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Clinical genetics news

Patchy brain development may help explain autism's varied traits

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects every individual differently. Scientists have identified more than a thousand genes associated with ASD, yet no single gene accounts for most cases. This has left researchers with a ...

Rare gene variants may multiply Alzheimer's disease risk

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia worldwide, and its development is influenced by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. In recent years, the PLCG2 gene and its encoded enzyme, PLCγ2, have ...

What is sudden adult death syndrome?

When Mark Hughes, the former Manchester United and Wales manager, lost his 38-year-old son, an inquest found the cause was sudden adult death syndrome, or SADS.

New approach opens rare immune cells to genetic risk research

Much of how genetic risk leads to disease has remained hidden. In many cases, genetic variants linked to disease do not act on nearby genes along the chromosome. Instead, they influence genes located far away along the DNA ...

Genetic variants shed light on kidney transplant rejection

Immunosuppressive medications help prevent organ rejection following transplantation, yet some patients still experience rejection despite receiving adequate treatment. New research from Yale, published in the Journal of ...

Finding new osteoarthritis medicines via AI and genetics

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic, painful joint disease and a leading cause of disability. Despite its prevalence, therapies for osteoarthritis are limited and focus on symptom management. Now, researchers are combining genetic ...

Human genome milestone opens door for personalized genomics

Scientists have reconstructed the complete genome of a real person, with full sets of chromosomes from each parent, a breakthrough expected to advance research, improve the diagnosis of genetic diseases and make personalized ...

Gene discovery could help prevent stroke in young people

UVA Health stroke researchers have identified a distinct and temporary pattern of gene behavior during cervical artery dissections, a leading cause of stroke in young people. These unusual gene changes may help explain the ...

Reproduction affects health—and so does biological sex

Starting one's sex life and having children at a young age can run in the family. But can pregnancy have beneficial health effects, and do the partner's genes contribute to them? "We are just beginning to understand how pregnancy ...

What a 'silenced' chromosome can tell us about autoimmunity

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the most common form of lupus, is an autoimmune disorder that occurs more frequently in women. Having multiple X chromosomes has been associated with an increased risk of developing lupus; ...

Why pollution affects some asthma patients more than others

For many people with asthma, air-quality advisories are harbingers of worsening symptoms. But for reasons science has struggled to explain, the extent to which pollution exacerbates asthma varies widely from person to person.

Ménière's disease may begin early in inner ear development

By analyzing genetic data from nearly 2 million people, researchers have unlocked a new scientific understanding of Ménière's disease, a chronic and often debilitating inner ear disorder. A team from the Perelman School of ...

AI and polygenic scores improve breast cancer risk assessment

A risk model that combines a mammographic artificial intelligence (AI) risk score with polygenic and clinical risk scores more accurately identifies women at high risk of developing breast cancer than clinical risk scores ...