Few women at high-risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer receive genetic counseling

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

8-May-2014

Contact: John Wallace wallacej@vcu.edu 804-628-1550 Virginia Commonwealth University

Mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes account for nearly 25 percent of hereditary breast cancers and most hereditary ovarian cancers, yet a study by cancer prevention and control researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center suggests an alarmingly small amount of women who qualify for BRCA genetic counseling actually receive the services. Additionally, they found that a significant proportion of women with a family history of breast and ovarian cancer underestimate their own risk.

The study, published in the April edition of the Journal of Community Genetics, collected data from 486 women over the course of two years. Of these women, 22 met the criteria to be referred for BRCA counseling. However, only one of the women reported receiving genetic counseling and only one reported prior genetic testing. And while perceived risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer was higher among high-risk women, 27 percent of high-risk women felt their risk was "low," and 32 percent felt their risk was "lower than average." Despite having a diverse population, the researchers did not find any significant differences associated with factors such as age, race, family size or the patient's knowledge of genetic testing.

"Despite recommendations from the United States Preventive Services Task Force that primary care physicians screen for hereditary cancer risk, it seems that too few women who meet the eligibility criteria are actually following through with BRCA counseling services," says the study's lead investigator John Quillin, Ph.D., M.P.H., member of the Cancer Prevention and Control research program and genetic counselor in the Familial Cancer Clinic at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center and assistant professor in the Department of Human and Molecular Genetics in the VCU School of Medicine. "Unfortunately, this means that a significant number of women who are at high-risk for developing breast and ovarian cancer may not be taking advantage of preventive measures that could ultimately save their lives."

The researchers analyzed data from a pilot study called Kin Fact (Keeping Information about Family Cancer Tune-up) that was conducted at the VCU Women's Health Clinic. Kin Fact works by having a clinical research associate intervene during a woman's annual gynecology appointment to discuss the patient's genetic cancer risks. Participants were asked to complete a self-administered survey that asked questions about their knowledge of genetic counseling and their perceived cancer risk. After completing the survey, the study's recruiters obtained information about the patient's hereditary cancer risks by noting all breast and ovarian cancers among first-and second-degree relatives. The researchers' goals were to assess the amount of women eligible for BRCA counseling in a primary care setting, explore associations between high-risk status and characteristics such as age, race and genetic literacy, and determine whether high-risk patients received genetic counseling and/or testing.

"We need to examine whether patients are fully aware of their family history, and if there are ways to optimize family history collection in clinical settings," says Quillin. "This will help determine if educational interventions are needed for providers, patients or both."

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Quillin collaborated on this study with Alexander H. Krist, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Population Health at the VCU School of Medicine and member of the Cancer Prevention and Control research program at Massey; Maria Gyure, M.S., C.G.C., research coordinator and genetic counselor in the Department of Human and Molecular Genetics at the VCU School of Medicine; Rosalie Corona, Ph.D., L.C.P., associate professor of health psychology and clinical psychology in the VCU Department of Psychology and founding director of the VCU Latino Mental Health Clinic; Vivian Rodriguez, graduate student in the VCU Department of Psychology; Joseph Borzelleca, Jr., M.D., M.P.H., emeritus professor in the VCU Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology; and Joann N. Bodurtha, M.D., M.P.H., professor of pediatrics and oncology at the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine at Johns Hopkins University.

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Few women at high-risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer receive genetic counseling

Promising role for interleukin-10 in scarless wound healing

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

8-May-2014

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2156 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, May 8, 2014The powerful anti-inflammatory compound interleukin-10 (IL-10) plays a crucial role in regenerative, scarless healing of fetal skin. Studies of IL-10 in postnatal skin wounds have demonstrated its promise as an anti-scarring therapeutic agent, as described in a Critical Review article published in Advances in Wound Care, a monthly peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers and an Official Journal of the Wound Healing Society. The article is available free on the Advances in Wound Care website.

In "Regenerative Wound Healing: The Role of Interleukin-10," Sundeep Keswani and co-authors, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (OH), and Children's Hospital Colorado and the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, review the complex processes, cell types, growth factors, and other agents needed for successful wound healing. The authors explore the ability of fetal skin to heal without scars and describe the results of ongoing studies to develop IL-10 as an anti-scarring agent.

"Regenerative healing in adults is approachable through lessons learnt from fetal wounds," says Editor-in-Chief Chandan K. Sen, PhD, Professor of Surgery and Director of the Comprehensive Wound Center and the Center for Regenerative Medicine and Cell-Based Therapies at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH.

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About the Journal

Advances in Wound Care is a monthly peer-reviewed journal published online and in print that reports the latest scientific discoveries, translational research, and clinical developments in acute and chronic wound care. Each issue provides a digest of the latest research findings, innovative wound care strategies, industry product pipeline, and developments in biomaterials and skin and tissue regeneration to optimize patient outcomes. The broad scope of applications covered includes limb salvage, chronic ulcers, burns, trauma, blast injuries, surgical repair, skin bioengineering, dressings, anti-scar strategies, diabetic ulcers, ostomy, bedsores, biofilms, and military wound care. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Advances in Wound Care website.

About the Publisher

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Promising role for interleukin-10 in scarless wound healing

Health screening for low-income women under health care reform: Better or worse?

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

8-May-2014

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, May 8, 2014When Massachusetts enacted its own statewide health insurance reform in 2006, low-income women transitioned from receiving free, federally subsidized screening for breast and cervical cancer and cardiovascular disease risk to an insurance-based payment system. The effects on screening rates in this vulnerable population are explored in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Women's Health website at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/jwh.2013.4612.

A group of authors from Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and several women's health centers and community hospitals in Boston, MA gathered data to evaluate whether the prevalence of screening mammography, Pap smear, and blood pressure measurement improved, stayed the same, or declined pre- and post-health insurance reform. In the article "Preventive Care for Low-Income Women in Massachusetts Post-Health Reform," the authors reviewed screening information for women treated at five community health centers between 2004 and 2010, spanning the period before and after the introduction of health reform.

"There are lessons learned from the Massachusetts experience of health care reform that can help inform health care changes nationally," says Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Women's Health, Executive Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women's Health, Richmond, VA, and President of the Academy of Women's Health.

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About the Journal

Journal of Women's Health, published monthly, is a core multidisciplinary journal dedicated to the diseases and conditions that hold greater risk for or are more prevalent among women, as well as diseases that present differently in women. The Journal covers the latest advances and clinical applications of new diagnostic procedures and therapeutic protocols for the prevention and management of women's healthcare issues. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Women's Health website at http://www.liebertpub.com/jwh. Journal of Women's Health is the official journal of the Academy of Women's Health and the Society for Women's Health Research.

About the Academy

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Health screening for low-income women under health care reform: Better or worse?

Computing the future

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The Industrial Designers Society of America's Designing Innovation' panel discussion took place in San Francisco yesterday.

The event was sponsored by Ford, with strategic design director, Freeman Thomas taking a place on the panel. Having parked a C-MAX Energi and new F-150 in the venue, Ford's influence weighed rather heavily, particularly in the early moments.

However, the conversation flowed more freely when panel moderator, Nathan Shedroff from California College of the Arts, asked what today's designers should be thinking about.

Although also referencing his own work the Sayl chair for Herman Miller, and the Sodastream Fuseproject CEO Yves Bhar made a valid point about sustainability and the need "to move to a stage where design and sustainability aren't two separate fields."

His design for Sodastream stripped away the need for paint, making it lighter, simpler, and cheaper to produce and distribute. Thomas added that "eliminating the [car's] paint job is one of our [Ford's] goals."

Simplification was a key message, as a major challenge for designers is to create products from fewer parts that are easier to manufacture, although the development of this is hugely costly. The panel agreed that the success of Apple's aluminum unibody architecture proved spending big could mean greater longer-term rewards.

Autodesk technology futurist, Jordan Brandt (unsurprisingly) highlighted the importance of computing, saying "the face of design is going to be changing pretty dramatically in the next decade through computation."

However, while there was agreement that this change is being driven by a more accurate and plentiful accumulation of quantitive data, there's a long way to go before the same can be said for qualitative information.

Bhar talked of 'the industrial internet' that's acquiring data from products 24/7, but that is "still only a portion of the design equation." He remained to be convinced of a computer's ability to record how something makes a person feel.

Therefore, there's still a role for the designer to combine their experience of how the senses trigger a consumer's emotions with quantitative data to influence a product as it is developed.

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Computing the future

Collecting Art, Without Knowing What Kind of Art You're Collecting

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The biggest holding of concrete poetry in the world sits in a Miami duplex,gathered by a couple who initially didn't know what "concrete poetry" was.

All images courtesy of Perez Art Museum Miami, taken by Oriol Tarrides

In 1974, Marvin and Ruth Sackner began gathering works of concrete poetry," poems whose words and typography are arranged to convey meaning graphically. But they didnt know the genre was called concrete poetry until 1979. Coming across Emmett Williamss Anthology of Concrete Poetry in a book storewas a Eureka moment, says Marvin, a neurologist by trade. I exclaimed to Ruth, What weve been collecting has a name!

In the years since, they would help give a once-languishing art movement a home at the Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry in Miami, an enormous and unparalleled collection of 250,000 workshoused not in a museum, but in a massive duplex overlooking the bay. Now, 300 choice pieces of theirs sit on display at the brand-new Prez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), whose concrete-poetry exhibit, A Human Document, was set to come down in May but has been extended and remains on view until August 2014.

The Sackners have built two other major art collections in the past 30 years. The first was of contemporary constructivist works. The second was of Russian avant garde and early 20th century avant garde movements (books, drawings, and paintings informed by dada, futurism, surrealism and the like). But it was the concrete and visual poetry collectionwhich includes artist books, assemblings, artist magazines, experimental calligraphy, typewriter art and poetry, and word-image worksthat would become the Sackners signature achievement.

That fact is due as much to circumstance as anything. As collectors, the Sackners could never afford to establish the early 20th-century avant garde art and book collection. But focusing on concrete poetry and letter arts was a different matter. The prices were within our means, and we related to the facile immediacy of the visual and linguistic communicability of concrete poetry, Marvin says. We gradually came to realize that it was possible to build the collection of concrete and visual poetry.

They certainly accomplished their mission, with hundreds of rarities, one-of-a-kinds, and limited-edition documentation. The earliest book in the Sackner collection is Rabanus Mauruss 1503 Liber de Laudibus Sanctae Crucis,produced in 1,000 copies and including 28 shaped poems. The collection continues to the present with the most recent book of experimental calligraphy by Francoise Mery dated April 2014.

The Sackners database encompasses more than 58,000 records with approximately 17,000 partially or not catalogued. The number of individual pieces is about 250,000. This is because artist books, print portfolios, and assemblings are recorded as one entry in the database although they may contain multiple prints and drawings.

A Human Document at the Perez Art Museum begins with Mallarmes first publication of Un Coup de Des in Cosmopolis (1897) and then provides examples of Dada, Russian avant garde, De Stijl, surrealism, futurism, lettrisme until World War II. Artist books and magazines, manuscripts, concrete and visual poems, correspondence art, typewriter poems and art are displayed in vitrines. Post-WWII word-image wall works are displayed from artists and poets worldwide.

Of all the materials, typewriter art and poetry is the most fascinating. The genre began about 20 years after the commercial introduction of the typewriter and reached its flowering with the advent of concrete poetry in the 1950s and early 1960s, Marvin explained, adding that this method allowed an inexpensive but often very labor-intensive solution for widespread distribution of a new poetic form. Moreover, the ease of overstriking letters and text for new visual and kinetic effects would have been costly and difficult if the poems were typeset during that time.

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Collecting Art, Without Knowing What Kind of Art You're Collecting

Freedom From Religion? How About Freedom From Atheism?

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May 8, 2014|12:22 pm

This Easter the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) posted another offensive, and historically inaccurate, sign touting Jesus as "a myth." However, did you know an organization exists to counter the FFRF and other intolerant atheists? If you or someone you know has been the victim of militant, confrontational atheism then the place to turn is the Freedom From Atheism Foundation (FFAF).

Created in 2012 as a response to intolerant atheists seeking the removal of a Veterans Memorial that displayed religious symbols, the FFAF has grown leaps and bounds and boasts over 120,000 followers on their Facebook page as of this writing. The Freedom From Atheism Foundation was created as a grassroots civil rights Facebook group to help protect the rights of religious believers, address the rising tide of intolerant atheism across the world, and be a beacon of hope and support for victims of atheist hate.

The group currently has eight administrators, two of which I recently corresponded with for an interview. As they receive daily hate filled messages from atheists who dislike the group, they chose to use pseudonyms for this interview. Full disclosure, I am a member of the group and this interview was completely my idea.

1. Some readers may dismiss your idea that we need "Freedom From Atheism." How would you respond and convince them otherwise?

Jonathan Gill: In the nominally or officially Christian states of the Western World, atheistic organizations have begun a quest to remove religion from the public sphere, despite the fact that it is an integral part of the foundation of these nations. Since the Cult of Reason in the French Revolution, organized movements of atheism have persecuted those who do not share their vision of a godless world. We at FFAF are a response to the intolerance exhibited by militant atheists, historically and in the present.

Dr. Jim Ryan: History has demonstrated that atheists, especially once they get into positions of power, have been brutally repressive toward those who do not share their faith. While many atheists in the West, especially the New Atheists, claim to be promoting science and reason, it should be noted that they have repeatedly stated that their goal is to eradicate those religions and religious beliefs that differ from their own. They are working to restrict freedom of religious expression and freedom of speech. There is every reason to suspect that if the intolerant atheists of today get into power they will be just as oppressive, if not more so, that the previous generations of atheists.

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2. What examples do you have of atheist intolerance towards you or believers in God?

Jonathan Gill: We're now taking screenshots of intolerant and hate filled atheists who contact us and posting them on our website to raise public awareness of the issue. All of the quotes I'm going to share with you can be found on our Facebook page, Freedom From Atheism Foundation. Here are a few examples: One atheist contacted us saying "Wow you guys are literally so (expletive) stupid you should really consider killing yourselves." The atheist merchandise corporation Evolve Fish responded to a pastor of a Church being murdered during Church service by stating "It sure would be nice if more church services ended like this one." One atheist created a Facebook group called Virgin Mary Should've Aborted. Another atheist who contacted us said "American Christians should be labeled a hate group." The atheist Facebook group Exposing the Insanity of the Religious Right said "I wish we could torch the churches." Another atheist contacted us stating "Holy (expletive expletive), you are all retarded and need to be executed." This is but a small sample of the rising atheist hate towards religious believers in America.

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Freedom From Religion? How About Freedom From Atheism?

Emmaus High sets new record with 19 Freddy Award nominations

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Emmaus High School's production of "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" nabbed 19 Freddy nominations Thursday, setting a new record.

The previous record of 17 nominations had been held by Freedom High School for its production of "Thoroughly Modern Millie" in 2012 and Easton High School for "Ragtime" in 2010.

Emmaus' nominations included for best production, best actor and best actress.

Freedom High School's "Crazy for You" and Parkland's "The Wizard of Oz" were next in line, with 14 nominations each.

Other schools with double-digit nominations were Dieruff's "Chicago" with 12 and Bangor's "Seussical" with 11. Notre Dame led the smaller schools with 10 nominations for "Sweeney Todd."

Freedom's Daniel Youngelman, who plays Bobby Childs in "Crazy for You," set a record for most career nominations by one performer. He got three today, bringing his high school total to 10. He won last year for vocal solo for "Bring Him Home" from "Les Miserables." The previous record was eight, held by Parkland's Morgan Reilly since 2011.

Twenty-seven of the 31 participating schools from Lehigh, Northampton and Warren counties received at least one nomination.

The Freddy Awards, in their 12th year, recognize outstanding high school musical theater. Awards will be presented live in a Tony Awards-style ceremony 7 p.m. May 22 at Easton's State Theatre. The show will be broadcast live on WFMZ-Channel 69.

State Theatre Executive Director Shelley Brown and Ed Hanna, WFMZ meteorologist, announced the nominees during the station's noon broadcast Thursday.

There are 21 categories, including acting, dancing, scenery and lighting.

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Emmaus High sets new record with 19 Freddy Award nominations

Do not exploit or criminalise religious freedom

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FMT LETTER: From JD Lovrenciear, via e-mail

Malaysia must not exploit or criminalise religious freedom which is rooted in the history of human civilisation. Whichever way you may review the matter or whichever camp you swear to belong to, the state of affairs in Malaysia relating to the subject matter called religion is reaching a perilous point.

Can regional leaders remain unconcerned? Can global players dismiss it as a storm in a tea cup? Can Malaysians sit back and just watch? The unending surge of statements, events and decrees as well as episodes involving religion that is punctuating the political landscape of Malaysia is no more a strictly domestic matter.

As long as religious freedom, its independence and sanctity as well as its moderateness is being threatened by the politics and leadership of a nation, it will have irreversible impact in the region and in world politics too.

In Malaysia, there is every reason to be concerned as extremists and right-wing politicians keep pushing religion and its related strife to the forefront of governance, society, economics and environment, especially in a global climate where war and peace are premium concerns.

Lately, there has been far too much of energy, publicity, stunts and demands being bulldozed through the human space seemingly fighting for one religion against another. In Malaysias context, it seems very much an Islamic war on Christianity, or what pro-Islamists will ascribe as Christianitys affront on Islam.

Whether it is Islams war on Christianity or Islams protection against Christianity, the truth of the matter is Malaysia is under very serious threat affecting the practice of religious freedom, religious rights and religious democracy.

The pieces of the jigsaw are indeed drawing a very frightening mosaic of man-against-man battle brew.

The latest incident where an established and government funded institution of higher learning approved, convened and conducted a religious seminar in its premises seemingly in defense of Islam, is already setting the cauldron of religious sentiments to bubble-boil.

By bringing in religious speakers from a neighbouring country, there is already a seeming or perceived intent to now extend the battle beyond Malaysias shores. The other is a political partys determined efforts to institute the Islamic penal code (hudud) in the country.

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Do not exploit or criminalise religious freedom