(Press-News.org) Two genome-wide association studies and a subsequent meta-analysis have found that certain genetic variations are associated with susceptibility to Helicobacter pylori, a bacteria that is a major cause of gastritis and stomach ulcers and is linked to stomach cancer, findings that may help explain some of the observed variation in individual risk for H pylori infection, according to a study in the May 8 issue of JAMA.
"[H pylori] is the major cause of gastritis (80 percent) and gastroduodenal ulcer disease (15 percent-20 percent) and the only bacterial pathogen believed to cause cancer," according to background information in the article. "H pylori prevalence is as high as 90 percent in some developing countries but 10 percent of a given population is never colonized, regardless of exposure. Genetic factors are hypothesized to confer H pylori susceptibility."
Julia Mayerle, M.D., of University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany, and colleagues conducted a study to identify genetic loci associated with H pylori seroprevalence. Two independent genome-wide association studies (GWASs) and a subsequent meta-analysis were conducted for anti-H pylori immunoglobulin G (IgG) serology in the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP) (recruitment, 1997-2001 [n =3,830]) as well as the Rotterdam Study (RS-I) (recruitment, 1990-1993) and RS-II (recruitment, 2000-2001 [n=7,108]) populations. Whole-blood RNA gene expression profiles were analyzed in RS-III (recruitment, 2006-2008 [n = 762]) and SHIP-TREND (recruitment, 2008-2012 [n=991]), and fecal H pylori antigen in SHIP-TREND (n=961).
Of 10,938 participants, 6,160 (56.3 percent) were seropositive for H pylori. GWAS meta-analysis identified an association between the gene TLR1 and H pylori seroprevalence, "a finding that requires replication in non-white populations," the authors write.
"At this time, the clinical implications of the current findings are unknown. Based on these data, genetic testing to evaluate H pylori susceptibility outside of research projects would be premature."
"If confirmed, genetic variations in TLR1 may help explain some of the observed variation in individual risk for H pylori infection," the researchers conclude.
(JAMA. 2013;309(18):1912-1920; Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.JAMAnetwork.com)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
Editorial: Helicobacter pylori Susceptibility in the GWAS Era
In an accompanying editorial, Emad M. El-Omar, M.D., of Aberdeen University, Aberdeen, United Kingdom, writes that the authors of this study are appropriate to state, "based on their data, genetic testing to evaluate H pylori susceptibility is premature."
"This would be superfluous, because nongenetic testing for the infection can be accomplished at a fraction of the cost. There is a bigger picture: understanding genetic susceptibility to H pylori is essential for understanding how to overcome this infection. The current approach to eradication of the infection is limited and based entirely on prescribing a cocktail of antibiotics with an acid inhibitor to symptomatic individuals. However, H pylori antibiotic resistance is increasing steadily, and eventually curing even benign conditions such as peptic ulcer disease arising from H pylori will be difficult. When considering gastric cancer, another H pylori-induced global killer, the necessity for understanding the pathogenesis of the infection and the role of host genetics in susceptibility is even greater. The corollary is that better understanding of infections, including genetic epidemiology, is crucial to design measures to eradicate the downstream consequences of H pylori in large populations."
(JAMA. 2013;309(18):1939-1940; Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.JAMAnetwork.com)
Editor's Note: The author has completed and submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest and none were reported.
### END
Genetic variations associated with susceptibility to bacteria linked to stomach disorders
2013-05-08
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Study finds increase in fall-related traumatic brain injuries among elderly men and women
2013-05-08
"Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of hospitalization, disability, and death-worldwide, and among older adults, falling is the most common cause of TBI," writes Niina Korhonen, B.M., of the Injury and Osteoporosis Research Center, Tampere, Finland, and colleagues in a Research Letter. The authors previously reported that the number and incidence of adults 80 years of age or older admitted to the hospital due to fall-induced TBI in Finland increased from 1970 through 1999. This analysis is a follow-up of this population through 2011.
The study included data ...
Theta brainwaves reflect ability to beat built-in bias
2013-05-08
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Vertebrates are predisposed to act to gain rewards, and to lay low to avoid punishment. Try to teach chickens to back away from food in order to obtain it, and you'll fail, as researchers did in 1986. But (some) humans are better thinkers than chickens. In the May 8 edition of the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers show that the level of theta brainwave activity in the prefrontal cortex predicts whether people will be able to overcome these ingrained biases when doing so is required to achieve a goal.
The study helps explain a distinctly ...
Rats take high-speed multisensory snapshots
2013-05-08
Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. – When animals are on the hunt for food they likely use many senses, and scientists have wondered how the different senses work together.
New research from the laboratory of CSHL neuroscientist and Assistant Professor Adam Kepecs shows that when rats actively use the senses of smell (sniffing) and touch (through their whiskers) those two processes are locked in synchronicity. The team's paper, published today in the Journal of Neuroscience, shows that sniffing and "whisking" movements are synchronized even when they are running at different frequencies.
Studies ...
In Cleveland Clinic study, less than half of deaths after angioplasty result of procedure
2013-05-08
Cleveland: Only 42 percent of the deaths occurring within 30 days of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) were attributable to complications from the procedure, according to a Cleveland Clinic study published online in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The research suggests alternative outcome reporting mechanisms for 30-day mortality for PCI should be considered before mandatory reporting regulations are put into place.
PCI is a non-surgical procedure in which balloons and/or stents are used to open blocked or narrowed arteries, which are typically ...
Sunshine could benefit health and prolong life, study suggests
2013-05-08
Exposing skin to sunlight may help to reduce blood pressure, cut the risk of heart attack and stroke – and even prolong life, a study suggests.
Researchers have shown that when our skin is exposed to the sun's rays, a compound is released in our blood vessels that helps lower blood pressure.
The findings suggest that exposure to sunlight improves health overall, because the benefits of reducing blood pressure far outweigh the risk of developing skin cancer.
The study has been carried out by the University of Edinburgh.
Heart disease and stroke linked to high ...
Women with unintended pregnancy are more likely to suffer from postpartum depression
2013-05-08
Women with unintended pregnancy are four times more likely to suffer from postpartum depression at twelve months postpartum, suggests a new study published today (8 May) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
The study, conducted at the University of North Carolina prenatal clinics questioned participants about pregnancy intention at 15-19 weeks gestational age, and women were classified as having an intended, mistimed or unwanted pregnancy. There were 433 women (64%) with an intended pregnancy, 207 (30%) with a mistimed pregnancy and 40 (6%) ...
Twitter analysis shows Boston bombings had little effect on immigration reform conversations
2013-05-08
An analysis by researchers at the Institute for Immigration Research (IIR) at George Mason University shows that the Boston Marathon bombings had little effect on conversations on social media regarding immigration reform.
Using two different data mining applications, the researchers collected more than 750,000 tweets containing the word "immigration" beginning in February 2013.
"The Boston Marathon bombings on April 15, 2013 provided an unexpected opportunity to examine how this event has affected the immigration reform debate," says Jim Witte, director of the IIR. ...
AFOSR-funded research key to revolutionary 'green' spacecraft propellant
2013-05-08
In 2015, NASA, for the first time, will fly a space mission utilizing a radically different propellant—one which has reduced toxicity and is environmentally benign. This energetic ionic liquid, or EIL, is quite different from the historically employed hydrazine-based propellant, which was first used as a rocket fuel during World War II for the Messerschmitt Me 163B (the first rocket-powered fighter plane).
Within the U.S. space program, hydrazine was used on the 1970s Viking Mars program, and more recently in the Phoenix lander and Curiosity rover Mars missions, as ...
Pitt discovery holds potential in destroying drug-resistant bacteria
2013-05-08
VIDEO:
Through the serendipity of science, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have discovered a potential treatment for deadly, drug-resistant bacterial infections that uses the same approach that HIV uses to...
Click here for more information.
Through the serendipity of science, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have discovered a potential treatment for deadly, drug-resistant bacterial infections that uses the same approach that HIV uses to infect cells. ...
Duke researchers describe how breast cancer cells acquire drug resistance
2013-05-08
DURHAM, N.C. -- A seven-year quest to understand how breast cancer cells resist treatment with the targeted therapy lapatinib has revealed a previously unknown molecular network that regulates cell death. The discovery provides new avenues to overcome drug resistance, according to researchers at Duke Cancer Institute.
"We've revealed multiple new signaling pathways that regulate cell death," said Sally Kornbluth, PhD, vice dean of Basic Science and professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology at Duke University School of Medicine. "And we've shown, at least in one disease, ...