News, Events & Links

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News:

Inflammatory System Genes Linked to Cognitive Decline after Heart Surgery

DURHAM, N.C. –Variants of two genes involved in the inflammatory system appear to protect patients from suffering a decline in mental function following heart surgery. Duke University Medical Center researchers believe their findings could help physicians identify patients at risk of suffering mental decline after heart surgery and raises the possibility that these patients could be treated with drugs that are known to dampen the inflammatory response. Six years ago, the Duke researchers demonstrated that 42 percent of patients who underwent coronary artery bypass surgery had measurable cognitive decline five years after their procedure. Since that finding, the team has been investigating possible reasons for this decline. MORE »

Duke Researchers Uncover Genetic Link to Kidney Damage After Heart Surgery

DURHAM, N.C. – Specific variants of genes involved in inflammation and blood vessel constriction are strongly associated with kidney damage in patients undergoing major heart surgery, researchers at Duke University Medical Center have found. While renal dysfunction after heart surgery is a common occurrence, until now researchers have been unable to predict with any certainty which patients – based on their personal and medical characteristics – are at the highest risk. The current analysis showed that patients with the particular genetic variants, or polymorphisms, have a collective two- to four-fold greater likelihood of suffering renal dysfunction after heart surgery. MORE »

Duke Researchers Uncover Genetic Link to Stroke after Heart Surgery

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke University Medical Center researchers have discovered that patients who have two specific gene variants are more than three times as likely to suffer a stroke after heart surgery. Furthermore, since the two implicated genes are involved in the body’s immune response to insult or injury, the researchers said that their findings strongly suggest that inflammation plays an important role in postoperative stroke. MORE »

Gene Variants Predict Bleeding after Heart Surgery

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke University Medical Center researchers have found that the presence of specific variants of genes that control clotting and the contractility, or "tone," of blood vessels can double the ability of physicians to predict those heart surgery patients at greatest risk of bleeding after surgery. The issue of postoperative bleeding is important, the researchers said, because patients who suffer such episodes have increased rates of additional medical problems and even death. Furthermore, decreasing the rate of postoperative bleeding can have important implications for the health care system, they continued, since an estimated 20 percent of the nation’s blood supply is used to treat these patients. MORE »

Gene Variants Predict Heart Muscle Damage after Cardiac Surgery

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke University Medical Center researchers have found that patients with six specific variants of genes involved in the body's immune response are significantly more likely to suffer damage of heart tissue after cardiac surgery. These findings are important because current analytical methods cannot reliably predict who will be likely to suffer from myocardial infarction (MI), or heart tissue death after cardiac surgery. It is estimated that between 7 and 15 percent of patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery will suffer from a subsequent MI, the researchers said. MORE »

Seminars and Events:

Perioperative Genomics Meetings

All meetings are held at 4pm in Duke North Room 3452

Genomes @ 4

Genomes@4 consists of bi-weekly presentations engaging diverse perspectives on the impact of the Genome Revolution. All presentations are held from 4-5pm in the Schiciano Auditorium (Side B), Fitzpatrick-CIEMAS Building and are followed by an IGSP Social Hour in the 2nd floor lobby.

December 7th, 2006 [More Information]
"A Genomic Approach to Personalized Medicine in Lung Cancer"
Anil Potti

January 18th, 2007
“Genome Science-Based Enhancements of Human Beings: Some Ethical Issues”
Allen Buchanan
http://calendar.duke.edu/calendar.nsf/EventID/6X4SYJ

February 1st, 2007
“The Nonribosomal Code: Products from the Biosphere's Microbial Drug Factories”
Bruce Donald
http://calendar.duke.edu/calendar.nsf/EventID/6X4T26

February 15th, 2007
“Signatures for Drug Discovery”
Todd Golub
http://calendar.duke.edu/calendar.nsf/EventID/6X4T3B

March 15th, 2007
"Offensive Science: The Case of HIV/AIDS"
Sherryl Broverman - Dept. of Biology
http://calendar.duke.edu/calendar.nsf/EventID/6XAKH6

April 5th, 2007
"Studying Gene-Environment Interactions in Human Diseases"
Marcy Speer and Silke Schmidt
http://calendar.duke.edu/calendar.nsf/EventID/6XJS9R

April 19th, 2007
"Stem Cells: Advances in Research and Issues for Clinical Practice"
Tannishtha Reya and Philip Rosoff
http://calendar.duke.edu/calendar.nsf/EventID/6XJS7U

Genomic Medicine Forum

Thursday's | 9:00 am – 10:30 am | CIEMAS Room 2240
www.genome.duke.edu/genomicmedicineforum

November 8, 2007
"Clinomics"
A. Jamie Cuticchia, Jr., PhD

November 29, 2007
"Integrating Clinical, Pathologic & Genomic Profiles to Individualized Cancer Therapy"
Anil Potti, MD

December 6, 2007
"Metabolomics in Cardiovascular Disease"
Svati Shah, MD

December 13, 2007
The Use of Gene Expression as a Biological Phenotype to Explore and Anticipate CancerBehavior
Phillip G. Febbo, MD

December 20, 2007
Communication Genomics For The Research/Patient Communites
Julianne O'Daniel, MS, CGC & N. Christin Oien, MS, CGC

January 3, 2008
Alzheimer's Disease: What is Upstream From the "Amyloid Cascade": Whole Genome Insights into New Targets for Therapy
Allen Roses, MD

Gene-MAGIC meetings:

Check back for updates.

Links:

http://cardiology.duke.edu/modules/div_cv_rsch_cggs/index.php?id=1
http://people.genome.duke.edu/~merri034/CVGenomics/
http://www.askbig.org/
http://www.dcri.duke.edu/
http://www.genome.duke.edu/

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