial College London we form the UK Cystic Fibrosis Gene Therapy Consortium, funded by the Medical Research Council, the National Institute for Health Research and the UK Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

The Consortium is currently undertaking one of the world's largest ever gene therapy clinical trials in CF patients based on our gene therapy research.

Patient Recruitment for the Muti-Dose Clinical Trial

We are pleased to announce the launch of new charity Just Gene Therapy with the specific aim of raising funds for gene therapy research for CF. The charity has been established by Rosie Barnes in conjunction with Professor Eric Alton, and is the only way in which donations can directly support the work of the Consortium.

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UK Cystic Fibrosis Gene Therapy Consortium : Oxford ...

Study of twins discovers gene mutation linked to short sleep duration American Academy of Sleep Medicine Thursday, July 31, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Lynn Celmer, 630-737-9700, ext. 9364, lcelmer@aasmnet.org

DARIEN, IL Researchers who studied 100 twin pairs have identified a gene mutation that may allow the carrier to function normally on less than six hours of sleep per night. The genetic variant also appears to provide greater resistance to the effects of sleep deprivation.

Results show that a participant with p.Tyr362His a variant of the BHLHE41 gene had an average nightly sleep duration of only five hours, which was more than one hour shorter than the non-carrier twin, who slept for about six hours and five minutes per night. The twin with the gene mutation also had 40 percent fewer average lapses of performance during 38 hours without sleep and required less recovery sleep afterward sleeping only eight hours after the period of extended sleep deprivation compared with his twin brother, who slept for 9.5 hours.

According to the authors, this is only the second study to link a mutation of the BHLHE41 gene also known as DEC2 - to short sleep duration. The study provides new insights into the genetic basis of short sleep in humans and the molecular mechanisms involved in setting the duration of sleep that individuals need.

This work provides an important second gene variant associated with sleep deprivation and for the first time shows the role of BHLHE41 in resistance to sleep deprivation in humans, said lead author Renata Pellegrino, PhD, senior research associate in the Center for Applied Genomics at The Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. The mutation was associated with resistance to the neurobehavioral effects of sleep deprivation.

Study results are published in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal Sleep.

Pellegrino, along with co-author Ibrahim Halil Kavakli, from Koc University in Istanbul, Turkey, studied 100 twin pairs 59 monozygotic pairs and 41 dizygotic pairs who were recruited at the University of Pennsylvania. All twin pairs were the same sex and were healthy with no chronic conditions. Nightly sleep duration was measured at home by actigraphy for seven to eight nights. Response to 38 hours of sleep deprivation and length of recovery sleep were assessed in a sleep lab. During sleep deprivation, cognitive performance was measured every two hours using the Psychomotor Vigilance Test.

Although individual sleep needs vary, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that adults get about seven to nine hours of nightly sleep. However, a small percentage of adults are normal short sleepers who routinely obtain less than six hours of sleep per night without any complaints of sleep difficulties and no obvious daytime dysfunction.

This study emphasizes that our need for sleep is a biological requirement, not a personal preference, said American Academy of Sleep Medicine President Dr. Timothy Morgenthaler. Most adults appear to need at least seven hours of quality sleep each night for optimal health, productivity and daytime alertness.

According to the AASM, most people who regularly get six hours of sleep or less are restricting their sleep and suffer from insufficient sleep syndrome, which occurs when an individual persistently fails to obtain the amount of sleep required to maintain normal levels of alertness and wakefulness. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that 28 percent of U.S. adults report sleeping six hours or less in a 24-hour period. Insufficient sleep results in increased daytime sleepiness, concentration problems and lowered energy level, and it increases the risk of depression, drowsy driving, and workplace accidents.

The study involved a collaboration between researchers from The Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia; Universidade Federal de So Paulo (UNIFESP) in So Paulo, Brazil; Koc University in Istanbul, Turkey; the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine; the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center; and Washington State University. The research was supported in part by grants from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Institutional Development Fund from the Center for Applied Genomics at The Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia.

To request a copy of the study, A Novel BHLHE41Variant is Associated with Short Sleep and Resistance to Sleep Deprivation in Humans, or to arrange an interview with the study author or an AASM spokesperson, please contact Communications Coordinator Lynn Celmer at 630-737-9700, ext. 9364, or lcelmer@aasmnet.org.

The monthly, peer-reviewed, scientific journal Sleep is published online by the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC, a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society. The AASM is a professional membership society that improves sleep health and promotes high quality patient centered care through advocacy, education, strategic research, and practice standards (www.aasmnet.org). A searchable directory of AASM accredited sleep centers is available at http://www.sleepeducation.org.

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AASM News Archive - American Academy of Sleep Medicine

Please choose from the following list of questions for information about gene therapy, an experimental technique that uses genetic material to treat or prevent disease.

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Gene therapy is an experimental technique that uses genes to treat or prevent disease. In the future, this technique may allow doctors to treat a disorder by inserting a gene into a patients cells instead of using drugs or surgery. Researchers are testing several approaches to gene therapy, including:

Replacing a mutated gene that causes disease with a healthy copy of the gene.

Inactivating, or knocking out, a mutated gene that is functioning improperly.

Introducing a new gene into the body to help fight a disease.

Although gene therapy is a promising treatment option for a number of diseases (including inherited disorders, some types of cancer, and certain viral infections), the technique remains risky and is still under study to make sure that it will be safe and effective. Gene therapy is currently only being tested for the treatment of diseases that have no other cures.

MedlinePlus from the National Library of Medicine offers a list of links to information about genes and gene therapy.

Educational resources related to gene therapy are available from GeneEd.

The Genetic Science Learning Center at the University of Utah provides an interactive introduction to gene therapy and a discussion of several diseases for which gene therapy has been successful.

The Centre for Genetics Education provides an introduction to gene therapy, including a discussion of ethical and safety considerations.

KidsHealth from Nemours offers a fact sheet called Gene Therapy and Children.

Additional information about gene therapy is available from the National Genetics and Genomics Education Centre of the National Health Service (UK)

Gene therapy is designed to introduce genetic material into cells to compensate for abnormal genes or to make a beneficial protein. If a mutated gene causes a necessary protein to be faulty or missing, gene therapy may be able to introduce a normal copy of the gene to restore the function of the protein.

A gene that is inserted directly into a cell usually does not function. Instead, a carrier called a vector is genetically engineered to deliver the gene. Certain viruses are often used as vectors because they can deliver the new gene by infecting the cell. The viruses are modified so they cant cause disease when used in people. Some types of virus, such as retroviruses, integrate their genetic material (including the new gene) into a chromosome in the human cell. Other viruses, such as adenoviruses, introduce their DNA into the nucleus of the cell, but the DNA is not integrated into a chromosome.

The vector can be injected or given intravenously (by IV) directly into a specific tissue in the body, where it is taken up by individual cells. Alternately, a sample of the patients cells can be removed and exposed to the vector in a laboratory setting. The cells containing the vector are then returned to the patient. If the treatment is successful, the new gene delivered by the vector will make a functioning protein.

Researchers must overcome many technical challenges before gene therapy will be a practical approach to treating disease. For example, scientists must find better ways to deliver genes and target them to particular cells. They must also ensure that new genes are precisely controlled by the body.

A new gene is injected into an adenovirus vector, which is used to introduce the modified DNA into a human cell. If the treatment is successful, the new gene will make a functional protein.

The Genetic Science Learning Center at the University of Utah provides information about various technical aspects of gene therapy in Gene Delivery: Tools of the Trade. They also discuss other approaches to gene therapy and offer a related learning activity called Space Doctor.

The Better Health Channel from the State Government of Victoria (Australia) provides a brief introduction to gene therapy, including the gene therapy process and delivery techniques.

Penn Medicines Oncolink describes how gene therapy works and how it is administered to patients.

Gene therapy is under study to determine whether it could be used to treat disease. Current research is evaluating the safety of gene therapy; future studies will test whether it is an effective treatment option. Several studies have already shown that this approach can have very serious health risks, such as toxicity, inflammation, and cancer. Because the techniques are relatively new, some of the risks may be unpredictable; however, medical researchers, institutions, and regulatory agencies are working to ensure that gene therapy research is as safe as possible.

Comprehensive federal laws, regulations, and guidelines help protect people who participate in research studies (called clinical trials). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates all gene therapy products in the United States and oversees research in this area. Researchers who wish to test an approach in a clinical trial must first obtain permission from the FDA. The FDA has the authority to reject or suspend clinical trials that are suspected of being unsafe for participants.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) also plays an important role in ensuring the safety of gene therapy research. NIH provides guidelines for investigators and institutions (such as universities and hospitals) to follow when conducting clinical trials with gene therapy. These guidelines state that clinical trials at institutions receiving NIH funding for this type of research must be registered with the NIH Office of Biotechnology Activities. The protocol, or plan, for each clinical trial is then reviewed by the NIH Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee (RAC) to determine whether it raises medical, ethical, or safety issues that warrant further discussion at one of the RACs public meetings.

An Institutional Review Board (IRB) and an Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) must approve each gene therapy clinical trial before it can be carried out. An IRB is a committee of scientific and medical advisors and consumers that reviews all research within an institution. An IBC is a group that reviews and approves an institutions potentially hazardous research studies. Multiple levels of evaluation and oversight ensure that safety concerns are a top priority in the planning and carrying out of gene therapy research.

Information about the development of new gene therapies and the FDAs role in overseeing the safety of gene therapy research can be found in the fact sheet Human Gene Therapies: Novel Product Development Q&A.

The Genetic Science Learning Center at the University of Utah explains challenges related to gene therapy.

The NIHs Office of Biotechnology Activities provides NIH guidelines for biosafety.

Because gene therapy involves making changes to the bodys set of basic instructions, it raises many unique ethical concerns. The ethical questions surrounding gene therapy include:

How can good and bad uses of gene therapy be distinguished?

Who decides which traits are normal and which constitute a disability or disorder?

Will the high costs of gene therapy make it available only to the wealthy?

Could the widespread use of gene therapy make society less accepting of people who are different?

Should people be allowed to use gene therapy to enhance basic human traits such as height, intelligence, or athletic ability?

Current gene therapy research has focused on treating individuals by targeting the therapy to body cells such as bone marrow or blood cells. This type of gene therapy cannot be passed on to a persons children. Gene therapy could be targeted to egg and sperm cells (germ cells), however, which would allow the inserted gene to be passed on to future generations. This approach is known as germline gene therapy.

The idea of germline gene therapy is controversial. While it could spare future generations in a family from having a particular genetic disorder, it might affect the development of a fetus in unexpected ways or have long-term side effects that are not yet known. Because people who would be affected by germline gene therapy are not yet born, they cant choose whether to have the treatment. Because of these ethical concerns, the U.S. Government does not allow federal funds to be used for research on germline gene therapy in people.

The National Human Genome Research Institute discusses scientific issues and ethical concerns surrounding germline gene therapy.

A discussion of the ethics of gene therapy and genetic engineering is available from the University of Missouri Center for Health Ethics.

Gene therapy is currently available only in a research setting. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet approved any gene therapy products for sale in the United States.

Hundreds of research studies (clinical trials) are under way to test gene therapy as a treatment for genetic conditions, cancer, and HIV/AIDS. If you are interested in participating in a clinical trial, talk with your doctor or a genetics professional about how to participate.

You can also search for clinical trials online. ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the National Institutes of Health, provides easy access to information on clinical trials. You can search for specific trials or browse by condition or trial sponsor. You may wish to refer to a list of gene therapy trials that are accepting (or will accept) participants.

Next: The Human Genome Project

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Gene Therapy - Genetics Home Reference

Welcome to Genetics in Medicine

Genetics in Medicine, the official journal of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics, offers an unprecedented forum for the presentation of innovative, clinically relevant papers in contemporary genetic medicine. Stay tuned for cutting-edge clinical research in areas such as genomics, chromosome abnormalities, metabolic diseases, single gene disorders and genetic aspects of common complex diseases.

For detailed information about how to prepare your article and our editorial policies, please refer to our Instructions for Authors.

Volume 17, No 7 July 2015 ISSN: 1098-3600 EISSN: 1530-0366

2014 Impact Factor 7.329* 15/167 Genetics & Heredity

Editor-in-Chief: James P. Evans, MD, PhD

*2014 Journal Citation Reports Science Edition (Thomson Reuters, 2015)

This month's GenePod explores how genomic testing might be used to close the disparity for individuals who have little or no access to family medical history, which puts them at a clear disadvantage with regard to aspects of their medical care. Tune in to July's GenePod, or subscribe now!

Join the Genetics in Medicine community on Twitter and Facebook for the latest research and news!

View the most recent special issue on incidental findings, and many other special issues!

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Volume 9, Issue 2 Summary

In patients with type 1 diabetes, pancreatic beta cells self-destruct, leaving the body bereft of insulin. Yasuhiro Ikeda, D.V.M., Ph.D., is working to create a customizable gene and stem cell therapy system that will arrest the loss of these beta cells possibly permanently eliminating the need for insulin injections.

Yasuhiro Ikeda, D.V.M., Ph.D., is spearheading stem cell research in the Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Medicine.

Nearly everyone knows someone with diabetes it's hard not to. In the United States, 1 in 3 adults and 1 in 6 children have high blood sugar, according to the National Institutes of Health.

After you eat, glucose is absorbed into your bloodstream and carried throughout your body. Insulin a hormone made by beta cells in your pancreas then signals your cells to take up glucose, helping your body turn the food into energy.

With diabetes, this process can go wrong in two basic ways:Type 1 diabetes results from the body's failure to produce insulin;type 2 diabetes occurs when there's plenty of insulin but the cells lose their ability to perceive its signal. In both cases, cells starve.

Living well with diabetes requires a lifelong commitment to monitoring blood sugar, eating properly, exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy weight. People with type 1 diabetes must also rely on insulin replacement therapy, usually through insulin injections. People with type 2 diabetes might need oral medication.

Still, every year, diabetes kills about 70,000 people in the United States and is a contributing cause in another 160,000 deaths each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Yasuhiro Ikeda, D.V.M., Ph.D., a molecular biologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., wants to change that.

After beginning his career as a veterinary feline specialist, Dr. Ikeda had to change course when he developed an allergy to his four-legged patients that made it impossible to be in a room with them. He turned his attention toward research and discovered that his interest in molecular virology had human as well as feline applications.

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Gene therapy and regenerative medicine lend hope to ...

Gene therapy, or the use of genetic manipulation for disease treatment, is derived from advances in genetics, molecular biology, clinical medicine, and human genomics. Molecular medicine, the application of molecular biological techniques to disease treatment and diagnosis, is derived from the development of human organ transplantation, pharmacotherapy, and elucidation of the human genome. An Introduction to Molecular Medicine and Gene Therapy provides a basis for interpreting new clinical and basic research findings in the areas of cloning, gene transfer, and targeting; the applications of genetic medicine to clinical conditions; ethics and governmental regulations; and the burgeoning fields of genomics, biotechnology, and bioinformatics. By dividing the material into three sections - an introduction to basic science, a review of clinical applications, and a discussion of the evolving issues related to gene therapy and molecular medicine-this comprehensive manual describes the basic approaches to the broad range of actual and potential genetic-based therapies.

In addition, An Introduction to Molecular Medicine and Gene Therapy:

This textbook offers a clear, concise writing style, drawing upon the expertise of the authors, all renowned researchers in their respective specialties of molecular medicine. Researchers in genetics and molecular medicine will all find An Introduction to Molecular Medicine and Gene Therapy to be an essential guide to the rapidly evolving field of gene therapy and its applications in molecular medicine.

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An Introduction to Molecular Medicine and Gene Therapy ...