Daily Archives: July 14, 2017

Alzheimers disease now affects one out of every eight people over the age of 65 and approximately one in 1,000 people between the ages of 30 and 49. In some segments of our society, such as NFL football players, the rates are even more staggering, with the disease affecting one in 53 NFL retirees between the ages of 30 to 49 (the equivalent of one player per team).

With the total number of people affected by Alzheimers predicted to quadruple within the next 40 years, we need to find a new offensive against this unrelenting disease before it steals the minds of yet another generation. Predictive medicine provides us with a new, highly effective battle strategy that empowers us over Alzheimers. Using predictive medicine, we can now wage a new offensive against this, and many other diseases.

Until now, Alzheimers has been generally thought of as an incurable, unstoppable force of nature that strikes fear in the hearts of all. Patients in my own predictive medicine practice often tell me that they want to undergo comprehensive genetic screening in order to learn their risk for everything ... except Alzheimers disease. When I ask why, the answer is invariably, Because theres nothing I can do about it anyway.

In truth, however, by instituting preventive measures as early as possible, we can significantly lower our risk of contracting Alzheimers disease so that it strikes much later or not at all. A necessary part of the process of becoming empowered over Alzheimers is first realizing that many preventive measures do exist and that we can effectively lower our risk. We are not powerless against this disease.

Contrary to what most people believe, Alzheimers is not a disease of old age. It is a disease that develops slowly throughout our lives. While we may not notice the symptoms until we are much older, it starts to attack the proper functioning of our brain decades before any symptoms appear. Because of this, lifelong preventive measures are warranted.

Predictive medicine, a revolutionary new field that combines genetic technology with proactive, personalized prevention, allows us to assess risk and institute prevention of Alzheimers, even in children. By conducting comprehensive genetic testing we can not only find out whether you are at risk for hundreds of diseases, including Alzheimers, but, more importantly, determine which preventions will be most effective in lowering your risk of contracting those diseases.

Predictive medicines goal is to enable you and your physician to institute genetically tailored prevention years or even decades before disease occurs. No more waiting for disease - no more waiting for suffering. With predictive medicine, you can protect yourself against disease while you are still healthy and strong.

Predictive medicines strategy in defeating Alzheimers is straightforward: first, we use genetic screening to identify those individuals who are at increased risk; second, for those who are at increased risk, we use further genetic analysis to determine the most effective forms of prevention; and third, we institute these genetically tailored preventive measures throughout the persons life, starting as young as possible.

With a simple, relatively low-cost test requiring only some saliva (no needles, no blood), we can now predict who is at risk for Alzheimers and what will be the most effective methods of prevention against it. While there are many preventive strategies we can use against Alzheimers (all of which I discuss in my book, Outsmart Your Genes) one of the most powerful is actually quite simple: the avoidance of head injury.

We all contain a specific gene that helps the brain heal after injury, but approximately one in seven people contain changes within this gene, causing it to malfunction and rendering the brain less able to heal itself effectively following injury. While people with this abnormal gene have an increased risk of Alzheimers disease, their risk of the disease actually skyrockets if they suffer a head trauma such as a concussion. In these individuals, head injury is tantamount to throwing fuel onto a fire.

So finding out that you or your children have this abnormal gene provides the incentive for you to institute measures that will prevent the occurrence of significant head trauma. This might mean choosing not to play contact sports and/or making sure to always wear a helmet when rollerblading or biking.

Unfortunately, head injury is much more common than most people think, especially amongst high school, college and professional athletes. For example, more than 1 million teenagers play high school football, and a survey conducted in 2007 by The New York Times found that close to 50 percent of these athletes reported suffering one concussion, and 35 percent reported having sustained multiple concussions in a single season.

A 2010 Time magazine article also found that at the end of a single season, more than 70 percent of college football players reported concussion-like symptoms. And these numbers dont take into account the head injuries suffered while playing other contact sports, including boxing, ice hockey and wrestling.

The link between head trauma and an increased risk of Alzheimers has already become evident to members of the National Football League, which recently started a program called the 88 Plan to provide yearly monetary compensation to retired players who are suffering from Alzheimers. Preliminary results from a study now being conducted by the University of Michigan show that the rate of Alzheimers disease may be as much as 20 times higher in football players than in the general population. The numbers are so startling, in fact, that the US House Judiciary Committee convened a hearing several years ago to investigate the association between head injuries in the NFL and diseases of the brain, including Alzheimers.

By proactively limiting head injury throughout the life of those people who contain the abnormal gene that puts them at increased risk, we can significantly lower their risk of Alzheimers. And that is just one of the many genetically tailored preventive measures we can put into practice to battle this disease.

We no longer have to accept Alzheimers as inevitable. We no longer have to fear growing older. Genetic testing and predictive medicine gives us the ability to go forward knowing that we can control our own destiny. We can and we will win this war against Alzheimers. Through the use of genetic technology, we will prevail.

About The Author: Brandon Colby MD is the Founder of Sequencing.com, the worlds largest App Store for DNA. Dr. Colby created Sequencing.com for people who have already had genetic testing, such as from 23andMe, Ancestry.com and National Geographic, and want to continue to obtain valuable insights from their genetic data. While Dr. Colby invented the first set of apps, the App Store now contains dozens of apps that analyze genetic data and provide clear, personalized solutions for better health. Dr. Colby is also the author of Outsmart Your Genes, the definitive laymans guide to the revolutionary fields of genomics and predictive medicine (also known as precision medicine). For additional information, please visit Sequencing.com.

An earlier version of this story was published by Dr. Colby in 2011.

The Morning Email

Wake up to the day's most important news.

Go here to read the rest:
Waging a New Offensive in Our War Against Alzheimer's Disease - HuffPost

Developed at the University of Pennsylvania and licensed to Novartis, CTL019, or tisagenlecleucel, is what scientists are calling a living drug.

A gene therapy to treat a form of blood cancer is just inches away from regulatory approval in the USputting the world in the throes of a paradigm shift in medicine. If the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepts the recommendation of one of its panels and gives the nod to Novartiss CTL019, the treatment would become the first-ever gene therapy for any disease to be made available commercially. The small matter of the record aside, the treatments efficacy in treating B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia that has resisted conventional treatment or relapsed in patients as young as 3 years of age is reason enough to celebrate.

Developed at the University of Pennsylvania and licensed to Novartis, CTL019, or tisagenlecleucel, is what scientists are calling a living drugthough it is strictly not a drugbecause it involves engineering specific genes in the patients T lymphocytes (T-cells) that are a part of the bodys cell-mediated immunity, to attack B-cells that are also a part of the bodys immune system, but become malignant in leukaemia. First, a patients T-cells are harvested in millions, and a disabled form of the Human Immunodeficieny Virus is used to transfer the new genetic material to the T-cells genome. The altered T-cells are then intravenously returned to the patients body.

Due to the modification, T-cells recognise CD-19, a surface protein present on B-cells, as an antigen and mount an immune response. A study of 63 patients who received the treatment between April 2015 and August 2016 is the main evidence of CTL019s efficacy52 went into remission while 11 died; 11 of the 52 who had gone into remission had relapsed by November 2016 while, 29 are still in remission. However, there are a few concerns that need addressing. The FDA panel particularly pointed at the severe side-effectssince the modified T-cells dont differentiate between healthy B-cells and cancerous ones, the immune system collapsesand unclear long-term effects. For the moment, though, the opportunistic infections that may assail the patient are the main worry.

Oncologists, however, sound positive, given the immediate side-effects can be stemmedpatients receiving CTL019 are given immunoglobulin infusions every few monthsbut a greater length of time must pass before long-term effects, if any, are evident. Given how concentrated management of the therapy along with side-effects is necessary, Novartis will make it available in just 30-35 medical centres in the US initially. The good news is Novartis is not the only horse in the race in a pole positionKite Pharma, a US-based company, has applied for FDA approval for its Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy that involves similar genetic engineering of T-cells.

Given how difficult it is to ensure consistencyin some cases, the body fails to respondand scale with biologics, the challenges for all such gene therapies are daunting. CTL019s success, however, has an important message for Indiait is perhaps time to shed the stubborn resistance to genetic engineering when a developed nation is ready to adopt it, long-term risks included.

Read this article:
First gene therapy in the world is here, heralds new era in medicine - Financial Express

Lexington Herald Leader

Counseling can help you decide whether to get genetic testing Lexington Herald Leader The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that nearly 300,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. Certain gene mutations can increase the risk of developing breast cancer and certain other cancers, and ...

View original post here:
Counseling can help you decide whether to get genetic testing - Lexington Herald Leader