Monthly Archives: February 2015

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) Imagine being able to identify people likely to develop a particular disease and then stop it before it starts.

This isn't a science fiction tale. It's the ambitious goal of three research projects just launched by Johnson & Johnson's pharmaceutical research arm, Janssen Research & Development, that the company says are aimed at redefining health care.

The projects announced Thursday ultimately aim to prevent illnesses, particularly ones related to aging and lifestyle. That way, as people live longer, fewer of their "golden years" are plagued by poor health, disability and staggering medical bills.

"A hundred years from now, someone's going to look back on us and say, 'Can you believe they waited until you got a disease and then did something?'" Dr. William Hait, head of Janssen R&D, predicted in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press.

Instead, the world's biggest maker of health care products will try to find ways to prevent common, frightening and often deadly disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, cancer, heart disease, immune conditions and Type 1 diabetes, the first planned target. Janssen is partnering with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to find ways to prevent Type 1 diabetes, which is steadily becoming more prevalent.

Billions of research dollars will be needed to accomplish the goals, and it could easily take a generation, cautions analyst Steve Brozak, president of WBB Securities.

But Brozak said Johnson & Johnson is one of just a few organizations that have the resources money and scientific talent to succeed at what he called a shift to "true modern medicine" that's as revolutionary as Henry Ford creating the manufacturing assembly line.

"This is visionary stuff here," Brozak said. "Nobody's ever tried this."

Still, advances in the understanding of human genetics and diagnostic testing, and existing treatments that already help prevent widespread illnesses, have made Hait optimistic.

For example, blood testing and then use of cholesterol-lowering statin pills to prevent heart attacks and strokes in at-risk patients is widespread in developed countries. Ditto for colonoscopies and removal of any discovered polyps to prevent colon cancer, and Pap smears to spot cervical cell abnormalities that could turn into cancer.

Link:
Johnson & Johnson projects aim to spot who'll get a disease

Image via shutterstock.com

When a Jewish couple is planning their wedding or anticipating starting a family, they probably arent thinking much about rare genetic conditions. But JScreen, an educational and screening program, urges couples to add genetic testing to their to-do list. And by offering home-based testing, JScreen hopes to eliminate any obstacles to this process.

Based at Emory Universitys Department of Human Genetics, JScreen (jscreen.org) provides a Web-based portal for individuals to request a genetic-screening kit. Participants provide a saliva sample most genetic tests involve a blood draw and mail it back for analysis. Before receiving the kit, participants must view an educational video and enter health information that is reviewed by an Emory genetic counselor.

We all carry [recessive genes for] various genetic diseases. We just dont know what they are, said Karen Grinzaid, a genetic counselor and instructor at Emory University School of Medicine and the senior director of outreach initiatives for JScreen.

The problem occurs when both parents are carriers of the same disease. In that case, each of their offspring has a 25 percent chance of manifesting the condition.

According to Emorys Department of Human Genetics, about one in five Ashkenazi Jews in the U.S. carries a genetic disease. However, most dont have a family history of the disease and are unaware of their status of carriers. In fact, 80 percent of babies with genetic diseases are born to parents with no known family history of that disease.

The only way to know if you are a carrier for a Jewish genetic disease is to have an affected child or be screened, Grinzaid said. For the vast majority of couples, genetic screening gives couples reassurance that theyre not at risk.

Saliva samples returned to Emorys lab are tested for 40 diseases prevalent in the Jewish community. Nineteen of them are more common in Ashkenazi populations, and 21 of them are common in Jews of Sephardic or Mizrahi (Middle Eastern) origins. Testing for an additional 47 diseases found in the general population is available at no extra cost. Many of the diseases included in the tests are fatal, and all impact the individuals quality of life.

Results take less than four weeks. If they are negative, individuals are notified via email. Those who are identified as carriers speak via phone or videoconference to an Emory University genetic counselor about their results and options. They might also be referred to a local genetic counselor for more extensive counseling. Grinzaid said that about 2 percent of couples will be found to be carriers of the same disease.

If both members of a couple carry the same genetic disease, they have several options. One is to undergo in-vitro fertilization using pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. This technology allows embryos to be tested for the affected gene before being implanted. Other options include using a donor egg or sperm, or pursuing adoption.

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New option for Jewish genetic testing