Overview of second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors for patients with imatinib-resistant chronic myelogenous leukemia.
Imatinib mesylate (Gleevec[R], Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, East Hanover, NJ) has revolutionized the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) with marked improvement in survival in all three phases--chronic, accelerated, and blast. Most patients with CML now receive imatinib, which produces complete cytogenetic response in more than 80% of patients. About...

Eyes on the Prize; UMass turns to Nobel as academic, corporate magnet.
Byline: Lisa Eckelbecker The buzz of conversation, when Jean F. MacCormack walked into a meeting of the Prince Henry Society in New Bedford last October, was going strong. Gathered to hear about the Portuguese-American Archives at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, what the crowd...

Gene therapy in skin disease.
Gene therapy holds great promise for the treatment of many dermatologic diseases. (1-4) However, practical application of gene delivery has proven to be challenging. Numerous hurdles must be overcome if gene therapy is to become a viable treatment. Vector efficiency, mode of delivery, and side effects are among the...

Child-to-toddler HIV transmission.
More than 15 studies have shown that HIV, the virus that leads to AIDS, doesn't spread between family members just because they live together. But researchers now report a case in which an uninfected toddler got the virus from an infected child living in the same household. Both were...

The informed gatekeeper? A commentary on genetic tests, marketing pressure and the role of primary care physicians.
I. Introduction Many have predicted that the rapid advances occurring in the field of genetics will have a profound impact on our health care system. Though we have yet to see a large number of clinically useful, broadly applicable, genetic technologies, [1] there is little doubt that...

Intellectual property and nutrigenomics.
Introduction Evidence for the connection between good nutritional regimens and healthy living comes from many quarters: personal testimony, folk wisdom, cross-cultural comparisons, dietetics, naturopathy and other health care modalities, and clinical epidemiology. On the face of it, recommendations to eat fruits and vegetables each day, but not...

When a woman goes bald: a scientist's painful battle with balding drives her to find the genetic basis for hair loss.
ON A FRIDAY MORNING LAST JUNE, EFRAT FADIDA THREW A DENIM JACKET OVER HER WHITE SUMMER BLOUSE AND caught a ride with her father from the small Israeli town of Gedera east to Jerusalem. Walking into Hadassah University Medical Center, the 25-year-old cut a striking figure: high cheekbones, a...

Mouse of a different YAC: yeast artificial chromosomes make possible bigger gene transfers.
Eleven years ago, scientists shocked the public when they produced larger-than-life mice by inserting a rat gene for growth hormone. Transgenic animals, then considered a miracle of genetic engineering, quickly took their place as laboratory workhorses essential in many types of research and in the production of medically useful...

Basic research paving way to clinical care; Efforts earn doctor Diabetes Association award.
Byline: Elizabeth Cooney WORCESTER - Two diseases converge in Dr. Anthony Carruthers' lab. First there is diabetes, whose secrets he has been plumbing since he was an undergraduate at the University of Manchester in England, fascinated by how glucose makes its way into cells that...

Searching for the Holy Grail: the Human Genome Project and its implications.
I. INTRODUCTION The Report on the Human Genome Initiative declared that uncovering the human genome is revealing the "book of man,"(2) that by mapping and understanding the human genome we will understand what it means to be human.(3) Many proponents of the Human Genome Project give a...