Genomics & Health Weekly Update

This weekly update provides information about the impact of human genomic research on disease prevention & population health. Learn more about the Genomics & Health Weekly Update.

Thursday, November 5, 2009       Volume 23   Number 19

 

Spotlight

Family History Awareness Month

Surgeon General declares Thanksgiving National Family History Day, encouraging Americans to share a meal and their family health history. Family members share genes, behaviors, lifestyles, and environments that together may influence their health and chronic disease. Family health history information can help health care providers determine which tests and screenings are recommended to help family members know their health risk. This year the Surgeon General updated and improved the My Family Health Portrait tool , which can help individuals collect and organize family history information. Learn more about family health history.

 

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Announcements

• Read responses to the Family History State-of-the-Science Conference hosted by the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Read the panel's draft statement.  Watch webinars of the proceedings. Read a commentary published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Read a response from CDC's Office of Public Health Genomics and Genetic Alliance.
• New publication, Phenopedia and Genopedia: Disease-centered and Gene-centered Views of the Evolving Knowledge of Human Genetic Associations , published online on October 30, 2009 in the Advance Access version of Bioinformatics. Authors: Yu W, Clyne M, Khoury MJ, and Gwinn M.
• Podcast now available of the Personalized Genomics: Hope or Hype? The 2009 Michael Smith Memorial Nobel Forum held on March 11, 2009, in British Columbia, featuring Muin J. Khoury, Cynthia Kenyon, and Nobel Laureate Harold Varmus. Listen to the podcast [audio MP3 - 53:35 min.] .
• New Healthy People 2020 objectives now posted, including new genomics-related objectives. Public comments opened on December 31, 2009.
• Oregon’s Department of Health has released 2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data on family history and colorectal cancer [PDF 58.37 KB]. Visit the Web page to access data for other years.

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Genomics In The News

• 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 & do not necessarily reflect the opinions or recommendations of CDC.
• Free registration required for some articles.

Autoimmune Disorders

New genetic cause of a fatal immune disorder, Medical News Today, November 3

Genetists identify gene signature expressed in skin associated with the occurrence of lung disease, News-Medical.Net, October 30

Online resource to illustrate genetic networks in common autoimmune diseases published, News-Medical.Net, October 30

Cancer

Faulty gene doubles risk of prostate cancer, Pak Tribune, November 4

Study to evaluate genetic risk factors for Barrett's Esophagus and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma, Medical News Today, November 2

Key to how 'triggering event' in cancer occurs: Researchers link hormone to creation of gene fusion in prostate cancer, Science Daily, October 30

BRCA testing in women with familial, personal history of ovarian cancer may reduce cases in first-degree relatives, HemOnc today, October 29

Chronic Disease

Genes may be important in back, neck pain, Reuters Health, November 4

Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues (ELSI)

Lawsuit banning human gene patents continues, court rules, Popular Science, November 3

New publication to help the public understand screening, PHG Foundation, November 3

Employment discrimination based on genetic information prohibited: GINA Title II regulations, News-Medical.Net, October 31

Family History

Report questions value of family health history, ABC News, November 2

DHSS encourages families to record health info, The Daily Dunklin Democrat, November 1

Family matters, Pasadena Weekly, October 29

Genes and Environment

Genes and environment may interact to influence risk for post-traumatic stress disorder, Medical News Today, November 4

Mental Health

Is disorder that causes dementia hereditary, Medical News Today, November 3

Mayo Clinic Medical Edge Asperger's likely has a genetic link, North Jersey.com, November 3

Clinical tests begin on medication to correct Fragile X Defect, NIH News, November 2

Vaccination safe for kids with genetic disorders, WebMD, October 30

Newborn Screening

Genetic screening: the new tests, Telegraph, November 2

Personalized Medicine

New European personalised medicine initiative, PHG Foundation, November 4

AHRQ's Clancy discusses comparative effectiveness research/personalized medicine convergence at PMC conference, GenomeWeb, November 3 [by free subscription only]

Other News

Singapore scientists describe novel method for 3-D whole genome mapping research, EurekAlert, November 4

'Moonlighting' molecules discovered; Researchers uncover new kink in gene control, Science Daily, October 30

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Genomics in the Scientific Literature

 

Aging

Association Between the Ubiquitin Carboxyl-Terminal Esterase L1 Gene (UCHL1) S18Y Variant and Parkinson's Disease: A HuGE Review and Meta-Analysis
Ragland M, et al.
Am J Epidemiol 2009 Oct

New era for personalized medicine: the diagnosis and management of age-related macular degeneration
Baird PN, et al.
Clin Experiment Ophthalmol 2009 Nov;37(8):814-21

PTH and IL21R May Underlie Variation of Femoral Neck Bone Mineral Density as Revealed by a Genome-Wide Association Study
Guo Y, et al.
J Bone Miner Res 2009 Oct

Autoimmune Disease

Rheumatoid arthritis: GWAS or TMI?
Cronstein BN
Genome Med 2009 Oct;1(10):98

Cancer

Cancer genetics and reproduction
Hanson H & Hodgson S
Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol 2009 Oct

Genetic variants in association studies--review of strengths and weaknesses in study design and current knowledge of impact on cancer risk
Andersson U, et al.
Acta Oncol 2009;48(7):948-54

Moderate- to low-risk variant alleles of cutaneous malignancies and nevi: lessons from genome-wide association studies
Udayakumar D & Tsao H
Genome Med 2009 Oct;1(10):95

Cardiovascular Disease

Angiotensin II type 2 receptor gene polymorphisms in cardiovascular disease
Balmforth AJ
J Renin Angiotensin Aldosterone Syst 2009 Oct

Chronic Disease

A genome-wide association analysis of serum iron concentrations
Tanaka T, et al.
Blood 2009 Oct

A genome-wide association study identifies a novel major locus for glycemic control in type 1 diabetes, as measured by both HbA1c and glucose
Paterson AD, et al.
Diabetes 2009 Oct

Unravelling the genetic basis of renal diseases; from single gene to multifactorial disorders
McKnight AJ, et al.
J Pathol 2009 Oct

Family History

Family History of Diabetes, Parental Body Mass Index Predict Obesity in Latino Children
Villa-Caballero L, et al.
Diabetes Educ 2009 Oct

National Institutes of Health State-of-the-Science Conference Statement: Family History and Improving Health
Berg AO, et al.
Ann Intern Med. 2009 Nov 2.

Risk factors associated with rosacea
Abram K, et al.
J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 2009 Oct

'Start the Conversation'
Dunlop K & Barlow-Stewart K
Public Health Genomics 2009 Oct

Systematic Review: Family History in Risk Assessment for Common Diseases
Wilson BJ, et al.
Ann Intern Med. 2009 Nov 2.

Genetic Testing

Population-based Tay-Sachs screening among Ashkenazi Jewish young adults in the 21st century: Hexosaminidase a enzyme assay is essential for accurate testing
Schneider A, et al.
Am J Med Genet A 2009 Oct;149A(11):2444-7

Problems in the Regulation of Genetic Tests in Japan: What Can We Learn from Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Tests?
Watanabe M, et al.
Public Health Genomics 2009 Oct

Role of genetic testing in arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy/dysplasia: experience from a single center prospective cohort
Barahona-Dussault C, et al.
Clin Genet 2009 Oct

Volunteer's willingness to genetic testing - lack of the understanding of the matter
Adamkova V, et al.
Physiol Res 2009;58 Suppl 1:S53-4

When is genetic testing useful in patients suspected to have inherited cardiac arrhythmias?
Fowler SJ, et al.
Curr Opin Cardiol 2009 Oct

Willingness to Pay for Genetic Testing: A Study of Attitudes in a Canadian Population
Ries NM, et al.
Public Health Genomics 2009 Oct

Newborn Screening

Ethical problems with neonatal screening
Orzalesi M & Danhaive O
Ann Ist Super Sanita 2009;45(3):325-30

Pharmacogenomics

Genomewide Association Study of Movement-Related Adverse Antipsychotic Effects
Aberg K, et al.
Biol Psychiatry 2009 Oct

Pharmacogenetics studies in STAR*D: strengths, limitations, and results
Laje G, et al.
Psychiatr Serv 2009 Nov;60(11):1446-57

Pharmacogenomic trial design: use of a PK/PD model to explore warfarin dosing interventions through clinical trial simulation
Salinger DH, et al.
Pharmacogenet Genomics 2009 Oct

Other

International web-based survey of informed consent procedures in genetic epidemiological studies: towards the establishment of a research coordinator accreditation system
Yamamoto M, et al.
J Hum Genet 2009 Oct

Predictive rule inference for epistatic interaction detection in genome-wide association studies
Wan X, et al.
Bioinformatics 2009 Oct

HuGE

For this week's human genome epidemiology articles, please visit the HuGE Navigator.

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