Could Turtle Gene Findings Aid Human Health?

WEDNESDAY, April 17 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have decoded the DNA of the western painted turtle in the hopes that a greater understanding of these reptiles could one day improve treatment for people who suffer a heart attack or stroke.

The researchers identified 19 genes in the turtles' brain and 23 in the heart that are activated in situations with low oxygen. These genes also occur in humans. The study authors said their findings might lead to treatments to repair tissue damage due to oxygen deprivation associated with cardiovascular emergencies.

"Turtles are nothing short of an enigma," senior study author Richard Wilson, director of Washington University's Genome Institute, said in a university news release. "They may be slowly evolving, but turtles have developed an array of enviable features. They resist growing old, can reproduce even at advanced ages and their bodies can freeze solid, thaw and survive without damaging delicate organs and tissues. We could learn a lot from them."

Turtles evolve very slowly -- at about one-third of the rate of human evolution -- found the team of researchers from several institutions, including Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis University and the University of California, Los Angeles. The body design of turtles has not changed much in 210 million years.

By examining the turtle's DNA, the researchers found that turtles are more closely related to birds than other reptiles, such as lizards and snakes. They are also able to withstand oxygen deprivation not by relying on new genes, but by activating gene networks found in humans and most other vertebrates and using those genes in new ways.

"This is a backdoor route for turtles to evolve," study co-author Patrick Minx, of the Genome Institute, said in the news release. "Rather than evolve new genes, they adapted existing genes for new uses."

Up to 50 percent of the 330 turtle species worldwide are considered threatened, however, primarily due to human consumption, the researchers said. Although claims have been made that eating turtles can help people live longer or cure cancer, these are unsubstantiated, the researchers added.

Changes in turtles' habitats have also played a role in their global decline.

"The challenge is to preserve the rich diversity of turtles that still exist on Earth as we continue to unravel their secrets for success," study first author H. Bradley Shaffer, of UCLA, said in the news release. "Turtles have a tremendous amount to tell us about evolution and human health, but time is running out."

The study was published online recently in the journal Genome Biology.

-- Mary Elizabeth Dallas
Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCE: Washington University in St. Louis, news release, April 3, 2013

View the original article here

Will New Gout Findings Get a Toehold?

Flare-ups most likely if condition starts in joints such as knee or elbow, researchers say

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, June 12 (HealthDay News) -- The big toe is not the biggest culprit in gout flare-ups, contrary to popular belief, a new study reports.

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., found that people with the highest risk of repeated cases of gout are those whose gout first appears in other joints, such as the knee or elbow, rather than in the joints of the big toe.

Gout is a painful form of arthritis caused by uric acid buildup in the body. Continuing to take medication is essential to prevent recurrences, the researchers said.

"Because patients often think that a gout flare-up means their medications are not working, they may stop medications like allopurinol. It is especially important for these patients to continue taking gout medication to prevent flare-ups," study co-author Dr. Eric Matteson, rheumatology chair, said in a Mayo news release.

The study was scheduled for presentation at the annual meeting of the European League Against Rheumatism, June 12 to 15, in Madrid.

Researchers followed 46 gout patients for about 13 years on average. Their first gout attack occurred at an average age of 66.

Mayo researchers presented other studies at the meeting. Among those findings:

Black American lupus patients with certain autoantibodies (anti-RNA-binding protein autoantibodies) have higher levels of interferon, a protein involved in inflammation. The finding may explain why black Americans have worse lupus than whites and could lead to improved treatments, the researchers say.Rheumatoid arthritis patients have greater changes in their systolic blood pressure (the top number of a blood pressure measurement) from one health care visit to another than people without the disease. That erratic blood pressure was linked to heart disease, which means that doctors need to closely manage heart disease risk in these patients.Another study may help explain why smoking doubles the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. In people with a genetic predisposition to a particular immune response, smoking triggers immune cells called dendritic cells, the researchers found. Unlike osteoarthritis, which is related to wear and tear, rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder, meaning the body attacks its own cells.

Data and conclusions presented at meetings are typically considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

View the original article here

Will New Gout Findings Get a Toehold?

Flare-ups most likely if condition starts in joints such as knee or elbow, researchers say

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, June 12 (HealthDay News) -- The big toe is not the biggest culprit in gout flare-ups, contrary to popular belief, a new study reports.

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., found that people with the highest risk of repeated cases of gout are those whose gout first appears in other joints, such as the knee or elbow, rather than in the joints of the big toe.

Gout is a painful form of arthritis caused by uric acid buildup in the body. Continuing to take medication is essential to prevent recurrences, the researchers said.

"Because patients often think that a gout flare-up means their medications are not working, they may stop medications like allopurinol. It is especially important for these patients to continue taking gout medication to prevent flare-ups," study co-author Dr. Eric Matteson, rheumatology chair, said in a Mayo news release.

The study was scheduled for presentation at the annual meeting of the European League Against Rheumatism, June 12 to 15, in Madrid.

Researchers followed 46 gout patients for about 13 years on average. Their first gout attack occurred at an average age of 66.

Mayo researchers presented other studies at the meeting. Among those findings:

Black American lupus patients with certain autoantibodies (anti-RNA-binding protein autoantibodies) have higher levels of interferon, a protein involved in inflammation. The finding may explain why black Americans have worse lupus than whites and could lead to improved treatments, the researchers say.Rheumatoid arthritis patients have greater changes in their systolic blood pressure (the top number of a blood pressure measurement) from one health care visit to another than people without the disease. That erratic blood pressure was linked to heart disease, which means that doctors need to closely manage heart disease risk in these patients.Another study may help explain why smoking doubles the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. In people with a genetic predisposition to a particular immune response, smoking triggers immune cells called dendritic cells, the researchers found. Unlike osteoarthritis, which is related to wear and tear, rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder, meaning the body attacks its own cells.

Data and conclusions presented at meetings are typically considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

View the original article here