In The News This Week … Apr. 27–May 3, 2008: Genes, Cancer, Women's Health, Drugs, & Blood

Gene Therapy for Leber's Congenital Amaurosis

Two articles published online on April 27 in The New England Journal of Medicine report that gene therapy for a rare genetic type of blindness, Leber's Congenital Amaurosis (LCA), has improved the vision of four patients in two small trials (three in one trial in the United States, one in another trial in the UK). In the US trial, researchers developed their own virus to deliver the corrective gene, and in the UK trial, researchers used a virus created by the company Targeted Genetics Corporation. LCA damages light receptors in the retina, and usually causes total blindness by the time a person is 30.

International Cancer Genome Consortium

On April 29, research organizations from around the world announced the launch of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC), a collaborative project whose goal is to generate high-quality genomic data on up to 50 types and subtypes of cancer, which will be prioritized by impact, including incidence and mortality rates, availability of therapies, and age of onset; scientific interest; and feasibility. The project, which is estimated to take up to a decade to complete, will make its data rapidly and freely available to the international research community. According to the news release, each ICGC member intends to conduct a comprehensive, high-resolution analysis of the full range of genomic changes in at least one specific type or subtype of cancer, and each project is expected to involve specimens from approximately 500 patients and cost an estimated US$20 million. One of the ICGC's roles will be to facility exchange of information, so work is not duplicated. ICGC's secretariat is headquartered in Toronto, and has participants in Australia, China, France, India, Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The news release states that the ICGC "…is one of the most ambitious biomedical research efforts since the Human Genome Project. The consortium will help to coordinate current and future large-scale projects to understand the genomic changes involved in cancer. This genomic information will accelerate efforts to develop better ways of diagnosing, treating and preventing many types of cancer."

Aspirin to Help Fight a Form of Breast Cancer

A study published on April 30 in BioMed Central's Breast Cancer Research has found that daily aspirin use was associated with a modest reduction in ER+ breast cancer risk.

Thyroid Function & Heart Disease in Women

Research published in the April 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine has found that low thyroid function that is within the clinical reference range was positively and linearly associated with coronary heart disease mortality in women. They stated, "The results indicate that relatively low but clinically normal thyroid function may increase the risk of fatal CHD."

Physical Activity, BMI, & Heart Disease in Women

An investigation published in the April 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine warns that exercise is not enough to eliminate the risk of heart disease in overweight women – they must slim down as well. The authors concluded, "The risk of CHD associated with elevated body mass index is considerably reduced by increased physical activity levels. However, the risk is not completely eliminated, reinforcing the importance of being lean and physically active." The findings were based on 38,987 individuals participating in the Women's Health Study.

Pregnant Women with Diabetes

Research published in the May issue of Diabetes Care reports that the number of pregnant women with preexisting diabetes has more than doubled from 1999 to 2005. Additionally, the study found that the number of diabetic teens giving birth grew fivefold during the period. The findings were based on 175,249 women aged 13 to 58 years who gave birth at 11 Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Southern California. In an April 27 press release, lead author Jean M. Lawrence said, "More young women are entering their reproductive years with diabetes, in part due to the fact that our society has become more overweight and obese. … My advice to women who have type 1 or type 2 diabetes and are thinking about becoming pregnant is: work with your health care professional to get your blood sugar in good control. If you are pre-diabetic or have type 2 diabetes and are overweight, work on reducing your weight by a few pounds before becoming pregnant." Women with pre-existing diabetes are more likely to have miscarriages, stillbirths, and babies with birth defects because they may have elevated blood sugar during the critical first trimester of pregnancy when the infants' organs are developing.

Diabetes Drug Risk

A paper published in the April 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine has found further evidence of a possible association between long-term use of thiazolidinediones (e.g., Avandia) and fractures, particularly of the hip and wrist, in diabetic patients.

Osteoporosis Drug Risk

Also from the April 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine is the finding that the use of alendronate (Fosamax) is associated with an increased risk of incident atrial fibrillation (AF). The study compared 710 women who had AF and 966 who did not, and found that using alendronate meant an 86% higher risk of new AF compared with never having used the drug.

Sharing Prescriptions

A paper published online on April 29 in the American Journal of Public Health, which was based on one-on-one interviews with 700 people, has found that 22.9% of subjects reported having loaned their medications to someone else and 26.9% reported having borrowed someone else's prescription. The drugs most commonly shared were allergy meds (e.g., Allegra), pain meds (e.g., Darvoset, OxyContin), and antibiotics (e.g., amoxicillin).

Blood Substitute Testing

An early release review published online on April 28 in The Journal of the American Medical Association looked at the association between manufactured cell-free hemoglobin-based blood substitutes (HBBSs) and the risk of MI and death in trials in different clinical settings. Researchers found, based on data from randomized controlled trials of five different HBBSs conducted over the last decade in elective surgery, trauma, and stroke patients, there was an overall 30% statistically significant increase in mortality risk, as well as a statistically significant 2.7-fold increase in MI risk.

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