September 12th, 2011 
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A female today who has a BRCA gene mutation is being diagnosed with breast and ovarian cancer about eight years earlier than their mothers or aunts were, researchers from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported in the journal Cancer. The authors say their findings could impact on how females at very high risk of breast cancer are counseled or screened in years to come. Jennifer Litton, M.D…
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August 1st, 2011 admin Geneticists in the US have identified a new gene uniquely linked to asthma in African Americans; a variant of the gene called PYHIN1 that is absent in European Americans. The new national collaboration also confirmed four other “trans-ethnic” asthma genes revealed in a European study published last year. The new study, reported in the 31 July online issue of Nature Genetics, is said to represent a significant advance in a national effort to locate the genetic roots of asthma…
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July 1st, 2011 admin ‘Lean gene’ may mask disease signs
A “lean gene” that keeps you looking slim may mask danger signs of heart disease and diabetes.
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Researchers Believe They’ve Found Cure for Type Two Diabetes
Study shows the key is ingesting just 600 calories a day In our Medical Check Up report, researchers believe they’ve come up with a cure for type two diabetes; ingesting just 600 calories a day.
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April 15th, 2011 admin Fixed genomic variation explains only a small proportion of the risk of adiposity. In animal models, maternal diet alters offspring body composition, accompanied by epigenetic changes in metabolic control genes. Little is known about whether such processes operate in humans.
Using Sequenom MassARRAY we measured the methylation status of 68 CpGs 5′ from five candidate genes in umbilical cord tissue DNA from healthy neonates. Methylation varied greatly at particular CpGs: for 31 CpGs with median methylation ≥5% and a 5–95% range ≥10% we related methylation status to maternal pregnancy diet and to child’s adiposity at age 9 years. Replication was sought in a second independent cohort.
In cohort 1, retinoid X receptor-α (RXRA) chr9:136355885+ and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) chr7:150315553+ methylation had independent associations with sex-adjusted childhood fat mass (exponentiated regression coefficient [β] 17% per SD change in methylation [95%CI 4–31], P = 0.009, n = 64, and β = 20% [9–32], P < 0.001, n = 66, respectively) and %fat mass (β = 10% [1–19], P = 0.023, n = 64 and β =12% [4–20], P = 0.002, n = 66, respectively). Regression analyses including sex and neonatal epigenetic marks explained >25% of the variance in childhood adiposity. Higher methylation of RXRA chr9:136355885+, but not of eNOS chr7:150315553+, was associated with lower maternal carbohydrate intake in early pregnancy, previously linked with higher neonatal adiposity in this population. In cohort 2, cord eNOS chr7:150315553+ methylation showed no association with adiposity, but RXRA chr9:136355885+ methylation showed similar associations with fat mass and %fat mass (β = 6% [2–10] and β = 4% [1–7], respectively, both P = 0.002, n = 239).
Our findings suggest a substantial component of metabolic disease risk has a prenatal developmental basis. Perinatal epigenetic analysis may have utility in identifying individual vulnerability to later obesity and metabolic disease.
Posted in Diabetes Signs 
Tags: Adiposity, associated, Birth, Child's, Epigenetic, gene, later, Methylation, Promoter 
No Comments » April 9th, 2011 admin TR4 is a nuclear receptor without clear pathophysiological roles. We investigated the roles of hepatic TR4 in the regulation of lipogenesis and insulin sensitivity in vivo and in vitro.
TR4 activity and phosphorylation assays were carried out using hepatocytes and various TR4 wild-type and mutant constructs. Liver tissues from TR4 knockout, C57BL/6, and db/db mice were examined to investigate TR4 target gene stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) 1 regulation.
TR4 transactivation is inhibited via phosphorylation by metformin-induced AMP–activated protein kinase (AMPK) at the amino acid serine 351, which results in the suppression of SCD1 gene expression. Additional mechanistic dissection finds TR4-transactivated SCD1 promoter activity via direct binding to the TR4-responsive element located at –243 to –255 on the promoter region. The pathophysiological consequences of the metformin->AMPK->TR4->SCD1 pathway are examined via TR4 knockout mice and primary hepatocytes with either knockdown or overexpression of TR4. The results show that the suppression of SCD1 via loss of TR4 resulted in reduced fat mass and increased insulin sensitivity with increased β-oxidation and decreased lipogenic gene expression.
The pathway from metformin->AMPK->TR4->SCD1->insulin sensitivity suggests that TR4 may function as an important modulator to control lipid metabolism, which sheds light on the use of small molecules to modulate TR4 activity as a new alternative approach to battle the metabolic syndrome.
Posted in Diabetes Signs Tags: Altered, Desaturase, Expression, gene, Hepatic, Inhibits, Insulin, Metformin, Nuclear, Receptor, Sensitivity, StearoylCoenzyme, TR4Mediated No Comments » February 9th, 2011 admin The Skinny Gene Project Encourages the Diabetes Prevention Community to Vote in Hopes of Winning a $ 50,000 Pepsi Refresh Grant
San Diego, CA (Vocus) November 4, 2010
The Skinny Gene Project, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to preventing the onset of type 2 diabetes, is encouraging the diabetes prevention community to vote during the month of November to help the organization win a $ 50,000 grant from the Pepsi Refresh Project. Winning the $ 50,000 grant would provide the Skinny Gene Project with the necessary funds to have the education space, prediabetes education and nutrition team, and supplies needed to launch another community outreach program.
Voting began for the current round of eligible recipients for the Pepsi Refresh Project on November 1st and will continue through the 30th. The Skinny Gene Project’s idea is 1 of 1,142 up for vote. The top 10 organizations in this category with the most votes in November will be awarded a grant.
To support the Skinny Gene Project during November, National Diabetes Awareness month, please visit http://www.refresheverything.com/preventdiabetes, and or text your vote (To: 73774, Message:103793). You may vote for the same organization both online and via text once a day, every day in November.
“We have the programs in place, we just lack the financial resources required to expand our existing program to meet the needs of our San Diego community”, says Marlayna Bollinger, Executive Director for the Skinny Gene Project.
It is estimated that more than 300,000 people in San Diego County have prediabetes and are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes within the next few years. Unfortunately, 90% of those at-risk are unaware that they have this condition.
“Winning a $ 50,000 grant would allow us to go into the San Diego communities and educate our neighbors about the at-risk factors for type 2 diabetes and provide onsite prediabetes screenings.”
Bollinger continues to say, “We don’t want to just help identify a problem; we also want to be part of the solution. The grant would give us the program space and nutrition team needed to teach individuals and families how to eat nutrient-rich foods and live a healthier lifestyle to prevent type 2 diabetes.”
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Posted in Diabetes Prevention Tags: $50000, Community, Diabetes, Encourages, gene, Grant, Hopes, Pepsi, Prevention, Project, Refresh, Skinny, Vote, Winning No Comments » December 28th, 2010 admin Variation in the Transcription Factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) locus is associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D) across multiple ethnicities. The aim of this study was to elucidate which variant in TCF7L2 confers diabetes susceptibility in African Americans.
Through the evaluation of tagging single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs), T2D-susceptibility was limited to a 4.3kb interval which contains the YRI (African) linkage disequilibrium (LD) block containing rs7903146. To better define the relationship between T2D risk and genetic variation we resequenced this 4.3kb region in 96 African-American DNAs. Thirty-three novel and 13 known SNPs were identified; 20 with minor allele frequencies (MAF)>0.05 and 12 with MAF>0.10. These polymorphisms and the previously identified DG10S478 microsatellite were evaluated in African-American T2D cases (n=1033) and controls (n=1106).
Variants identified from direct sequencing and databases were genotyped or imputed. Fifteen SNPs showed association with T2D (P<0.05) with rs7903146 being the most significant (P=6.32×10–6). Results of imputation, haplotype and conditional analysis of SNPs were consistent with rs7903146 being the trait-defining SNP. Analysis of the DG10S478 microsatellite, which is outside the 4.3kb LD block, revealed consistent association of “risk” allele 8 with T2D (OR=1.33; P=0.022) as reported in European populations; however, allele 16 (MAF=0.016 cases and 0.032 controls) was strongly associated with reduced risk (OR=0.39; P=5.02×10–5) in contrast with previous studies.
In African Americans, these observations suggest that rs7903146 is the trait-defining polymorphism associated with T2D risk. Collectively, these results support ethnic differences in T2D associations.
Posted in Diabetes Signs Tags: African, Americans, Analysis, Causal, Diabetes, gene, Resequencing, rs7903146, Suggests, Susceptibility, TCF7L2, Variant, Variation No Comments » November 7th, 2010 admin The Skinny Gene Project Encourages the Diabetes Prevention Community to Vote in Hopes of Winning a ,000 Pepsi …
The Skinny Gene Project, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to preventing the onset of type 2 diabetes, is encouraging the diabetes prevention community to vote during the month of November to help the organization win a $ 50,000 grant from the Pepsi Refresh Project. Winning the grant will enable the Skinny Gene Project to launch a diabetes prevention and nutrition education program in …
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Community calendar
We want your listings! Listings for the community calendar are free, but not guaranteed. We encourage you send us your listings of upcoming events and we will do our best to include them.
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NICE Consults On Draft Quality Standards For Diabetes And Glaucoma
NICE has published for public consultation its draft quality standards for the clinical management of type 1 and 2 diabetes in adults and for the care of people with glaucoma. NICE quality standards are derived from the best available evidence, usually NICE guidance or other sources that have been accredited by NHS Evidence. They are designed to reflect the very best in high quality patient care …
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Posted in Diabetes Prevention Tags: $50000, Community, Diabetes, Encourages, gene, Hopes, Pepsi, Prevention, Project, Skinny, Vote, Winning No Comments » November 4th, 2010 admin Question by HappyNow…: Where is the gene disposition for “lack of control”, which has now become a “disease”?
I have heard that alcoholism is a disease, or drug abuse, or molesting children, etc.
We are now as a PC society placing blame on virtually everything as a genetic predisposition…you know, you got diabetes because of that gene, not because you have been pounding 2 liters of coke everyday for the past 30 years…or I am an alcohlic because of that gene, not because 1-2 drinks will suffice, but I have to drink a case today.
If you got the self-control to stop at the light when it turns red, what’s the predisposition to passing the buck here? Or is taking responsibility something that went out of style…
Best answer:
Answer by Jay W
There is no simple cause-and-effect explanation for alcoholism. Traditionally, in society and the law, alcohol abuse has been and still is considered personal responsibility, and we are accountable both for it and its consequences fully.
On the other hand, there has been a fair (but not utterly convincing) amount of evidence to suggest in many cases of alcoholism, there is a predisposition that cannot be fully explained by environmental or psychologic factors. This implies the connection is biologic in nature.
This evidence has been mistakenly used as a cause-and-effect argument. unfortunately, the majority of cases of alcoholism are probably not related to this biologic predisposition, and not all people with this predisposition or risk factor becomes an alcoholic. And, again, there is only a fair amount of information this predisposition exists–it is not utterly certain.
In addition, the word “predisposition” by definition denies a cause-and-effect relationship. However, put it together with other factors, such as psychologic and environmental factors, and you have at least a reasonable explanation for why some people are alcoholics.
However, explanation and excuse are not the same thing, and it is up to society to decide what to do with this information in dealing with our members who abuse alcohol. unfortunately, American society today has demonstrated a consistent and unsophisticated approach to uncertainty and judgment.
Give your answer to this question below!
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