Genetic Test Improves Weight Loss Success With Diets
by ilene - March 4th, 2010 1:56 pm
This is an interesting press release from Interleukin Genetics (ILI) about a genetic test that may allow people to better match their diet to their genetics. I admit to a bit of skepticism, but here goes: first background information about the test from Interleukin Genetics’s website, and second, the press release. – Ilene
Weight Management Test
Human obesity arises from the interactions of multiple genes, environmental factors and behaviors, rendering management and prevention of obesity very challenging. According to WHO, lack in physical activity and easy availability of palatable foods are the principle modified characteristic of our modern lifestyle that has contributed a lot to the observed obesity worldwide. Despite the fact that we are all exposed to the same environment, not everyone becomes obese. This could be attributed to individual genetic differences. Genetics determines an individual’s susceptibility to obesity when exposed to an unfavorable environment as well as the way he/she can respond to diet and exercise. There have been multiple reports that describe the heritability of obesity and also utilize genetic association studies to identify the gene-gene, gene environment and gene-diet interactions involved in the development of obesity. These studies have identified a certain number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that respond to diet and/or exercise. For example, some SNPs make some people more sensitive to the amount of fat in the diet, while others make some people more resistant to exercise-induced weight loss.
Interleukin Genetics has developed a genetic test panel in the area of Weight Management (WM), which includes the genes that have been validated as significant modifiers of body weight and responsiveness to diet and exercise. The genes were selected from the Obesity Gene Map Database based on a comprehensive review of the existing scientific literature using very stringent selection criteria by a team of experts from genetics, nutrition, obesity and weight management areas.
The following process was used to develop the Weight Management genetic test panel:
- Dr. Louis Perusse, one of the authors of the Obesity Gene Map review (4), provided a list of all genetic variations that were associated with body weight, body mass index, or body fat and had been replicated in at least three clinical studies. Out of hundreds of genes reported in the scientific literature relative to obesity, only 16 met this first criterion.
- A team of experts then reviewed all evidence on the 16 gene variations
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Scientists Move Closer to Understanding Why We Age
by ilene - February 15th, 2010 11:18 pm
Scientists Move Closer to Understanding Why We Age
By Eben Harrell / London, courtesy of TIME
Time waits for no man, the old truism goes, but in recent years scientists have shown that it does seem to move more slowly for some. Molecular biologists have observed that people’s cells often age at different rates, leading them to make a distinction between "chronological" and "biological age."
But the reason for the difference remains only vaguely understood. Environmental factors such as smoking, stress and regular exercise all seem to influence the rate at which our cells age. Now, for the first time, researchers have found a genetic link to cellular aging — a finding that suggests new treatments for a variety of age-related diseases and cancers.
The field of "biological aging" has in recent years focused on the long molecules of DNA contained in human cells called chromosomes. All chromosomes have protective caps at either end called telomeres. Each time a cell replicates itself (as it does before it dies), the telomeres shorten, like plastic tips fraying on the end of shoelace. Shortened telomeres have been linked to a host of age-related illnesses such as heart disease and certain cancers. (Scientists have yet to study whether telomeres influence a person’s appearance). Last year’s Nobel prize in medicine was awarded to three American scientists for their work in the field, and many scientists now believe telomeres are the closest we may come to identifying a biological clock — and our best bet for one day learning how to stop or turn back that clock.
To better understand the aging discrepancy, a team of researchers in Britain and The Netherlands scanned more than 500,000 genetic variations across the human genome. Using a population of nearly 12,000, they then attempted to pinpoint a genetic link to telomere length. (See how to prevent illness at any age.)
In a significant breakthrough, the team successfully identified that a particular gene sequence was associated with differences in telomere length between individuals. What’s more, the sequence was clustered near a gene called TERC, which is already known to play a role in the production of an enzyme called telomerase. Telomerase repairs telomeres when they shorten. "That was very exciting for us," says Professor Nilesh Samani, a cardiologist at the University of Leicester who co-led the research, published last week in Nature Genetics. "It gave us great…
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Philip R. Davis is a founder Phil's Stock World, a stock and options trading site that teaches the art of options trading to newcomers and devises advanced strategies for expert traders...
Ilene is editor and affiliate program
coordinator for PSW. She manages the site