Genes Give Up Secrets of 7 Serious Diseases

Related Newser Stories

• Brewhaha Over Coffee Muddies Health Facts

  Aug 5, 08 11:19 AM CDT
  Coffee’s health risks and benefits have been widely debated, often with contradictory “facts” emerging simultaneously—but can they all be right? Yes, Jane Brody writes in the New York Times. For instance, below 550 milligrams of caffeine, beverages are not diuretic (though they are beyond that); and while caffeine causes blood pressure to spike temporarily, long-term hypertension among coffee-drinkers is no more likely. More »

• New Procedure Gives Hope to Diabetics

  Aug 19, 07 5:55 PM CDT
  Car crashes, comas, sudden stabbings, divorces – all are being indirectly diminished as Britain spearheads a new procedure to help sufferers of type 1 diabetes. Victims of the growing disorder are often subject to fits and blackouts as they scramble for insulin, but a new operation is offering hope: already a dozen Britons are infused with cells to eliminate insulin dependency entirely. More »

• Researchers Link Gene, Heart Disease

  May 4, 07 7:50 AM CDT
  A gene that can more than double the risk of heart disease, especially in relatively young people, is present in about half of those of European descent, researchers say. The discovery, reported this week, raises hopes of more accurate genetic testing for heart disease—the world's leading cause of death—but not for prevention or treatment. More »

• Drug Targets Hundreds of Disorders

  Apr 23, 07 8:42 AM CDT
  A magic bullet that could treat cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, hemophilia and more than 1,800 other genetic disorders could be available by 2009. Lee Sweeney of UPenn, leader of the team developing the drug, tells the Times of London: “It doesn’t just target one mutation that causes disease, but a whole class of mutations.” More »

• Docs Too Quick to Cry Depression

  Apr 3, 07 6:58 AM CDT
  Shrinks are too quick to term patients clinically depressed, says a new study reported in the Washington Post. Researchers argue that a quarter of "acute grief reactions," the standard symptom of depression, may in fact constitute normal responses to stress; they blame the bloated psychopharmaceutical industry, in part, for the inaccurate triage. More »