Over 1000 children affected with cystic fibrosis (CF) are born annually in the USA. Since IVF with preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is an alternative to raising a sick child or to aborting an affected fetus, a cost-benefit analysis was performed for a national IVF-PGD program for preventing CF. The amount spent to deliver healthy children for all CF carrier-couples by IVF-PGD was compare...

In order to assess the association between antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), as well as the interaction of anti-HCV with other HCC risk factors in Taiwan, a total of 127 pairs of newly diagnosed HCC patients and healthy community controls were studied. Case-control pairs were individually matched for age (+/- 3 years), sex, residence, and ethnicity. ...

This study investigated thirty patients with chronic hepatitis B who were admitted to Hepatology and Gastroenterology Teaching Hospital in Baghdad, aged from 20-65 years during the period from beginning of February 2008 to the end of February 2009. The patients were suffering from different clinical symptoms with previous risk factors for transmission of HBV infection, also blood samples were c...

BACKGROUND Salmonella propagation by apparently healthy chicken and subsequent food security concerns could be decreased by the selection and use of chicken lines more resistant to carrier-state. In the present study we applied the first steps of the genomic selection methodology to assess the interest of including genetic markers for the genetic evaluation of hen lines infected with Salmonella...

We recently described paratarg-7 (P-7), a protein of unknown function, as the target of 15% of immunoglobulin A (IgA) and IgG paraproteins in monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and multiple myeloma. To determine the frequency of P-7 as a paraprotein target in IgM-MGUS and Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM), sera from patients with IgM-MGUS/WM were tested for reactivity wi...

Autoantibodies to citrullinated proteins (ACPAs) are present in two-thirds of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). ACPAs are produced in the absence of identified T cell responses for each citrullinated protein. Peptidyl arginine deiminase 4 (PAD4), which binds proteins and citrullinates them, is the target of autoantibodies in early RA. This suggests a model for the emergence of ACPAs in t...

The frame-shifting mutation 1100delC in the cell-cycle-checkpoint kinase 2 gene (CHEK2) has been reported to be associated with familial breast cancer in families in which mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 were excluded. To investigate the role of this variant as a candidate breast cancer susceptibility allele, we determined its prevalence in 237 breast cancer patients and 331 healthy relatives deri...

BACKGROUND The Hutterites are a religious isolate living in colonies across the North American prairies. This population originated from approximately 90 founders, resulting in a number of genetic diseases that are overrepresented, underrepresented, or unique. The founder effect in this population increases the likelihood that Hutterite couples carry the same recessive mutations. We have design...

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive disorder primarily affecting the Mediterranean populations. It is characterized by recurrent attacks of fever and inflammation of serosal membranes and gradual development of nephropathic amyloidosis. More than 70 disease-associated mutations have been identified in the Mediterranean fever gene (MEFV) responsible for FMF. The aim of t...

We recently described paratarg-7 (P-7), a protein of unknown function, as the target of 15% of IgA and IgG paraproteins in MGUS and multiple myeloma (MM). To determine the frequency of paratarg-7 as a paraprotein target in IgM-MGUS and Waldenstrom ́s macroglobulinemia (WM), sera from patients with IgM-MGUS/WM were tested for reactivity with recombinant paratarg-7 by ELISA. The specificity of the...