Study identifies genetic differences in female athletes with ACL injuries

Findings may be 'tip of the iceberg' in determining the role of genetics in ACL structure

2014-03-13

(Press-News.org) NEW ORLEANS--Female athletes are two-to-eight times more likely to suffer an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury than males. And while there have been reports about possible anatomic, hormonal and neuromuscular factors that may place females at greater risk for these injuries, little research has looked specifically at the role of genetics.

For the first time, a new study, presented today at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), identified varied female-to-male expression of several genes leading to proteins maintaining ligament structure.

In "Gene Expression Differences in Young Male and Female Ruptured Anterior Cruciate Ligaments," researchers obtained a biopsy of normally discarded ruptured ACL tissue during surgery from seven male and seven female young athlete patients. Biopsies were then divided into groups for microscopic (histological) and gene microarray analysis. Thirty-two significantly differentially expressed genes were isolated from male and female tissue, of which 14 were not linked to either X or Y chromosome. The 14 genes were then grouped according to skeletal muscular development, function and cellular growth. In females, compared to males, the microarray analysis showed altered responses in signaling pathways that regulate cartilage and tissue growth.

The study authors believe the findings represent "the tip of the iceberg" in terms of determining the role of genetics in ACL structure and tendency toward increased ligament injury in female compared to male athletes.

INFORMATION:

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Bladder cancer Pt with rare genetic mutations shows exceptional response to everolimus

2014-03-13

PHILADELPHIA — A patient with advanced bladder cancer experienced a complete response for 14 months to the drug combination everolimus and pazopanib in a phase I trial, and genomic profiling of his tumor revealed two alterations that may have caused this exceptional response, according to a study published in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. This information can help identify cancer patients who may respond to everolimus. Exceptional responders are cancer patients who had a complete response or partial response for at least ...

Trauma center closures linked to higher odds of death for injured patients, UCSF shows

2014-03-13

Injured patients who live near trauma centers that have closed have higher odds of dying once they reach a hospital, according to a new analysis by UC San Francisco researchers. Trauma centers are specially staffed and equipped to provide care to severely injured people. They can be costly to operate and many centers struggle to keep their doors open. During the last two decades, about a third of the nation's 1,125 trauma centers have shut down. The new study, involving more than a quarter of a million patients, analyzed the impact of closures of three centers in California. ...

Genomic testing links 'exceptional' drug response to rare mutations in bladder cancer

2014-03-13

BOSTON -- A patient with advanced bladder cancer in a phase I trial had a complete response for 14 months to a combination of the targeted drugs everolimus and pazopanib, report scientists led by a Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researcher, and genomic profiling of his tumor revealed two alterations that may have led to this exceptional response. This information can help identify cancer patients who may respond to everolimus, according to the report published in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. "Studying exceptional responders ...

Simulating how the Earth kick-started metabolism

2014-03-13

Researchers have developed a new approach to simulating the energetic processes that may have led to the emergence of cell metabolism on Earth – a crucial biological function for all living organisms. The research, which is published online today in the journal Astrobiology, could help scientists to understand whether it is possible for life to have emerged in similar environments on other worlds. Dr Terry Kee from the School of Chemistry at the University of Leeds, one of the co-authors of the research paper, said: "What we are trying to do is to bridge the gap between ...

'Love hormone' could provide new treatment for anorexia

2014-03-13

Oxytocin, also known as the 'love hormone', could provide a new treatment for anorexia nervosa, according to new research by a team of British and Korean scientists. The study, published today, found that oxytocin alters anorexic patients' tendencies to fixate on images of high calorie foods, and larger body shape. The findings follow an earlier study by the same group showing that oxytocin changed patients' responses to angry and disgusted faces. Anorexia nervosa affects approximately 1 in 150 teenage girls in the UK and is one of leading causes of mental health ...

UK seeing significant rise in older people living and being diagnosed with HIV

2014-03-13

A new paper published online today in the British Geriatrics Society journal Age and Ageing argues that despite a year-on-year increase in the number of people over the age of 50 being diagnosed with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), there is a reluctance of healthcare professionals to offer HIV tests to older people. This results in high rates of "late presentation" and therefore significantly increased mortality. According to the article by Dr Eva Bunting and colleagues, of the Royal Sussex County Hospital, the proportion of older patients in the UK living with ...

Side effects reported in those taking statins are not actually attributable to the drugs

2014-03-13

Sophia Antipolis, 13 March 2014. At a time when the wider prescription of statins is under renewed public scrutiny, a substantial analysis of placebo-controlled randomised trials of statins has found that only a small minority of side effects reported by those taking the cholesterol-lowering drugs are actually attributable to them. Almost all the side effects reported in these trials "occurred anyway when patients were administered placebo", say the investigators. The study, a meta-analysis involving more than 80,000 patients and reported today in the European Journal ...

Purified fish oils could help treat rare disease affecting newborn babies

2014-03-13

A rare and potentially lethal disease of newborn babies whose bodies make too much insulin may be treatable with fish oils, according to researchers from The University of Manchester. The disease, called congenital hyperinsulinism, means that the infant's brain is starved of blood sugar which can lead to brain damage or long-term disability. But by giving the children purified fish oils similar to those used to treat some heart attack patients, alongside standard medical treatment, their blood sugar levels improve, the researchers reported today in the open-access journal ...

Estradiol preserves key brain regions in postmenopausal women at risk for dementia

2014-03-12

STANFORD, Calif. — When initiated soon after menopause, hormone therapy with estradiol prevented degeneration in key brain regions of women who were at heightened dementia risk, according to a new study led by Stanford University School of Medicine researchers. The investigators also found that another type of hormone therapy, marketed under the brand name Premarin, was far less protective. Premarin is a mixture of 30-plus substances derived from the urine of pregnant mares. Estradiol — the dominant sex-steroid hormone in woman — accounts for about 17 percent of Premarin's ...

Language 'evolution' may shed light on human migration out-of-Beringia

2014-03-12

Evolutionary analysis applied to the relationship between North American and Central Siberian languages may indicate that people moved out from the Bering Land Bridge, with some migrating back to central Asia and others into North America, according to a paper published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on March 12, 2014 by Mark Sicoli, from Georgetown University and Gary Holton from University of Alaska Fairbanks. Languages evolve slowly overtime and may even follow human migratory patterns. A proposed language family known as the Dené–Yeniseian suggests that there ...

Answer ALS Launches AI drug development collaboration with Tulane, Pennington Biomedical Research Center and GATC Health to advance ALS treatment discovery

Study paves path to improved diagnosis, treatment of NUT carcinoma

Scientists discover how correlated disorder boosts superconductivity

BASILISK partners with The Planetary Society and CalTech’s IQIM to recruit the global esports audience in the movement to save science

[Press-News.org] Study identifies genetic differences in female athletes with ACL injuries
Findings may be 'tip of the iceberg' in determining the role of genetics in ACL structure

Study identifies genetic differences in female athletes with ACL injuries

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: