Genetic Testing Shows Promise for Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is still one of the leading cancers among men, and it is projected that roughly one in every six American men will be diagnosed with this type of cancer within their lifetime.

Add to that the fact that these statistics may not account for those that have not been diagnosed, and you have a full fledged “epidemic”, if you look at it from a percentage of population standpoint. In fact, many people reading this probably know someone that has been diagnosed with this cancer, or may have even had a brush with it themselves.

Aside from the fact that it is a leading cancer form in men, it also is considered in males to be a second leading cause of death. It’s no wonder that prostate cancer is at the forefront of men’s health and prevention in medical research when it comes to prevention, detection and treatment.

Researchers have been hard at work to come up with alternative testing to the still most popular form of testing, the PSA test. PSA stands for Prostate Specific Antigen, which is an enzyme that is released by this male-specific gland, which tends to be released in much higher amounts when the gland is inflamed or enlarged, or is fighting cancer.

It is a test combined with a digital rectal exam, that many men find uncomfortable for obvious reasons, and may want to naturally avoid after they reach the age of fifty years old. This is the age when doctors recommend their male patients start getting this test, since after fifty years old the risk of getting this cancer increases significantly.

The PSA test itself is actually a simple blood test, and has been criticized for sometimes being unreliable and creating false positives and false negatives, hence the search for better screening methods. The screening method that is being worked on currently is one that may be more spot-on than the current mode of detection via rectal exam combined with the PSA test.

It is the new buzzword in the scientific community for a variety of diseases and cancer in the world of detection : genetic testing. Genetic testing has proven to be a very promising method of finding cancer markers in individuals because it can be more detailed in it’s individual assessment, and finding genes responsible for cancers and other diseases is pretty much a fool proof method of detecting likelihood of cancer or actual cancer itself.

While genetic testing can definitely help either to rule out prostate cancer or to give the doctor and patient a pretty good idea if further prevention or treatment should take place, it cannot as of yet be used in and of itself as a test, but instead is a stepping stone to determining the validity of PSA screenings and digital rectal exams.

It’s basically giving a more complete answer as to whether tests that are done are actually an accurate predictor of whether a patient has it, and whether treatment should be commenced. Many doctors and patients feel that with a more complete and definitive answer in testing, they feel more comfortable with diagnosis and prevention testing, and more confident that they are getting the correct results. This renewed confidence could lead more men to take part in prevention and detection screening.

Currently the largest studies in genetic testing for prostate cancer are being carried out in Sweden, and are looking promising, but as of yet they are not conclusive and the method needs more defining and sharpening.

One thing is for sure, that genetic testing is proving to be an up and coming tool in the definitive and more accurate detection of many different kinds of cancers, including breast cancer in women. With continued research and refining, genetic testing may prove to be of great benefit for men in the prevention of prostate cancer advancement.

The Genetic Imprint and the Imprint of the Seal

When you receive the Seal, you are “imprinted” by God. Scientists have recently found that certain genes inherited from parents are silenced by what is called “imprinting” of the genes.

Genetic mapping is revealing how some genes are switched off instead of on in the child. It happens with all creatures that reproduce by live birth–some genes are turned off in the young.

Normally the young will inherit one of each gene from each parent. Both of these genes are fully functional. So if something happens and one of the two genes gets altered, then the one from the other parent can fill in for the lost one.

But in genetic imprinting, only one of the genes from one of the parents remains active. So if something happens to the sole gene inherited from only one parent, there is no gene from the other parent to act in its place.

In these genes, molecules silence the imprinted gene by “imprinting” it so that it is no longer functioning. And when the gene no longer functions it can not do what it was meant to do, which is sometimes preventing disease.

Some genes cause a susceptibility to disease and some genes work to prevent disease. So if a gene which normally prevents obesity or cancer is imprinted, it will no longer be a weapon in the fight against obesity or cancer in that person.

Without a genetic resistance to disease, environmental factors play a much bigger role. If the person eats too much food they could easily become obese. If the person does not get proper nutrition it could lead to cancer.

And yet environment plays an even more important role in imprinting. Environment can affect how certain genes operate, speeding up or slowing down their function. If environment speeds up genes which protect your health, you will stay healthy.

But if environment slows down those genes or speeds up genes which can cause disease, then you are more likely to get that disease. So environment determines how healthy you remain along with genetic composition.

The sequence of your genes is important in determining how healthy you will be or remain. But environment is important too because it turns that gene sequence on and off.

Along with behavior is a factor in preserving your health. When you change your behavior you change your environment. And some changes in environment could alter your genetic make-up so you completely avoid disease.

These findings are the results of a recent Duke University study. In the study 196 human imprinted genes were mapped. They were published online Friday November 30 2007 in the journal Genome Research.

Genetics are what you receive from your parents. But you are not stuck with what you have. Scientists are working on ways of altering the genetics so disease can be avoided, and one way is by changing environmental factors.

God is also concerned with your environment, and more specifically with your behavior. When you receive the Seal you receive an imprint from God that shuts off certain behaviors so they do not happen.

And God will turn on other behaviors for you, so you have joy doing them and want to do more of them. God is concerned about your health because He enjoys giving Life, not taking it away. And He will give Life to those who receive the Seal.

Genetic Causes of Autism-what Causes Autism?

What are the genetic causes of autism? In truth, no one really knows. Due to the fact that autism is a spectrum disorder the causes can vary from person to person and case to case. Most experts agree though to some extent that autism is genetically linked, for in families with one autistic child, the risks of another being born increase with each case of autism in the family, especially in regards to males.

Even experts do not have all the answers. A positive though is with more cases of autism occurring every year research funding and grants for the purpose of understanding and possibly preventing or curing autism are on the rise. Causes are questionable and raise many a debate, everything from vaccines to being hereditary and everything in between.

In either regard, no one questions the likelihood of autism being genetic. Despite the fact that the human genome has now been mapped, we are still very unsure of the true nature of genes and how they work and affect our outcome. Researchers have shown though that autism does carry a tendency to run in families. Parents who have an autistic child are more likely to have another one and twins with autism tend to share autistic traits amongst them.

Though we know of the genetic link, it doesn’t mean that one gene is responsible for autism. Since it is a spectrum disorder it is quite likely that multiple genes may play a factor in the final outcome and depending on the mutation or absence of the gene or combination of genes a specific form of autism is present. Just like autism has many faces, in all probability, so too will the genes that cause it. So when will we have conclusive causes to the genetic causes of autism? Perhaps never. It is better to think of autism in terms of symptoms, depending on the symptom present the cause may be different. This is why the symbol for autism is a puzzle piece. Autism is a very puzzling disorder, which can overlap other disorders, and have different levels of affect on a persons ability to function.

Genetic causes of autism are undeniable; but just like any genetic related disorder, because we know so little about the true nature of genes we do not truly know the true nature or cause of autism. All we can currently do is support those who have autism and continue to raise awareness and funding towards the research and perhaps potential cure and prevention of autism.