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Laboratory Science (laboratory + science)
Selected AbstractsORIGINAL ARTICLE Laboratory science: Spectrum of F8 gene mutations in haemophilia A patients from a region of Italy: identification of 23 new mutationsHAEMOPHILIA, Issue 5 2010F. RICCARDI Summary., Haemophilia A (HA) is an X-linked recessive bleeding disorder caused by a lack or decrease of coagulation factor VIII activity. The molecular diagnosis of HA is challenging and a variety of different mutations have been identified throughout the F8 gene. Our aim was to detect the causative mutation in 266 HA patients from Emilia-Romagna region (Italy) and in all suspected carriers. Molecular analysis of F8 in 201 HA patients (152 index cases) was performed with a combination of several indirect and direct molecular approaches, such as long distance polymerase chain reaction, multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification, denaturing high performance liquid chromatography and direct sequencing. The analysis revealed 78 different mutations, 23 of which were novel, not having been reported in national or international databases. The detection rate was 100%, 86% and 89% in patients with severe, moderate and mild HA, respectively. The information provided by this registry will be helpful for monitoring the treatment of HA patients in Emilia-Romagna and also for reliable genetic counselling of affected families in the future. [source] ORIGINAL ARTICLE Laboratory science: Molecular analysis in two Tunisian families with combined factor V and factor VIII deficiencyHAEMOPHILIA, Issue 5 2010H. E. ABDALLAH Summary., Combined factor V (FV) and factor VIII (FVIII) deficiency (F5F8D) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in LMAN1 or MCFD2 genes which encode proteins that form a complex involved in the transport of FV and FVIII from the endoplasmic reticulum to Golgi apparatus. We report two novel mutations in MCFD2 gene and one recurrent mutation in LMAN1 gene that caused combined FV and FVIII deficiency in two unrelated Tunisian Muslim families. For the first family two patients were homozygous for a new missense mutation Asp81His in exon 3 of MCFD2 and heterozygous for a second new missense mutation Val100Asp in the same exon. Replacement respectively of the hydrophilic Asp residue with hydrophobic positively charged His and of the hydrophobic neutral Val residue with the Asp residue most likely disrupts the MCFD2,LMAN1 interaction, thus leading to the disease phenotype. For the second family a reported Arg202X mutation in exon 5 in the LMAN1 gene was identified in the homozygous state. [source] Parkinson's disease: 10 years of progress, 1997,2007,,MOVEMENT DISORDERS, Issue S1 2010Stanley Fahn MD Abstract Many people with Parkinson's disease (PD) and their family members ask their physicians "What is happening in research on Parkinson's disease? Is there anything new?" As the initial speaker at the symposium organized by the Parkinson's Disease Foundation in celebration of its 50th anniversary, I sought to address these questions, focusing on research published between the years 1997 and 2007. I cataloged the advances I considered most important in the field, recognizing my viewpoint is a subjective one and most likely differs from similar listings that others would put together. Space limitation allows me to discuss only a tiny fraction of the remarkable new findings that have been discovered during this 10-year span. Nevertheless, I expect the readers of this summation of advances in the field to be as impressed as I am on the wealth, breadth, and excitement stirring in the field of PD research. Included in this overview are highlights in both laboratory science and clinical science of PD research. In the former category are advances in knowledge on the genetics of PD; potential etiologic and pathogenic causes, especially the better understanding of endogenous factors within dopaminergic neurons; pathologic changes including deposition of alpha-synuclein aggregates; and the consequences of altered alpha-synuclein on the degradation of proteins by both the ubiquitin-proteasomal pathway and the lysosome. Clinical science has also been very active and impressively productive with important clinical advances. In this category are new information on the epidemiology of PD, including awareness of additional factors (besides smoking) that might slow the onset and worsening of PD, such as caffeine and urate; neuroimaging with positron emission tomography and single photon emission tomography; keener awareness of nonmotor features of PD and their impact on quality of life for the persons with PD and their family; recognition of behavioral complications of medications utilized to treat PD, such as impulse control problems; appreciation of the natural history of PD with the increasing impairments as the disease relentlessly worsens over time; the many controlled clinical trials attempting to slow the progression of the disease and to provide new symptomatic therapies; and surgical approaches to alleviate symptoms and progression, including cellular and gene therapy as well as deep brain stimulation. © 2010 Movement Disorder Society [source] Purification and characterization of Taq polymerase: A 9-week biochemistry laboratory project for undergraduate studentsBIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY EDUCATION, Issue 1 2010Robert M. Bellin Abstract We have developed a 9-week undergraduate laboratory series focused on the purification and characterization of Thermus aquaticus DNA polymerase (Taq). Our aim was to provide undergraduate biochemistry students with a full-semester continuing project simulating a research-like experience, while having each week's procedure focus on a single learning goal. The laboratory series has been taught for the past 7 years, and survey-based assessment of the effectiveness of the laboratory series was completed during the 2006 and 2007 fall semesters. Statistical analysis of the survey results demonstrate that the laboratory series is very effective in teaching students the theory and practice of protein purification and analysis while also demonstrating positive results in more broad areas of scientific skill and knowledge. Amongst the findings, the largest reported increases in knowledge were related to students' understanding of how patent law relates to laboratory science, a topic of great importance to modern researchers that is readily discussed in relation to Taq polymerase. Overall, this laboratory series proves to be a very effective component in the curricula of undergraduate biology and chemistry majors and may be an appropriate laboratory experience for undergraduates. [source] Chimerism in transplant allograftsBRITISH JOURNAL OF SURGERY (NOW INCLUDES EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SURGERY), Issue 6 2005I. O. L. Ng Continuing the Journal's 2005 series of leading articles highlighting where laboratory science meets clinical practice, Professor Ng of Hong Kong outlines the importance of stem cell plasticity and chimerism. [source] Body parts from the laboratory benchBRITISH JOURNAL OF SURGERY (NOW INCLUDES EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SURGERY), Issue 4 2005G. Kratz Throughout 2005, BJS will publish a series of leading articles highlighting areas where laboratory science is likely to change clinical practice in the near future. In this, the first article of the series, Professor Gunnar Kratz, a plastic surgeon, explores the clinical possibilities that have arisen from tissue engineering research. Copyright © 2005 British Journal of Surgery Society Ltd. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Microarray technology for surgeonsBRITISH JOURNAL OF SURGERY (NOW INCLUDES EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SURGERY), Issue 4 2005A. M. Thompson Continuing the Journal's 2005 series of leading articles highlighting areas where laboratory science meets clinical practice, Professor Alastair Thompson of Dundee outlines the present and future prospects for microarray technology. Copyright © 2005 British Journal of Surgery Society Ltd. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||