Atrial fibrillation (AF) is linked to an increased risk of dementia, even in people who have not suffered a stroke, according to the largest study to investigate the association in an elderly population. In addition, the study, which is published in the European Heart Journal [1], found that AF patients who took oral anticoagulants to […]
June 2019
First large-scale genetic study of the causes of excess liver iron may lead to better treatment
Gothenburg, Sweden: High levels of iron in the liver are linked to a number of serious health conditions including cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular as well as liver disease. But measuring liver iron is difficult and until recently could only be done through an invasive biopsy. Now researchers from University of Exeter, UK, […]
New study aims to show how to identify risk of recurrence of developmental disorder in future pregnancies
Gothenburg, Sweden: Having a child with a developmental disorder can cause parents to worry about the outcome of further pregnancies. In cases where the genetic mutation causing the disorder is not present in either parent it is assumed to be a one-off event with a very small chance of recurrence. But in some families, the […]
Discovery of new mutations may lead to better treatment for children with developmental disorders
Gothenburg, Sweden: Developmental disorders are neurologically-based conditions that affect the acquisition of specific skills such as attention, memory, language and social interaction. Although they have a genetic cause, this is often difficult to detect through standard genetic analysis of the parents. The mutation found in the affected child is therefore termed a ‘de novo’ mutation […]
Non-invasive prenatal diagnosis for foetal sickle cell disease moves a step closer
Gothenburg, Sweden: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a form of anaemia that is inherited when both parents are carriers of a mutation in the haemoglobin gene. Currently, it can only be diagnosed in pregnancy by carrying out an invasive test that has a small risk of miscarriage and is therefore sometimes declined by parents. Now, […]
Discovery of new genetic causes of male infertility will lead to better diagnosis and treatment
Gothenburg, Sweden: Infertility – the failure to conceive after a year of unprotected intercourse – affects one in every six couples worldwide, and the man is implicated in about half of these cases. Despite the known importance of genetic factors in the event of the man producing no sperm, only about 25% of these cases […]
Excess weight and body fat cause cardiovascular disease
Excess weight and body fat cause a range of heart and blood vessel diseases, according to the first study to investigate this using a method called Mendelian randomisation. In particular, the study published in the European Heart Journal [1], shows that as body mass index (BMI) and fat mass increase, so does the risk of […]
Antibodies against HPV16 can develop up to 40 years before throat cancer is diagnosed and mark a 100-fold increase in risk in white people
An international group of researchers has found that antibodies to the human papilloma virus type 16 (HPV16) develop in the body between six to 40 years prior to a clinical diagnosis of throat cancer, and their presence indicates a strong increased risk of the disease. The study, which is published in the leading cancer journal […]