A Viaguard Public Service
Health News & Views
The latest advances in DNA-Genetics-Bioscience
Informative Health Alerts

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Our health bulletin page is dedicated to a summary of major genetic and biosciences developments that impact our lives.

There is ongoing world-wide research in genetics and biosciences. Viaguard reviews, participates and will post important developments believed to be of public interest.

We will attempt to present these advances in a concise and understandable manner. These are the scientific studies that will shape the quality of human life in the decades ahead.

Where applicable, we will give credit to the individual or organization involved in the research effort. Your comments can be emailed to www.info@accu-metrics.com.

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EAT LESS--LIVE A LONGER AND MORE FERTILE LIFE

People who eat less but sufficient to maintain good nutrition live longer, show fewer signs of aging, and keep a higher level of reproductive health than obese individuals. Cardiovascular problems and cholesterol levels seem under better control as well. Animal studies also show that a restricted diet during adulthood supports a higher level of fertility even into advanced age. Cell reproductive meiosis indicated a lower level of genetic abnormalities in the egss of diet restricted females as age advanced, and a greater possibility of getting pregnant.

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SMOKING AND WEIGHT LOSS

We always knew that despite the multiple hazards of smoking, smoking did seem to suppress the appetite. This is attributed to the appetite reduction activity of nicotine which activates a small set of neurons in the hypothalmus that impart a feeling of lack of appetite. Nicotine acts by triggering receptors on the surface of neurons that both curb appetite and unfortunatly induce a craving for more nicotine.

Drugs are now being tested that will activete only the appetite curbing neuron receptors without caausing a craving for nicotine. The drugs act only on the selective appetite receptors in the hypothalmus region, and may make it possible to stay thin without the ravages of smoking.

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Analgesic Advance Addiction-Free, as powerful as opiates, safe

Historically, the gold standard in potent analgesics for intractactable pain levels has been opiate-based drugs, and their synthetic derivates.

This range of drugs includes opiates, heroin, morphine, oxycontin, codeine, etc. Highly effective, but addictive with multiple side effects these drugs are regularly used for the treatment of extreme pain, but require close supervision.

It has now become evident that an ingredient in the bark of the Tabermaemontana divaricata also known as crepe jasmine has tremendous potential. This bark in its crude natural form has been used for generations in treating a variety of ailments and has demonstrated analgesic properties.

The active ingredient responsible for the analgesia is conolidine, but in the crude natural state, it is only present in small trace amounts.

The synthesis of pure conolidine has now been accomplished, so it may become commercially available. Conolidine is about as effective a pain killer as opiates, but is non-addictive, and has few detrimental side effects such as euphoria, or being hallucinogenic.

We are not exactly sure of the mode of action of conolidine but it works on different receptors than opiates, and in Viaguard/Accu-metric drug screening tests does not appear as part of a quantitative opiate analysis.

When commercially available, it will make a quantum advance in the safe treatment of pain.

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Training the Herpes Virus to Sniff Out Cancer

The Accu-Herpes Test detects the Herpes virus in its active or latent form, and it now seems that the Herpes virus can be modified to detect the very initial stages of cancer.

Studies indicate that the genetically modified Herpes virus is selectively attracted to rapidly reproducing cancerous cells. The virus then injects genetic material into the cell prompting it to emit a detectable biomarker.

This genetically modified virus which is identified as rQ-M38G targets the cancer cells, and causes the emission of a luminescent, marker called GLuc. The added bonus is that our redesigned virus impedes cell division in cancerous cells.

The hope is that this safe modified virus will provide early detection of cancer cells long before present diagnostic tools make it possible.

As chemotherapy reaches its limits and the active treatment of cancer is still evolving this very early detection and impediment to tumour growth could potentially save thousands of lives and mitigate much pain and suffering. A considerable amount of research activity will be expended on refining this process for safe and effective use in humans.

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You Are The Product of Epigenetic Inheritance

Mendel, father of genetics had assumed that we were the product of equal genetic contributions from each of our parents, and that one plus one equals two. Recent studies have indicated that one plus one may be more or less than two, depending on your parents' diet and lifestyle. We now realize that genetic expressions in offspring depends on the diet and lifestyle of parents during their adolescent years.

We always knew that the maternal diet during gestation was important to the fetus, but studies now show that your father's diet may play an equally significant role. His diet will influence how genes function in offspring including the possibility of generating susceptibility to complex conditions such as diabetes and heart disease if his diet was nutritionally suspect.

Your parents' adolescent diet and lifestyle are causative factors in mutating inherited DNA. These changes are referred to as epigenetic inheritance because they are caused by mechanisms other than normal genetic transfer.

The role of epigenetic inheritance has been confirmed in paternal studies including a European one that demonstrated that diet affects the vulnerability of first and second generation offspring to diabetes and cardiovascular problems.

That traditional medical question about your parents' health was based on genetic affiliation. This query may have to be broadened to include epigenetic inheritance.

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FEELING DEPRESSED?

Depression is a widespread disorder that seriously impacts peoples lives, often with disastrous consequences. Current treatments for depression focus on the symptoms but often have multiple side effects, and are not curative.

Depression like many medical problems is very complex and may involve multiple environmental factors as well as genetic ones. to date little attention has been paid to the critical genetic component because of the complexity, but that may be about to change.

A study of 15,000 people has led DR. KOHLI, of the Max Planck Institute in Munich has led to an important approach to depression.

The level of expression of the SLC6A15 gene in the hippocampus region of the brain is directly involved. A low level of expression by this gene alters neoneural integrity and excitatory neurotransmission resulting in increased susceptibility to stress factors leading to depression.

The quest is underway for a new class of drug that will target this gene , change the pattern of expression, and strike at the cause of the problem, not just symptoms.

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FOR MOSQUITOES - A HOT MEAL IS NEVER EASY

For a mosquito to dine on you is risky and stressful. The mosquito must find your exposed flesh, avoid detection, penetrate tough skin, avoid any host immune response, and the slap of your hand.

With a body temperature of 22 degrees C, ingesting a 37 degree C meal would induce shock. Insects like mosquitoes and bed bugs that ingest blood protect themselves by producing heat shock proteins that enable them to digest your blood and survive.

These proteins, which humans produce during a fever, maintain the integrity of enzymes and proteins when temperatures rise suddenly, enabling normal digestion and other physiological activities to carry on.

This knowledge may form the basis of insect/disease transmission control.

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Man's Best Friend - Sharing Common Bonds

Like humans, dogs are very vulnerable to cancer, and 50% of dogs over the age of 10 die from this disease. Recent studies have shown that dogs and humans share an identical tumour marker. The CEA (Carcinoembryonic Antigen) is a receptor that because of its biological importance has remained unchanged through evolution in both species. This allows for research and diagnostic testing for advances in cancer treatment to be performed on dogs, who because of their much shorter life span, will permit accelerated results. Because the cannine and human CEA markers are identical, results that formerly took a human generation will be available in a few years.

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Why do we drink coffee?

Two genes in which variations affect the desire to consume caffeine have been discovered. An analysis of genetic variations in more than 50 000 individuals has identified CYP1A2 and AHR as being a genetic driver for caffeine habituation.

Caffeine is implicated in many medical conditions. It affects sleep patterns, energy levels, emotional and mental perspective yet the identification of these genes affords an opportunity to better understand the habituation towards caffeine which affects over 90% of North American adults.

Further studies will be conducted to determine the relationship between genetic determinants and lifestyle behaviours as they affect the consumption of coffee and caffeine containing beverages.

Coffee drinkers with compelling urges may now rationalize a substantial part of their behaviour as genetic.

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Urinary Incontinence

Urinary incontinence is very common, especially among women with about 1 in 3 affected at some point. In women, incontinence may be caused by such factors as age, excess weight, pregnancy, child birth, infectious diseases and even neurological problems. Men are similarly affected by some of the same factors plus the well publicized problem of an enlarged prostate gland.

Research studies conducted in Sweden on 25 000 Swedish twins, aged 20-46, have resulted in the conclusion that 51% of urinary incontinence is linked to genetic factors. This means that for about 50% of people, susceptibility to urinary incontinence can be explained by their genes.

Incontinence is a complex symptom often involving a combination of genetic, environmental and physiological factors, but we now know that a substantial number of cases are linked to hereditary factors.

Unfortunately at this time there is little to be done about the hereditary/genetic factor so treatment will continue to focus on controlling environmental factors such as smoking, excess weight, and other treatable causative factors.

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Antibiotic Resistance and Genetics

We have known for a long time that bacteria are becoming resistant to long-established antibiotics and they seem to have the ability to develop resistance to even new advanced antibiotics with surprising ease.

The methodology utilized by some bacteria in developing antibiotic resistance is very complex. Bacteria may engage in gene transfer between even unrelated strains of organisms. The gene transfer takes place with the assistance of what is known as a plasmid which is a part of the bacterial DNA. Plasmids exist and multiply inside the bacterial cell, use the cell’s machinery, and can then be transferred to another cell and in that way spread between bacterium. This indicates great adaptability of the plasmid to move freely between differing bacterial species. Plasmids are very effective in transporting antibiotic resistance genes between bacterial species.

This is an important genetic consideration in dealing with the problem of bacterial resistance to antibiotics, as we search for ways to prolong antibiotic effectiveness.

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THE BRAIN- NOW -MAPPED GENETICALLY

The Allen Institute for brain science has released the worlds first anatomical and geonomic human brain map. This is a remarkable breakthrough in technology with vast implications in understanding how our brain works.

We now know that all human brains are 94% similar from a genetic perspective and 84% of all human genes are expressed in the brain, this opens important channels for investigating casuses and cures for a range of disorders, including alzheimer's, parkinson's, and mental illness.

The four year study mapped a thousand brain sites backed by 100 million data points linked to specific genetic expression.

And has the potential to change the rules of the game in the treatment of neurological and other disorders.