This Week in CGREAL

a newsletter of the Center for Genetic Research Ethics & Law in the Department of Bioethics, Case Western Reserve University

January 4 , 2007 

Home * Genetics in the News * Genetics in the Literature * Archive

Genetics in the News

 

FDA Issues Asians-Only Epilepsy Drug Warning (WSJ Blog) "The world took another baby step toward personalized medicine today, as the FDA said people of Asian descent should be screened for a particular genetic variation before they take carbamazepine. ..."

Guinea-pigging (The New Yorker) "In some cities, the drug-testing economy has produced a community of semi-professional research subjects. For them, guinea-pigging, as they call it, has become a job. ..."

Yamanaka: Non-scientists Should Oversee Stem Cell Research (Center for Genetics and Society) "These are very difficult decisions, and I think that society should make them. It should not be scientists. They can find it difficult to think like the person on the street, and instead may see it simply as a good opportunity. ..."

DNA Kits: Secrets of Your Past or Scientific Scam? (LiveScience) "Instead of tracing our genetic past, what we get is a scientific scam. ..." [Related: The DNA Genealogy Scam (Sandwalk) "I'm disturbed by the fact that we have a number of prominent bloggers pushing DNA testing. ..." DNA tests don't always help uncover family (Reuters) "For me, recent centuries held more surprises than the deep ancestry uncovered by the DNA test. ..."]

Personalized Medicine and You: Delaware Reducing the Gap! (Gene Sherpas) "Coriell has now officially launched the Delaware Personalized Medicine Project. ..."

Risks of obtaining and sharing your genome sequence (The Personal Genome)"But before anyone can step on the accelerator toward personalized medicine, people need to be willing to actually obtain and share personal genome sequences. ..."

Gene Security Network aims to bolster IVF genetic tests (VentureBeat ) "GSN says it has developed a technique that allows for highly accurate testing for both aneuploidy and a number of genetic diseases such as muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis using DNA from a single cell. ..."

Are There Holes In My Genes? (Fast Company) "A new industry promises to gauge your genetic risk of getting diseases like cancer. ..."

Right To Consent?"Prison Experimentation Has a Dark Past That Weighs On Future Research Involving Inmates ..."

The Latest on 23andMe (The Genetic Genealogist) "Three weeks ago, 23andMe launched their personal genome service. In the meantime, the launch has prompted a great deal of discussion. Additionally, a few of the earliest customers have already received their results. ..."

A New DNA Test Can ID a Suspect's Race, But Police Won't Touch It (Wired) "DNAWitness touches on race and racial profiling a subject with such a tortured history that people can't countenance the existence of the technology, even if they don't understand how it works. ..."

'Bubble boy' develops leukaemia (BBC ) "It is thought the implanted gene was planted next to, and switched on, an oncogene, which is a gene that causes cancer. ..."

As Gene Tests Spread, Questions Follow (Wall Street Journal) "But many experts note that most genetic tests are only loosely regulated, and aren't required to provide the type of rigorous scientific studies to back up their claims that the pharmaceutical industry must provide. ..."

Parents Whose Children Share Genetic Mutations Seek Each Other for Support ( New York Times)"Few of these mutations were inherited in the traditional sense, and the affected children are typically the only family member with the disorder. So, many parents are searching out strangers struck by the same genetic lightning bolt. ..."

Getting the test: Family confronts its genetic heritage (Seacoastonline) "With advance knowledge of their potential destinies, people will ponder whether to share the information with parents, siblings and children and how best to respond to worrisome risks. ..."

DNA database: Will your DNA get lost, too? (Telegraph)"Following the loss last week of the personal and bank details of 25million Britons, there is now concern about the security of genetic information held by the authorities. ..."  [Related: Why 'Anonymous' Data Sometimes Isn't (Wired) "The point of the research was to demonstrate how little information is required to de-anonymize information in the Netflix dataset. ..." Industry Using Third Parties To Manage Public Concerns About Genetic Screening "Private companies are using intermediary organisations - trusted third parties - to reduce the risk that their services will encounter public concern. ..."]

'Informed cohort' provides personal stake in genetics research "Patients are often reluctant to give up DNA samples for research, not knowing what the information will be used for and feeling there's no personal benefit to them. ..."

Designer baby fear over heart gene test (Times Online) "A British couple have won the right to test embryos for a gene that leads to high cholesterol levels and an increased risk of heart attacks ..."

Stronger, smarter, nicer humans "He believes we should proceed with research into enhancing not only the genetics of fighting disease, but the genetics and pharmacology of improving IQ, behaviour, mood, character and morality ..."

Human genetic variation -- Science's 'Breakthrough of the Year' "Science and its publisher, AAAS, the nonprofit science society, recognize Human Genetic Variation as the Breakthrough of the Year ..."

Ashkenazi ovarian cancer patients with BRCA mutations live longer than those with normal gene

A research shows the genetic predisposition to develop alcohol abuse "Thanks to this study, researchers have shown that the lack of endorphin is hereditary, and thus that there is a genetic predisposition to become addicted to alcohol. ..." [Related: Genetics May Boost Mexican-Americans' Risk for Alcoholism (Washington Post) "Mexican-Americans carrying what's known as a haplotype of a particular gene may be at increased risk of alcoholism ..."]

 

DNA paternity test hits store shelves For the first time, drug stores are selling a simple DNA test to determine paternity.

Are humans evolving faster?"Findings suggest we are becoming more different, not alike ..."

NIH launches Human Microbiome Project "NIH Roadmap effort to use genomic technologies to explore role of microbes in human health and disease ..."

Men unaware of their cancer risk when female relatives test positive for BRCA mutation "Men whose mothers, sisters or daughters test positive for a cancer-causing gene mutation also have an increased risk of developing the disease but are unaware of that risk. ..."

Personal Genome Results from 23andMe and deCODEme "Personal genome results from the first wave of customers are rolling in... Perhaps privacy isn t really a big deal in this age of reality television, blogs, and national DNA databases ..." 

Goodbye Dolly? (Center for Genetics and Society) "In other words, the man who came to fame by producing the world's first cloned mammal - and who is sitting on one of two licenses to clone human embryos that the British government has issued - is giving up on cloning techniques in stem cell research. ..." [Related: Cloning Companies Promise to Track Their Animals ( Wired Science) "In a move designed to quell persistent consumer opposition to meat from cloned animals, the nation's two leading animal cloners have promised to keep tabs on whether their animals enter the food the system. ..."]

Synthetic DNA on the Brink of Yielding New Life Forms (Washington Post)

"The cobbling together of life from synthetic DNA, scientists and philosophers agree, will be a watershed event, blurring the line between biological and artificial -- and forcing a rethinking of what it means for a thing to be alive. ..." [Related: The Top 10 New Organisms of 2007 (Wired) "Tools and knowledge necessary to create organisms never before seen on Earth have pushed out to pet breeders, artists and college kids. Here we count down the top 10 organisms that didn't exist on Dec. 31, 2006. ..." Chimeric Models Facilitate Advances In Drug and Immune System Research "Policymakers recognizing the important role chimeric models can play in laboratory research should work to ensure that properly regulated use of these important models can continue. ..."]

Anti-Aging Drugs Could Change the Nature of Death (Wired Science)

"Once they've reached the end of their traditional lifespans, these animals tend to die quickly and inexplicably, without any indication of disease or systemic breakdown. ..." [Related: Radical Life Extension and Religious Evolution (Technology News) "Technology will inject competition into religion and force religious authorities to clarify what they mean by immortality ..."]

New ingredients in drug-like anti-aging products improve skin "Cosmeceuticals work like prescription drugs to improve aging skin ..."

DNA Dating Service Comes To Boston (WCVB Boston)"ScientificMatch.com promises its technology will use DNA to find a date with "a natural odor you'll love, with whom you'd have healthier children and a more satisfying sex life." ..."

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Genetics in the Literature

 

(2007). "Another inconvenient truth." Nat Biotech 25(12): 1330-1330.

"In Europe, no one apparently wants to listen if you have good news about genetically modified organisms (GMOs). ..."

 

(2008). "Human Variome Microattribution Reviews." Nat Genet 40(1): 1-1.

"The journal has now begun to commission reviews on variation at selected loci as a way to demonstrate that microattribution can produce the required incentive for high-quality community annotation of the human genome. ..."

 

Bains, W. (2007). "Can I Have Volunteers to Die Tomorrow?" Rejuvenation Research 10(4): 648-650.

 

Bleijs, D. A., I. T. Haenen, et al. (2007). "Gene therapy legislation in The Netherlands." J Gene Med 9(10): 904-9.

"Several regulatory organisations are involved in the assessment of clinical gene therapy trials involving genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in The Netherlands. This review summarises the gene therapy legislation in The Netherlands and in particular The Netherlands rationale to follow Directive 2001/18/EC for the environmental risk assessment. ..."

 

Bredenoord, A. L., G. Pennings, et al. (2008). "Dealing with uncertainties: ethics of prenatal diagnosis and preimplantation genetic diagnosis to prevent mitochondrial disorders." Hum Reprod Update 14(1): 83-94.

"This paper aims to address the ethical issues regarding prenatal diagnosis and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) of mitochondrial disorders. Owing to the absence of effective treatment, the prevention of the transmission of mitochondrial disorders is considered to be of key importance. Both prenatal diagnosis and PGD for mtDNA disorders are complicated by the interpretation of the test results. As a consequence, these applications confront both clinical practice and society at large with several ethical questions and issues for further debate, among which the acceptability of suboptimal genetic testing, the value and research use of embryos, the evaluation of late abortion, the ethics of PGD for disorders with an incomplete penetrance and variable expression, the possible transfer of embryos with residual health risks, the acceptability of risks and drawbacks of genetic reproductive technology in general, and the scope and limits of reproductive autonomy and professional responsibility. ..."

 

Buchanan, D. R. (2008). "Autonomy, Paternalism, and Justice: Ethical Priorities in Public Health." Am J Public Health 98(1): 15-21.

"Efforts focused on specifying the conditions that warrant paternalism, however, are largely misplaced. On empirical and ethical grounds, public health should seek instead to expand individual autonomy to improve population health. To promote autonomy, the field should redirect current efforts toward clarifying principles of justice. Although public health's most highly visible stance is associated with an egalitarian conception of "social justice," it is imperative that public health professionals address gaping divisions in public understandings of justice. I present recommendations for initiating this process. ..."

 

Castillo-Garzon, M. J., J. R. Ruiz, et al. (2006). "Anti-aging therapy through fitness enhancement." Clin Interv Aging 1(3): 213-20.

"Physical exercise is proposed as a highly effective means of treating and preventing the main causes of morbidity and mortality--most of which are associated with aging--in industrialized countries. Such training programs would allow people to develop their maximum physical potential, improve their physical and mental health, and attenuate the negative consequences of aging. ..."

 

Corveleyn, A., M. A. Morris, et al. (2007). "Provision and quality assurance of preimplantation genetic diagnosis in Europe." Eur J Hum Genet.

 

de Grey, A. D. N. J. (2007). "Understanding and Tackling Aging: Two Fields Communicating (A Little) At Last." Rejuvenation Research 10(4): 637-640

"The field of biomedical gerontology—the interface between biogerontology and geriatrics, where biological knowledge is focused on developing the geriatrics of tomorrow—is not a traditional component of gerontology, having been poorly appreciated by biogerontologists and geriatricians alike, but these developments show that it is rapidly taking its place at that table. ..."

 

Derse, A. R. (2007). "Is Patients' Time Too Valuable for Informed Consent?" The American Journal of Bioethics 7(12): 45 - 46.

 

DeVille, K. A. (2007). "Things Fall Apart. Can the Center Hold? Human Subjects Research Regulation and Participant Safety." Journal of Legal Medicine 28(4): 579 - 591.

 

Ehrich, K., C. Williams, et al. (2007). "Choosing embryos: ethical complexity and relational autonomy in staff accounts of PGD." Sociol Health Illn 29(7): 1091-106.

"The technique of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is commonly explained as a way of checking the genes of embryos produced by IVF for serious genetic diseases. However, complex accounts of this technique emerged during ethics discussion groups held for PGD staff. These form part of a study exploring the social processes, meanings and institutions that frame and produce 'ethical problems' for practitioners, scientists and others working in the specialty of PGD in the UK. Two 'grey areas' raised by staff are discussed in terms of how far staff are, or in the future may be, able to support autonomous choices of women/couples: accepting 'carrier' embryos within the goal of creating a 'healthy' child; and sex selection of embryos for social reasons. These grey areas challenged the staff's resolve to offer individual informed choice, in the face of their awareness of possible collective social effects that might ensue from individual choices. We therefore argue that these new forms of choice pose a challenge to conventional models of individual autonomy used in UK genetic and reproductive counselling, and that 'relational autonomy' may be a more suitable ethical model to describe the ethical principles being drawn on by staff working in this area. ..."

 

Evans, J. P. (2007). "Health Care in the Age of Genetic Medicine." JAMA 298(22): 2670-2672.

 

Ferretti, M. P. (2007). "Why Public Participation in Risk Regulation? The Case of Authorizing GMO Products in the European Union." Science as Culture 16(4): 377 - 395.

 

Fox, D. (2007). "Luck, Genes, and Equality." J Law Med Ethics 35(4): 712-726.

 

Frohlich, K. L. and L. Potvin (2008). "The Inequality Paradox: The Population Approach and Vulnerable Populations." Am J Public Health: AJPH.2007.114777.

"Using the concept of vulnerable populations, we examine how disparities in health may be exacerbated by population-approach interventions.We show, from an etiologic perspective,how life-course epidemiology, the concentration of risk factors, and the concept of fundamental causes of diseases may explain the differential capacity, throughout the risk-exposure distribution, to transform resources provided through population-approach interventions into health. From an intervention perspective, we argue that population-approach interventions may be compromised by inconsistencies between the social and cultural assumptions of public health practitioners and targeted groups.We propose some intervention principles to mitigate the health disparities associated with population-approach interventions. ..."

 

Goodacre, R. (2007). "Metabolomics of a superorganism." Journal of Nutrition 137(1): 259S-266S.

"The human can be thought of as a human-microbe hybrid, and the health of this superorganism will be affected by intrinsic properties such as human genetics, diurnal cycles, and age and by extrinsic factors such as lifestyle choices and the acquisition of a stable "healthy" gut microflora (the so-called microbiome). This article provides an overview of metabolomics and discusses how data are generated and analyzed within a systems biology framework. The role of metabolomics in nutrigenomics is also discussed, as are the concepts of the human being a superorganism and the complexities required to be overcome to understand human health and disease. ..."

 

Halbert, C. H., D. Love, et al. (2008). "Retention of African American women in cancer genetics research." Am J Med Genet A 146(2): 166-73.

"We evaluated predictors of retention in cancer genetics research among African American women at increased risk for having a BRCA1 and BRCA2 (BRCA1/2) mutation.  Predictors of retention at 1-month included being employed whereas predictors of overall retention included having a personal history of breast and/or ovarian cancer and having completed genetic counseling. These data suggest that once enrolled in genetic counseling research, the majority of African American women will continue to participate, especially if concrete clinical services are provided. ..."

 

Hambly, C., J. G. Mercer, et al. (2007). "Hunger Does Not Diminish Over Time in Mice Under Protracted Caloric Restriction." Rejuvenation Research 10(4): 533-542.

"Hunger therefore did not diminish even when they were restricted for 100 days, equivalent to about 11 years in humans. The pattern of hyperphagic response suggested that signals coding body mass drive hunger during restriction, and because body mass under restriction remains depressed, this suggests that hunger would never disappear, making restriction to prolong lifespan in humans difficult to accomplish. ..."

 

Hartley, H. and C. L. Coleman (2008). "News media coverage of direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising: implications for countervailing powers theory." Health (London) 12(1): 107-32.

"Coming from the perspective that the news media play an important role in reflecting the balance of power among the various countervailing powers, the paper advances this theoretical framework through an empirical assessment of the relative prominence of those entities in print news media coverage of the DTC advertising phenomenon. The study finds that ;corporate sellers' (pharmaceutical industry) are accorded more prominence in news coverage than are providers, consumers, corporate purchasers, or state players and that DTC critics, in particular, have minimal representation. In addition, the findings point toward two modifications for countervailing powers theory: (1) an incorporation of the role of academic/research organizations, and (2) a consideration of the universe of possibilities with respect to each of the countervailing powers. ..."

 

Holden, C. (2007). "NEUROSCIENCE: Gene Variant May Influence How People Learn From Their Mistakes." Science 318(5856): 1539a-.

John, J. S. and R. Lovell-Badge (2007). "Human-animal cytoplasmic hybrid embryos, mitochondria, and an energetic debate." Nat Cell Biol 9(9): 988-992.

Karch, S. B. (2007). "Changing times: DNA resequencing and the "nearly normal autopsy"." J Forensic Leg Med 14(7): 389-97.

"No matter how meticulous the autopsy, non-traumatic deaths in the young go unexplained from 5-10% of the time. Advances in molecular biology and DNA technology now make it possible to explain many of those deaths. Emerging evidence suggests that the underlying cause of death in many is genetic. The problem is that death from a wide variety of genetic defects may leave no histological markers. The ability to identify these "invisible diseases" with postmortem genetic testing has become a reality far more quickly than anyone had ever imagined. The introduction of large-scale genetic screening will have an enormous effect on the practice of forensic pathology. This paper reviews the current status of the problem. ..."

 

Kent, A. and C. Oosterwijk (2007). "A patient and family perspective on gene therapy for rare diseases." J Gene Med 9(10): 922-3.

"The authors describe the view of patients and patient organisations on gene therapy research and gene therapy regulations. In particular, the added value of partnership between scientists and patient organisations, and patient involvement in the gene therapy field, are addressed. ..."

 

Kimmelman, J. (2007). "THE THERAPEUTIC MISCONCEPTION AT 25." Hastings Center Report 37(6): 36-42.

"Recent interpretations of the concept might weaken aspects of informed consent and exaggerate the distinction between therapy and treatment, thereby eroding human protections. The article claims that therapeutic misconceptions, which was originally intended to strengthen the responsibilities of investigators to research subjects, exaggerate the distinction between medical research and treatment, revealing problems in the foundations of research ethics and possibly weakening informed consent.. ..."

 

Kristman, V. L. and N. Kreiger (2007). "Information Disclosure in Population-Based Research Involving Genetics: A Framework for the Practice of Ethics in Epidemiology." Ann Epidemiol.

"The purpose of this paper was to develop a framework for use by epidemiologists, research ethics boards, and institutional review boards during the protocol development stage to ethically address the dilemma regarding disclosure of individual genetic information. The proposed framework will not solve all ethical dilemmas related to individual disclosure of genetic information. It is, however, a useful starting point to facilitate the consideration process. ..."

 

Ley, R. E., R. Knight, et al. (2007). "The human microbiome: eliminating the biomedical/environmental dichotomy in microbial ecology." Environmental Microbiology 9(1): 3-4.

 

McMillan, J. (2007). "The return of the Inseminator: Eutelegenesis in past and contemporary reproductive ethics." Stud Hist Philos Biol Biomed Sci 38(2): 393-410.

"Eugenicists in the 1930s and 1940s emphasised our moral responsibilities to future generations and the importance of positively selecting traits that would benefit humanity. In 1935 Herbert Brewer recommended 'Eutelegenesis' (artificial insemination with sperm from specially selected males) so that that future generations are not only protected from hereditary disease but also become more intelligent and fraternal than us. The development of these techniques for human use and animal husbandry was the catalyst for the cross fertilization of moral ideas and the development of a critical procreative morality. While eugenicists argued for a new critical morality, religious critics argued against artificial insemination because of its potential to damage important moral institutions. The tension between critical and conservative procreative morality is a feature of the contemporary debates about reproductive technologies. This and some of the other aspects of the early and contemporary debates about artificial insemination and reproductive technologies are discussed in this article. ..."

 

Moskop, J. C. (2007). "Information Disclosure and Consent: Patient Preferences and Provider Responsibilities." The American Journal of Bioethics 7(12): 47 - 49.

Ormondroyd, E., C. Moynihan, et al. (2007). "Disclosure of genetics research results after the death of the patient participant: a qualitative study of the impact on relatives." J Genet Couns 16(4): 527-38.

"We report here an evaluation of the impact on relatives of being informed of study results that detected pathogenic BRCA2 mutations in a male relative, now deceased, who had early onset (under the age of 55) prostate cancer. All participants believed that genetics research results of clinical significance should be fed back to relatives. Those who were fully aware of the BRCA2 results and implications for themselves felt they had benefited from the information, irrespective of whether or not they had elected for genetic testing, because of the consequent availability of surveillance programs. Initial anxiety upon learning about the BRCA2 result was alleviated by genetic counselling. Factors influencing those who have not engaged with the information included scepticism related to the relative who attempted to inform them, young age and fear of cancer. Those who had not sought genetic counselling did not attempt further dissemination, and some were not undergoing regular screening. Implications for informed consent in genetics research programs, and the requirement for genetic counselling when research results are disclosed, are discussed. ..."

 

Payne, P. W., Jr., C. Royal, et al. (2007). "Genetic and social environment interactions and their impact on health policy." J Am Acad Orthop Surg 15 Suppl 1: S95-8.

"Genetic and social factors are not as separate as once thought. Researchers within the social sciences are beginning to realize that genetics and the social environment interact synergistically to affect health behaviors and outcomes. This way of thinking is leading to new research models and is influencing the development of research initiatives. The importance of this gene-social environment paradigm is evident in current and proposed health policies, and future research likely will spur further questions related to various areas of public policy. ..."

 

Petrella, J. R., V. S. Mattay, et al. (2008). "Imaging genetics of brain longevity and mental wellness: the next frontier?" Radiology 246(1): 20-32.

"Selected examples will be used to illustrate how neuroimaging is being employed to study the effects of genes and how neurogenetics may affect future radiology research and practice. ..."

 

Phelps, C., F. Wood, et al. (2007). "Knowledge and expectations of women undergoing cancer genetic risk assessment: a qualitative analysis of free-text questionnaire comments." J Genet Couns 16(4): 505-14.

"This paper reports a thematic analysis of the free-text data. Themes reflected individuals' poor knowledge and uncertainty about genetic risk assessment. How well individuals responded to learning their risk depended upon whether expectations had been met. Regardless of risk, individuals undergoing cancer genetic risk assessment are likely to benefit from increased information about its process and timescales, and access to increased psychological support. Free-text comments can provide valuable data about individuals' expectations and knowledge of genetics services. ..."

 

Popovsky, M. (2007). "Jewish Perspectives on the Use of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis." J Law Med Ethics 35(4): 699-711.

Rasmussen-Torvik, L. J. and D. D. McAlpine (2007). "Genetic screening for SSRI drug response among those with major depression: great promise and unseen perils." Depress Anxiety 24(5): 350-7.

"This article examines evidence for the potential benefit of genetic testing for SSRI response, as well as potential ethical and practical implications of the implementation of this test into standard psychiatric practice. We reviewed three areas of the literature: the burden of treatment-resistant and treatment-intolerant major depressive disorders, the evidence for the value of genetic testing to predict drug response, and the ethical and practical issues of genetic testing in usual care. Given the nonspecific nature of the test proposed, several ethical concerns are also involved with administering the genetic tests to patients. A randomized trial comparing response in those treated with standard psychiatric care and in those treated with psychiatric care tailored as a result of genetic test results should be completed before the implementation of these tests can be considered. Additionally, the ethical and practical questions concerning the tests must be addressed now, so that the potential impact of these tests on patient care can be well understood prior to adoption in standard practice. ..."

 

Reilly, P. R. and R. M. Debusk (2008). "Ethical and legal issues in nutritional genomics." J Am Diet Assoc 108(1): 36-40.

"Although the field of nutritional genomics is in its infancy, it is appropriate for registered dietitians to begin now to fashion a code of conduct about the proper use of genetic information. Relevant legal topics, such as federal and state legislation and judicial decisions, are discussed. ..."

 

Reinhard, R. (2007). "Consent for Genomic Epidemiology in Developing Countries: Added Human Subject Protection Also Needed." PLoS Medicine 4(6): e214.

Rezzi, S., Z. Ramadan, et al. (2007). "Human metabolic phenotypes link directly to specific dietary preferences in healthy individuals." Journal of Proteome Research 6(11): 4469-4477.

"Here, we demonstrate a new "nutrimetabonomic" approach in which spectroscopically generated metabolic phenotypes are correlated with behavioral/psychological dietary preference, namely, "chocolate desiring" or "chocolate indifferent". These data suggest that specific dietary preferences can influence basal metabolic state and gut microbiome activity that in turn may have long-term health consequences to the host. Nutrimetabonomics appears as a promising approach for the classification of dietary responses in populations and personalized nutritional management. ..."

 

Sahakian, B. and S. Morein-Zamir (2007). "Professor's little helper." Nature 450(7173): 1157-1159.

"The use of cognitive-enhancing drugs by both ill and healthy individuals raises ethical questions that should not be ignored ..."

 

Schenk-Braat, E. A., L. C. Kaptein, et al. (2007). "Gene therapy in The Netherlands: highlights from the Low Countries." J Gene Med 9(10): 895-903.

"Gene therapy is an active research area in The Netherlands and Dutch scientists involved in fundamental and clinical gene therapy research significantly contribute to the progresses made in this field. This paper presents an overview on milestones in Dutch basic gene therapy research as well as on past, present and future clinical gene therapy trials in The Netherlands. ..."

 

Searles Nielsen, S., B. A. Mueller, et al. (2008). "Newborn screening archives as a specimen source for epidemiologic studies: feasibility and potential for bias." Ann Epidemiol 18(1): 58-64.

"PURPOSE: To evaluate the feasibility of obtaining dried blood spots (DBS) from newborn screening archives for subjects in epidemiologic studies and using these specimens for genotyping, and to evaluate the potential for bias in their use. METHODS: We attempted to locate DBS at Washington State's archives for 230 participants in a previous case-control study of childhood cancer, who were born 1978-1990. We compared characteristics of children for whom we did and did not locate specimens and attempted genetic polymorphism analyses (11 polymorphisms, 82-480 bp amplicons). RESULTS: We retrieved specimens for 203 (88%) children, including 199 (94%) born in months when a DBS catalog was available. Among the latter, the proportion with specimens located varied by birth place (e.g., hospital, home), maternal education, and prenatal smoking, but did not vary significantly by race/ethnicity. All genotyping assays were completed for all specimens, and among controls genotype distributions were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and similar to previous reports. CONCLUSIONS: Newborn screening archives have potential to provide specimens for epidemiologic studies conducting genotyping and perhaps other assays, but the possibility that reliance on these resources could bias risk estimates must be considered. ..."

 

Shamoo, A. E. and J. Schwartz (2007). "Universal and Uniform Protections of Human Subjects in Research." The American Journal of Bioethics 7(12): 7 - 9.

Stamm, H., M. Lamprecht, et al. (2008). "The public perception of doping in sport in Switzerland, 1995 – 2004." Journal of Sports Sciences 26(3): 235 - 242.

"The article reports findings on the perception of doping and anti-doping policies from four representative population surveys carried out in 1995, 1998, 2001, and 2004, as well as from a 2005-2006 survey of top-level athletes in Switzerland. The results show a growing public awareness for doping issues and increasing support for a comprehensive anti-doping strategy in Switzerland. The vast majority of the Swiss population and top-level athletes are strongly against doping and support a strategy that combines strict prohibition and sanctioning with informational and educational efforts. The perception of the doping issue and the strategic preferences in fighting doping stated by the public are largely in line with the current anti-doping strategy followed by the Swiss authorities. The results thus suggest a successful use of information resources by the authorities to create public awareness and to communicate its strategy. ..."

 

Stone, D. (2001). "Race in British eugenics." Eur Hist Q 31(3): 397-425.

 

Stratton, M. R. and N. Rahman (2008). "The emerging landscape of breast cancer susceptibility." Nat Genet 40(1): 17-22.

"The genetic basis of inherited predisposition to breast cancer has been assiduously investigated for the past two decades and has been the subject of several recent discoveries. Three reasonably well-defined classes of breast cancer susceptibility alleles with different levels of risk and prevalence in the population have become apparent: rare high-penetrance alleles, rare moderate-penetrance alleles and common low-penetrance alleles. The contribution of each component to breast cancer predisposition is still to be fully explored, as are the phenotypic characteristics of the cancers associated with them, the ways in which they interact, much of their biology and their clinical utility. These recent advances herald a new chapter in the exploration of susceptibility to breast cancer and are likely to provide insights relevant to other common, heterogeneous diseases. ..."

 

Tanne, J. H. (2007). "FDA may allow drug and device companies to promote "off-label" uses." BMJ 335(7632): 1229-.

"The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing that drug and device companies can send doctors journal articles and reference materials about "off-label" or unapproved uses. ..."

 

Taylor, K. D., J. M. Norris, et al. (2007). "Genome-wide association: which do you want first: the good news, the bad news, or the good news?" Diabetes 56(12): 2844-8.

 

Veatch, R. M. (2007). "Implied, Presumed and Waived Consent: The Relative Moral Wrongs of Under- and Over-Informing." The American Journal of Bioethics 7(12): 39 - 41.

Walker, R. F. (2006). "On the evolution of anti-aging medicine." Clin Interv Aging 1(3): 201-3.

 

Weaver, C. V. and D. J. Garry (2008). "Regenerative biology: a historical perspective and modern applications." Regenerative Medicine 3(1): 63-82.

Zikmund-Fisher, B. J., A. Fagerlin, et al. (2007). "Does labeling prenatal screening test results as negative or positive affect a woman's responses?" Am J Obstet Gynecol 197(5): 528 e1-6.

"We tested whether adding interpretive labels (eg, "negative test") to prenatal genetic screening test results changes perceived risk and preferences for amniocentesis. Women (N = 1688) completed a hypothetical pregnancy scenario on the Internet. When receiving test results without labels, all participants react similarly. With labels, the participants who received "positive" or "abnormal" results reported a higher perceived risk, greater worry, and greater interest in amniocentesis than did the participants who received "negative" or "normal" results. Interpretive labels for test results can induce larger changes to a woman's risk perception and behavioral intention than can numeric results alone, which create decision momentum. . ..."

 

Zimmern, R. L. and M. Kroese (2007). "The evaluation of genetic tests." J Public Health (Oxf) 29(3): 246-50.

"The development of genetic tests has not been accompanied by processes and systems to evaluate these tests in a proper and formal manner to establish their clinical validity and utility. A framework for the evaluation of genetic tests has been developed. This paper reviews the current practice of genetic test evaluation, highlighting the limitations and future challenges in this area of public health. ..."

 

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