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behavior change science: Ten new Common Fund awards are made in fiscal year 2010 in the Science of Behavior Change program to improve the understanding of basic mechanisms of behavior change that play a role in initiating or maintaining behavior change across a broad range of health-related behaviors. The projects bridge work done in laboratories and in the field, and are intended to stimulate investigations of basic mechanisms at the social, contextual, behavioral, psychological, neurobiological or genetic level of analysis. Science of Behavior Change, NIH Common Fund http://commonfund.nih.gov/behaviorchange/overview.aspx behavioral genetics: Human behavioral genetics, a relatively new field, seeks to understand both the genetic and environmental contributions to individual variations in human behavior. That is not an easy task ... It often is difficult to define the behavior in question. ... Having established a definition for research purposes, the investigator still must measure the behavior with acceptable degrees of validity and reliability. ... Behaviors, like all complex traits, involve multiple genes, a reality that complicates the search for genetic contributions. As with much other research in genetics, studies of genes and behavior require analysis of families and populations for comparison of those who have the trait in question with those who do not. The result often is a statement of "heritability," a statistical construct that estimates the amount of variation in a population that is attributable to genetic factors. [Oak Ridge National Lab, US "Behavioral Genetics" 2001] http://www.ornl.gov/hgmis/elsi/behavior.html behavior genomics: The probabilistic rather than deterministic influence of genes on behavior means that some of the ethical specters raised by the advent of behavioral genomics probably have little substance. ... For example, it has sometimes been suggested that geneticization is likely to increase the stigma of mental disorders. To the contrary, far from increasing the stigma, advances in genetics have the opposite effect. As a case in point, it is now perfectly acceptable for an ex- president of the United States and his family to acknowledge that he has Alzheimer's disease, a disorder for which much progress has been made in understanding its basis at a molecular level. In the recent past this might have been called "going senile" and would have been seen as somehow morally reprehensible. We predict that this is the start of a trend and that identifying genes involved in behavioral disorders will do much to improve public perception and tolerance of behavioral disorders. Peter McGuffin "Toward Behavioral Genomics" Science 291 (5507): 1232- 1249 Feb. 16, 2001 Related terms: behavioral genetics; Diagnostics & genetic testing "designer babies" biomedical genomics: In the spring of 2000, nine thematic areas were identified as those that captured the then and enduring promise of genomics/ proteomics to contribute to advances in prevention and treatment of disease: cancer genomics, pharmacogenomics, genomics of complex traits and disease, microbial pathogenomics, immunogenomics, stem cell genomics, structural genomics/proteomics, and genomics and bioethical, social and legal issues. About the BMGC, Biomedical Genomics Center (BMGC) Univ. of Minnesota, US http://www.bmgc.umn.edu/about.html Google = about 473 Mar. 10, 2003; about 701 Apr. 28, 2004; about 15,400 Nov 10, 2006 bone substitutes: Biomaterials channelopathy: Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channelopathy includes list of examples. Google = about 2220 May 8, 2003; about 109,000 Nov 10, 2006 Related term: Pharmaceutical biology ion channels
chemotherapy: Treatment with anticancer
drugs
Synonyms: Drug treatment (drug therapy), medication therapy,
pharmacotherapeutics, pharmacotherapy Genetics Home Reference,
National Library of Medicine, NIH http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/ghr/glossary/chemotherapy Often
refers to cancer treatments, but is also used more generally for drug therapy,
particularly antimicrobial drugs. chronome: Derived from chronos (time), nomos (rule, law) and in the case of biological chronomes, chromosome, describes features in time, just as cells characterize the spatial organization of life. The chronome complements the genome (derived from gene and chromosome). The chronome consists of 1) a partly genetic, partly developmental, partly environmentally influenced or synchronized spectrum of rhythms; 2) stochastic or deterministic chaos; 3) trends with growth, development, maturation and aging in health and/ or trends with an elevation of disease risk, illness and treatment in disease; and 4) unresolved variability. The chronome is genetically coded: it is environmentally synchronized by cycles of the socio- ecologic habitat niche and it is influenced by the dynamics of the interplanetary magnetic field. The chronome constituents, the chrones, algorithmically formulated endpoints, are inferentially statistically validated and resolved by the computer. Chronomes and their chrones 1) quantify normalcy, allowing an individualized positive health quantification; 2) assess, by their alterations, the earliest abnormality, including the quantification of an elevated risk of developing one (or several) disease(s), chronorisk, by the alteration of one or several chrones; and 3) provide, by the study of underlying mechanisms, a rational basis in the search for measures aimed at the prevention of any deterioration in properly timed, mutually beneficial environmental- organismic interactions. [Franz Halberg et. al "The Story Behind: Chronome/ chrone" Neuroendocrinology Letters 20: 101 1999] http://www.nel.edu/20_12/nel20_12%20Chronome%20Chrone.htm Gubin D, Halberg F. et. al, "The human blood pressure chronome: a biological gauge of aging" In Vivo 11 (6): 485- 494, Nov- Dec. 1997 Google = about 494 May 8 2003; about 16,800 Nov 10, 2006 chronomics: Technology allows the monitoring of ever denser and longer serial biological and physical environmental data. This in turn allows the recognition of time structures, chronomes, including, with an ever broader spectrum of rhythms, also deterministic and other chaos and trends. Chronomics thus resolves the otherwise impenetrable "normal range" of physiological variation and leads to new, dynamic maps of normalcy and health in all fields of human endeavor, including, with health care, physics, chemistry, biology, and even sociology and economics. [F. Halberg et. al. "Essays on chronomics spawned by transdisciplinary chronobiology. Witness in time: Earl Elmer Bakken" Neuroendocrinology Letters 22 (5): 359- 384 Oct. 2001] Google = about 184 May 8, 2003, about 412 Aug. 17, 2005; about 768 Nov 10, 2006 Narrower terms: bacterial chronomics, cardio-chronomics chronotherapy: The adaptation of the administration of drugs to circadian rhythms. The concept is based on the response of biological functions to time-related events, such as the low point in epinephrine levels between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. or the elevated histamine levels between midnight and 4 a.m. The treatment is aimed at supporting normal rhythms or modifying therapy based on known variations in body rhythms. While chronotherapy is commonly used in cancer chemotherapy, it is not restricted to cancer therapy or to chemotherapy. MeSH, 1997 Google = about 264 May 8, 2003, about 14,800 Aug. 17, 2005; about 65,700 Nov 10, 2006 clinical
development:
Insight Pharma reports http://www.insightpharmareports.com/Reports/ClinicalDevelopment.aspx
Genomic technologies hold the potential to improve diagnosis and treatment of inherited disease and cancer, as well as the move towards personalized medicine. However, genomic data is complex. The shift from discovery research to clinical implementation can only be accomplished through stringent data management, analysis, interpretation, and quantification. Google = about 1,470 May 8, 2003; about 2,910 Mar. 23, 2004; about 3,740 June 10, 2004, about 9,520,000 April 27 2012 Related terms: molecular diagnostics, molecular medicine clinical proteomics:-is a sub-discipline
of proteomics that involves the application of proteomic technologies on
clinical specimens such as blood. Cancer, in particular, is a model
disease for applying such technologies to identify unique biosignatures
and biomarkers responsible for the diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic
prediction of such disease . .... The greatest promise for the detection and treatment of
cancer lies in the deep understanding of molecular basis for disease
initiation, progression and efficacious treatment based on the discovery
of unique biomarkers. Although progress in cancer genomics has been rapid
during the past few years, it only provides us with a glimpse of what may occur as dictated by the
genetic code. In reality, we still need to measure what is happening in a
patient in real time, which means finding tell-tale proteins that provide
insight into the biological processes of cancer development. This is
because genes are only the "recipes" of the cell, while the
proteins encoded by the genes are ultimately the functional players that
drive both normal and disease physiology. National Cancer Institute,
Office Of Cancer Clinical Proteomics Res http://proteomics. clinical research: NIH defines human clinical research as: (1) Patient-oriented research. Research conducted with human subjects (or on material of human origin such as tissues, specimens and cognitive phenomena) for which an investigator (or colleague) directly interacts with human subjects. Excluded from this definition are in vitro studies that utilize human tissues that cannot be linked to a living individual. Patient-oriented research includes: (a) mechanisms of human disease, (b) therapeutic interventions, (c) clinical trials, or (d) development of new technologies. (2) Epidemiologic and behavioral studies. (3) Outcomes research and health services research. Human Subjects Research Definitions, NIH, 2004 http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/PHS398/instructions2/p2_human_subjects_definitions.htm Related terms: clinical genomics, translational research, translational medicine cogniceuticals: Drugs that work on 'knowing' - memory, learning, attention. They are 'the fastest-growing neuro-pharmaceutical market' and are set to be so for several decades, unfolding a 'neurosociety' in which functions of the human mind are protected and then enhanced in earnest. John Hind, Observer, July 24, 2005 http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,11913,1534827,00.html Google = about 652 Dec. 6, 2004, about 910 Aug. 22, 2005; about 898 Nov 10, 2006 Related terms: neuroceuticals, neuropharmaceuticals controller gene diseases: Among medical developments expected in the wake of a Human Regulome Project are the diagnosis and treatment of controller gene diseases (Zuckerkandl, l964). Whereas molecular diseases may be considered to be those that result from alterations in the structure of proteins, controller gene diseases express changes in quantity of proteins without changes in their structure. Regulomics after Genomics: A Challenge for the 21st Century, Emile Zuckerkandl, Institute of Molecular Medical Sciences, International Union of Biological Sciences http://www.iubs.org/test/bioint/41/16.htm Related terms regulome maps, regulomics, regulatory therapies cryomedicine, cryotherapy: Unfortunately the “Cryomedicine”, “cryosurgery” and “cryotherapy” terms have not got any substantial definition expressing their scientific foundations. Today the “Cryomedicine” term incorporates the whole complex of physical methods of treatment based on the principle of heat derivation through action of liquid, rigid and gaseous working mediums. Namely, from wiping with water to ultralow temperatures action. Lack of precise definitions of the cryotherapy role, place and significance in medical practice, rehabilitation and sanitation technologies makes possible numerous ignorant, speculative and mutually executive statements to appear among supporters and antagonists of cryomedicine. Doctor Chernyshev I.S, Extreme Cryotherapy Position in Complex Treatment of Psoriasis and Other Chronic Dermatosis, “MED- KRYONIKA” Medical Centre, Moscow http://www.medcryonika.ru/eng/psoriaz.htm Google = about 435 for cryomedicine Sept. 23, 2004; about 10,900 Apr 6, 2007 about 63,800 for cryotherapy Sept. 23, 2004; about 902,000 Apr 6, 2007 Related terms: antifreeze proteins: Protein categories; cryobiology: Cell biology cryochemotherapy: Cancer; cryoelectron microscopy: Microscopy; cryoelectron tomography: Molecular Imaging; cryogenic probe NMR & X-ray crystallography determinism (genetic): Philosophical doctrine that human action is not free but determined by external forces. [OED] There has already been much debate about nature vs. nurture, and we clearly still have much to learn about the interplay among various influences. The relevance of chaos theory and complexity seem likely to become increasingly clear. Note the reference to determinism in the second paragraph of this glossary. One of the more useful metaphors I've found is weather prediction. We are better now at predicting and reporting on hurricanes than we were 100 years ago, but are far from being able to control storms, or insure a sunny day when planning events. We now have building codes for earthquake and hurricane prone areas (but can't predict earthquakes) and continue to build on flood plains and fragile barrier islands. Google "genetic determinism" = about 6,190 May 8, 2003 disease etiology: Disease is a fluid concept influenced by societal and cultural attitudes that change with time and in response to new scientific and medical discoveries. Historically, doctors defined a disease according to a cluster of symptoms. As their clinical descriptions became more sophisticated, they started to classify diseases into separate groups, and from this medical taxonomy came new insights into disease etiology. Larissa K. F. Temple, Robin S. McLeod, Steven Gallinger, James G. Wright ESSAYS ON SCIENCE AND SOCIETY: Defining Disease in the Genomics Era Science 3 August 2001: Vol. 293. no. 5531, pp. 807 - 808 DOI: 10.1126/science.1062938 http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/293/5531/807 disease expression: When a disease genotype is manifested in the phenotype. Google = about 3,230 May 8, 2003; about 191,000 Nov 10, 2006 disease interventions: Within the next decade, researchers will find most human genes. Explorations into the function of each one - a major challenge extending far into the 21st century - will shed light on how faulty genes play a role in disease causation. With this knowledge, commercial efforts will shift away from diagnostics and toward developing a new generation of therapeutics based on genes. Drug design will be revolutionized as researchers create new classes of medicines based on a reasoned approach using gene sequence and protein structure function information rather than the traditional trial- and- error method. The drugs, targeted to specific sites in the body, promise to have fewer side effects than many of today's medicines. [Oak Ridge National Lab, US "Medicine and the new genetics, Feb. 2001] http://www.ornl.gov/hgmis/medicine/medicine.html Related terms: "good genes", "bad genes"; environmental factors disease management: A continuous, coordinated health care process that seeks to manage and improve the health status of a carefully defined patient population over the entire course of a disease. The patient populations targeted are high- risk, high- cost patients with chronic conditions that depend on appropriate pharmaceutical care for proper maintenance. Disease management services include disease prevention efforts as well as patient management once the disease states have developed. Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, Glossary, 2004 http://csdd.tufts.edu/InfoServices/Glossary.asp The somewhat graceless term the health care industry uses to describe efforts to monitor the medical problems of chronically ill patients while helping them stick to their treatment plans. New Model for Disease Management, McKinsey Quarterly, No. 4, 2001 Google = about 230,000 May 8, 2003; about 1,570,000 Nov 10, 2006 disease markets: InSight Pharma Reports http://www.insightpharmareports.com/Reports/TherapeuticPipelinesAndDiseaseMarkets.aspx disease phenotypes: Disease related tissues, which now seem very similar (even to pathologists) may be quite distinguishable at the molecular level. Gene and protein expression analysis and interpretation studies, particularly at the whole genome level are just beginning to produce intriguing results, and the National Cancer Institute (US) and other places are working on comparisons of gene expression in "normal" and diseased tissues. Improvements in technology are needed. Higher throughput, greater reliability and reproducibility and more automation are among the challenges. Greater knowledge of population genetics and population genomics should also be useful. Google = about 1,950 May 8, 2003; about 118,000 Nov 10, 2006 diseases: The human genome sequence will dramatically alter how we define, prevent, and treat disease. As more and more genetic variations among individuals are discovered, there will be a rush to label many of these variations as disease- associated. We need to define the term disease so that it incorporates our expanding genetic knowledge, taking into account the possible risks and adverse consequences associated with certain genetic variations, while acknowledging that a definition of disease cannot be based solely on one genetic abnormality. Disease is a fluid concept influenced by societal and cultural attitudes that change with time and in response to new scientific and medical discoveries. Historically, doctors defined a disease according to a cluster of symptoms. As their clinical descriptions became more sophisticated, they started to classify diseases into separate groups, and from this medical taxonomy came new insights into disease etiology. K Larissa et. al. "Defining Disease in the Genomics Era" Science 293 (5531): 807- 808, Aug. 3, 2001 http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/293/5531/807 Collections of symptoms and signs (phenotypes) that
appear to be similar … Similar clinical phenotypes may have very different
underlying mechanisms. As genetic capabilities increase, we will have additional
tools to subdivide disease designations that are clinically identical. Allen D. Roses “Pharmacogenetics and future drug development and delivery”
Lancet 355 (9212):1358- 1361 Apr 15, 2000 Related terms: diagnosis, disease phenotypes drug: Regulatory Narrower term: genomic drugs drug interactions:
Examples of drug interaction terms include adverse drug interaction, drug- drug
interaction, drug- laboratory interaction, drug- food interaction, etc. Drug
interaction is defined as, "An action of a drug on the effectiveness or
toxicity of another drug". .. Due to non- uniform usage of these terms, it
is sometimes difficult to compare various studies and derive incidence rates,
etc. for ADRs, and Drug Interactions
[Saeed A Khan, "Drug Interaction or Adverse Drug Reaction? Confusing Terms",
British Medical Journal 10 July, 1998] http://bmj.com/cgi/eletters/316/7149/1930 drug proteomics: Proteomics categories Google = about 29 May 8, 2003; about 112 Nov 10, 2006 ecotoxicogenomics, ecotoxicology: Drug safety, pharmacovigilance and toxicology FDA draft guidelines - multiplex tests: Regulatory Primarily considers microarrays, nucleic acid arrays, but principles apply to protein arrays and tissue arrays. environmental factors: May include chemical, dietary factors, infectious agents, physical and social factors. Related term public health epidemiology: Related terms: public health, environmental factors; Narrower terms: genomic epidemiology, human genome epidemiology, molecular epidemiology experimental medicine: The use of innovative measurements, models and designs in studying human subjects for establishing proof of mechanism and concept of new drugs, for exploring the potential for market differentiation for successful drug candidates, and for efficiently terminating the development of unsuccessful ones. Bruce H. Littman and Stephen A. Williams, The ultimate model organism: progress in experimental medicine, Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 4(8): 631- 638 2005 functional foods: "[F]oods and beverages with claimed health benefits based on scientific evidence". Health claims need to be substantiated scientifically. The future of functional foods will heavily rely on proven efficacy in well- controlled intervention studies with human volunteers. H Verhagen et. al, Assessment of the efficacy of functional food ingredients - introducing the concept "kinetics of biomarkers" Mutation Research 551(1-2): 65- 78, July 13, 2004 Related terms: nutrigenomics Biomarkers gene therapy: Biologics genetic determinism: The theory that human CHARACTER and BEHAVIOR are shaped by the GENES that comprise the individual's GENOTYPE rather than by CULTURE; ENVIRONMENT; and individual choice. MeSH 2003 Was "behavioral genetics" genetics: Refers to the study of heredity, gene and genetic material. However, genetics is also a term used in contrast to genomics because of its traditionally lower- throughput, smaller- scale emphasis on single genes, rather than on many genes simultaneously as in genomics. CHA Cambridge Healthtech Advisors, Clinical Genomics: The Impact of Genomics on Clinical Trials and Medical Practice report, 2004 Clearly defined terminology should form the basis for informative discussions so that the word ‘genetics’ is not demonized. For example, tests that are specific to disease genes can help diagnose disease, determine the carrier status of an individual or predict the occurrence of disease. These are quite distinct from profiles ... which provide information on how a medicine will be metabolized in an individual. … Language needs to be more precise so that there can be clarity, especially for public policy debates. Allen D. Roses “Pharmacogenetics and the practice of medicine” Nature 405: 857- 865 June 15 2000 Related terms: Genetic testing "good genes" "bad genes"", predisposition, susceptibility, public health, heterozygous, homozygous Narrower term cytogenetics global health: The Common Fund Global Health program reflects a growing impetus to bolster global health efforts worldwide and to expand priorities to address not only infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, but also chronic, non-communicable diseases and injuries, emerging behavioral, mental health and drug abuse issues, and neglected tropical diseases. The Institute of Medicine’s 2009 report on the U.S. Commitment to Global Health: Recommendations for the New Administration urges the United States to increase its commitment in global health to $15 million by 2012. In May 2009, President Obama launched the U.S. Global Health Initiative with $63 billion in new funding over the next five years to help some of the poorest nations of the world fight health challenges and save lives. Global Health NIH Common Fund http://commonfund.nih.gov/globalhealth/overview.aspx global health inequities: An open licensing approach: Amy Kapczynski, Samantha Chaifetz, Zachary Katz, and Yochai Benkler, San Francisco, CA http://www.benkler.org/EALFinal.html glycogerontology: Most of the proteins produced by the human body contain sugar chains, whose importance as biosignals for multi- cellular organisms was revealed by the recent development of the new field of glycobiology. Since sugar chains are formed as secondary gene products by the concerted action of glycosyltransferases, the structures of sugar chains are less strictly regulated than proteins. Accordingly, most of the biosignals associated with sugar chains are not essential for the maintenance of life itself, but are necessary to maintain the ordered social life of cells constructing multi- cellular organisms. Hence, investigation of structural changes of sugar chains that is caused by aging is expected to produce quite a lot of useful information pertaining to the elucidation of diseases induced by aging. A. Kobata, Glycobiology in the field of aging research -- introduction to glycogerontology, Biochimie. 85 (1-2): 13- 24, Jan- Feb 2003 health disparities: differences in the incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of diseases and other adverse health conditions that exist among specific population groups in the United States. ... The first attempt at an official definition for "health disparities" was developed in September 1999, in response to a White House initiative. Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities, National Cancer Institute, NIH . http://crchd.cancer.gov/definitions/defined.html In 2000, United States Public Law 106-525, also known as the "Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act," which authorized the National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities, provided a legal definition of health disparities: A population is a health disparity population if there is a significant disparity in the overall rate of disease incidence, prevalence, morbidity, mortality or survival rates in the population as compared to the health status of the general population.” Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act United States Public Law 106-525 (2000), p. 249 Narrower term: Cancer cancer health disparities high-dimensional brain mapping: Maps & Mapping human gene
transfer:
the
process of transferring genetic material (DNA or RNA) into a person. This
experimental technique is being studied to see whether it could treat certain
health problems by either compensating for defective genes, prompting the body
to make a potentially therapeutic substance, or triggering the immune system to
fight disease. This type of experimentation is sometimes called "gene
therapy" research. human genome epidemiology: An evolving field of inquiry that uses systematic applications of epidemiologic methods and approaches in population based studies of the impact of human genetic variation on health and disease. Human genome epidemiology represents the intersection between genetic epidemiology and molecular epidemiology. The spectrum of topics addressed in human genome epidemiology range from basic to applied population based research on discovered human genes. HuGE Net, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US http://www.cdc.gov/genetics/hugenet/rationale.htm Medbiquitous Consortium: Technology standards based on XML and webservices. http://www.medbiq.org/index.html medical errors - reducing: Background Brief: Reducing Medical Errors, Kaiser Permanente, 2006 http://www.kaiseredu.org/topics_im.asp?id=137&parentID=70&imID=1 medical proteomics: Proteomic technologies will play an important role in drug discovery, diagnostics and molecular medicine because is the link between genes, proteins and disease. As researchers study defective proteins that cause particular diseases, their findings will help develop new drugs that either alter the shape of a defective protein or mimic a missing one. Already, many of the best-selling drugs today either act by targeting proteins or are proteins themselves. Advances in proteomics may help scientists eventually create medications that are “personalized” for different individuals to be more effective and have fewer side effects. Current research is looking at protein families linked to diseases including cancer, diabetes and heart disease. American Medical Association, "Proteomics" How can proteomics be applied to medicine? http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/3668.html#2 Google = about 66 Sept. 4, 2003; about 115 June 20, 2004 medical resequencing: Key parts of suspect genes are sequenced and compared between patients and controls to identify genetic variations that may contribute to disease. Richard Gibbs, "Deeper into the genome" Nature 7063:1233- 1234, 27 Oct. 2005 molecular anatomy: proposed in the late 1970s and early 1980s by Anderson NG, Anderson NL (1980) Automatic Chemistry and the Human Protein Index, J. Autom. Chem. 2: 177-179. 2.Anderson NG, Anderson NL (1982) The Human Protein Index, Clin. Chem 28(4): 739-748. [2DWG Image Meta- Database, Searching by Molecular Anatomy, NCI, US} http://www-lecb.ncifcrf.gov/2dwgDB/2dwgMolecAnatomy.html Google = about 4,570 June 10, 2004; about 158,000 Aug 9, 2007 molecular epidemiology: The application of molecular biology to the answering of epidemiological questions. The examination of patterns of changes in DNA to implicate particular carcinogens and the use of molecular markers to predict which individuals are at highest risk for a disease are common examples. MeSH, 1994 Looking at epidemiology from a genetic and biochemical viewpoint. Narrower term: genomic epidemiology molecular medicine:
Starting with the completion of
the Human Genome Project in 2003, and followed by studies in genomics,
proteomics,
and systems
biology, scientists have begun to identify and classify disease at the
fundamental level of the molecule – hence, the term "molecular
medicine." The potential of molecular or "personalized"
medicine is deep and far-reaching. It may enable: Early identification of
disease- causing genes, permitting early interventions that could delay or
prevent altogether the onset of clinical symptoms, Sub- grouping of diseases by
genetic biomarkers to reveal the likely progression of those diseases and the
expected responses to certain types of therapy, Real-time monitoring of patient
response to certain therapies, avoiding futile treatments and unnecessary side
effects to achieve the optimum outcome for patients. caBigTM and
Molecular Medicine, NCI, NIH http://cabig.cancer.gov/molecular/overview.asp
The employment of molecular biology and gene technology has enhanced the understanding of human diseases creating a new branch of research - that of "molecular medicine". The Journal of Molecular Medicine (JMM) publishes original papers, rapid communications, review articles and correspondence of the highest quality pertinent to all aspects of human biology and pathophysiology. The application of research involving gene technology, gene therapy, molecular structural analysis, genetic epidemiology and molecular and clinical pharmacology has made unprecedented progress and precision possible in the understanding, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human diseases. These areas of molecular medicine, therefore, will be given particular attention by the editorial board. Papers describing in vitro or animal studies will be accepted, if they are relevant to normal or pathological human biology. Journal of Molecular Medicine, Springer, Aims and Scope http://link.springer.de/link/service/journals/00109/aims.htm Recent advances in molecular and cell biology have enormous potential for medical research and practice. Initially they were most successfully exploited for determining the causes of genetic diseases and how to control them. However, it is now clear that recombinant DNA technology is finding applications in almost every branch of medical practice. It is revolutionising cancer research, offers new approaches to vaccines, has spawned a biotechnology industry that is already producing a wide range of diagnostic and therapeutic agents and, in the longer term, promises to play a major role in clarifying the causes of some of the unsolved mysteries of modern medicine: heart disease, hypertension, major psychiatric illness, rheumatic disease and many others. It should also help us gain insights into broader aspects of human biology, including development, ageing and evolution. Wetherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Univ. of Oxford, UK http://www.imm.ox.ac.uk/about Google = about 402,000 June 10, 2004; about 1,710,000 Nov 10, 2006; about 974,000 Nov 13, 2009 Related terms: clinical proteomics, translational medicine molecular therapeutics: Current Opinion in Molecular Therapeutics "covers the broad field of molecular medicine, including viral and non-viral gene therapy, oligonucleotides, peptide therapeutics, antibody approaches, molecular vaccines, and the technologies underlying genomics and proteomics." BioMedCentral http://www.biomedcentral.com/curropinmolther/ Google = about 8,780 June 10, 2004, about 88,900 Sept. 28, 2005; about 189.000 Nov 14, 2006 morbidity - compressing: Ultimately only premature mortality can be reduced (in various ways such as by stopping smoking, wearing seatbelts and helmets). With a number of (first world) countries having rapidly aging populations we are just beginning to see some of the tradeoffs involved in extending longevity for a number of people. Google = about 613 Nov 10, 2006 mortality - reducing: In the long run mortality is going to be 100%, and every family has a history of it. Compressing morbidity may be a more realistic goal. Reducing premature mortality (by improving rates of seat belt wearing, reducing smoking and alcohol use and gun control) is a more sustainable goal. Google = about 328,000 Nov 10, 2006 nanomedicine: The goal of the Common Fund's Nanomedicine program is to determine how cellular machines operate at the nanoscale level and then use these design principles to develop and engineer new technologies and devices for repairing tissue or preventing and curing disease. Nanomedicine, NIH Common Fund http://commonfund.nih.gov/nanomedicine/ A rapidly expanding field that includes many potential technologies and approaches. The key to this definition is that phenomena and materials at the nanometer scale are known to have properties that are uniquely attributable to that scale length. Nanomedicine could similarly be defined [as nanotechnology] as the design, synthesis, or application of materials, devices, or technologies in the nanometer-scale for the basic understanding, diagnosis, and / or treatment of disease. Canadian Institute of Health Research, Regenerative Medicine and Nanomedicine, RFA, 2003 http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/services/16044.shtml The monitoring, repair, construction and control of human biological systems at the molecular level, using engineered nanodevices and nanostructures. [Robert A. Freitas, Nanomedicine, Foresight Institute, 1998- 2002] http://www.foresight.org/Nanomedicine/ Google = about 21, 000 June 23, 2004, about 89,600 Aug. 17, 2005, about 516,000 Dec 26, 2007 Related terms: molecular diagnostics, prion National Institute of General Medical Sciences NIGMS: Part of NIH, supports biomedical research not targeted to specific diseases or disorders. Divisions of Cell Biology and Biophysics; Genetics and Developmental Biology; and Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biological Chemistry support research http://www.nigms.nih.gov/ normal: That we can walk around with all of this stuff. It's almost liberating—the fact that there is no perfect genome—that all of us are made up of deletions and structural changes and copy number variations. It's amazing that any of us are “normal”. And maybe none of us really are—and that's the beauty of it! Gitschier J (2008) Stable in a Genome of Instability: An Interview with Evan Eichler. PLoS Genet 4(7): e1000124. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1000124 http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pgen.1000124 Defining "normal" is a major problem," stated Dr. [Julio] Celis. As many researchers know, the pathology of samples can be open to interpretation, and robust parameters must be delineated and adhered to when defining normal versus various stages of pathology. Defining the Mandate of Proteomics in the Post- Genomics Era, Board on International Scientific Organizations, National Academy of Sciences, 2002 http://www.nap.edu/books/NI000479/html/R1.html Related terms: Microarrays normality, normalization nutraceuticals: Foods with specific health or medical benefits. Differentiate from supplements, which supplies missing nutrients. Examples include folic acid (to prevent birth defects) or pectin (to lower cholesterol) and fiber (to reduce the risk of color cancer). Sometimes spelled nutriceutical. nutrigenomics: The science of nutrition and genomics has advanced to a point where it is driving the emergence of nutrigenomic products, some of which are unique and patentable, that cross traditional pharma, biotech, and food industry boundaries. The billions of genome base pairs that are being identified, and the spiraling public health costs associated with nutritional and lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and obesity, are two forces fueling the field of nutritional genomics. Between 2000 – 2010, the number of global cases of diabetes is projected to increase 46%, rising from 15.1 million to 22.1 million. In 2004, in the US alone, medical care costs were estimated to be $132 billion for diabetes and $117 billion for obesity. Nutrigenomics may have a role to play in managing these and other diseases. A few personalized nutrigenetic test products have emerged and attracted considerable media attention, but what are some of the other diagnostic technologies, and how, if at all, will ag-biotech products fit into the nutrigenomic landscape? Impact Pharma Reports Nutrigenomics: Impacts on Markets, Diets, and Health report, 2005 Embedded in classical nutrition and food technology science, it incorporates the new generation of applied genomics tools (cDNA microarray analysis of the transcriptome, proteomics, metabolomics). Nutrigenomics: an overview, TNO, Nutrition and Food Research, Netherlands http://www.voeding.tno.nl/Productsheet.cfm?PNR=voe305e Seeks to provide a molecular understanding for how common dietary chemicals (i.e., nutrition) affect health by altering the expression and/or structure of an individual’s genetic makeup. The conceptual basis for this new branch of genomic research can best be summarized by the following Five Tenets of Nutrigenomics: Under certain circumstances and in some individuals, diet can be a serious risk factor for a number of diseases. Common dietary chemicals can act on the human genome, either directly or indirectly, to alter gene expression or structure. The degree to which diet influences the balance between healthy and disease states may depend on an individual’s genetic makeup. Some diet- regulated genes (and their normal, common variants) are likely to play a role in the onset, incidence, progression, and/or severity of chronic diseases. Dietary intervention based on knowledge of nutritional requirement, nutritional status, and genotype (i.e., "personalized nutrition") can be used to prevent, mitigate or cure chronic disease. Nutrigenomics, Univ. of California Davis, US, 2004 http://nutrigenomics.ucdavis.edu/ Google = about 1,350 Mar. 18, 2003; about 3,040 Sept. 8, 2003, about 17,700 Dec. 28, 2004 nutritional genomics: Has been used for decades for certain monogenic diseases; however, the challenge is to implement a similar concept for common multifactorial disorders and to develop tools to detect genetic predisposition and to prevent common disorders decades before their manifestation. The preliminary results involving gene- diet interactions for cardiovascular diseases and cancer are promising, but mostly inconclusive. Success in this area will require the integration of different disciplines and investigators working on large population studies designed to adequately investigate gene- environment interactions. JM Ordovas, D Corella, Nutritional genomics. Annual Review Genomics Human Genetics 5: 71-118, 2004 The molecular basis by which nutrients influence cancer prevention and provide examples for genomic/proteomic approaches to the science of nutrition. National Cancer Institute, US, Nutritional Genomics and Proteomics in Cancer Prevention Conference, Sept. 5-6, 2002, Bethesda MD http://www3.cancer.gov/prevention/ngpcp2002/ Google = about 739 Mar. 18, 2003; about 1,670 Sept. 8, 2003, about 7,480 Dec. 28, 2004 Related terms: agricultural genomics, food genomics, plant genomics omics studies for
diagnostics:
Why
study design is decisive for success or failure; Critical review of examples Dos
and don'ts A roadmap to the answers Samples: How many are enough? Apples
and Oranges: Tackling confounding factors Regulatory requirements for biomarker
qualification FDA perspective of companion diagnostics personalized
medicine: As
defined by the President’s Council on Advisors on Science and Technology,
“Personalized Medicine” refers to the tailoring of medical treatment to the
individual characteristics of each patient…to classify individuals into
subpopulations that differ in their susceptibility to a particular disease or
their response to a specific treatment. Preventative or therapeutic
interventions can then be concentrated on those who will benefit, sparing
expense and side effects for those who will not. About the Personalized
Medicine Coalition http://www.personalizedmedicinecoalition.org/about
The increased emphasis on personalized therapy has affected the entire process of drug discovery, development and marketing. Pharmaceutical companies must adjust their strategies, starting from target identification to validation, clinical trials, approval processes, and marketing in order to fit into the new concept. Successful collaboration with diagnostics partners has become a cornerstone in the efforts to bring to the market tailored and targeted therapies, with companion tests helping to match the right drug to the right patient. phenotypic prevention: Achieved by interrupting harmful interaction of environmental cofactors with human genetic variation or by using gene therapy to correct deficiencies in gene products. Genetics and Public Health in the 21st century, CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US http://www.cdc.gov/genetics/info/books/21stcentury.htm Related terms environmental factors, molecular epidemiology, public health.
physiogenomics, physiome, physiomics: -Omes &
-omics public health genomics: Public health genomics has been defined as The responsible and effective translation of genome-based knowledge for the benefit of population health. (Bellagio workshop, April 2005) PHG Foundation, UK http://www.phgfoundation.org/pages/definition.htm A multidisciplinary field concerned with the effective and responsible translation of genome-based knowledge and technologies to improve population health. Public health genomics uses population-based data on genetic variation and gene-environment interactions to develop evidence-based tools for improving health and preventing disease. National Office of Public Health Genomics, CDC http://www.cdc.gov/genomics/about/AAG/index.htm There is much talk of the world as a global village these days. Nowhere is that more true than in public health. It is not just third world countries that need to be concerned about vaccines, herd immunity and drug resistance. Early intervention and epidemiological investigation of environmental factors hold promise for better understanding the complex interplay of variables in individual and public health. Related terms: morbidity (compressing), mortality (reducing), phenotypic prevention.
Genomics and World Health, World Health
Organization, 2002 http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2002/a74580.pdf Other patient and disease related resources: See Cancer genomics, Genetic & genomic testing, Patient resources regenerative medicine: A field of medicine concerned with developing and using strategies aimed at repair or replacement of damaged, diseased, or metabolically deficient organs, tissues, and cells via TISSUE ENGINEERING; CELL TRANSPLANTATION; and ARTIFICIAL ORGANS and BIOARTIFICIAL ORGANS and tissues. MeSH 2004 Embryonic stem cells are a unique type of
cell because they are "pluripotent", that is, they can divide
and grow in to any type of adult cell type e.g. heart cells, bone cells,
or neurons. They therefore hold great potential in repairing tissue
damaged by disease or injury. A recent discovery showed that a type of
adult stem cell resembling an embryonic stem cell can be made by using
viruses to ferry specific genes in to skin cells that induce these cells
to revert to a pluripotent cell state These so called "induced
pluripotent stem cells" or iPS cells are just one type of adult stem
cell that can be explored for use in cellular therapies. The Common
Fund is supporting the establishment of an NIH Center for Regenerative
Medicine (NCRM) to serve as a stem cell resource for the scientific
community, providing stem cells, as well as the supporting protocols and
standard operating procedures used to derive, culture, and differentiate
them in to different cell types. NIH Center for Regenerative Medicine, NIH
Common Fund http://commonfund.nih.gov/stemcells/overview.aspx therapeutics: See disease interventions therapy ladders: Sequential uses of combination protocols consisting of drugs that have been available for a long time (and are generically available in most cases) and are frequently also used for the treatment of solid tumors. Insight Pharma Reports,. Hematological Cancer Therapeutics: Pipelines and Competition, 2005 translational medicine: Recent advances in biological understanding are allowing pharmaceutical companies to begin to develop tailored therapeutics, thereby allowing patients to receive the right drug, at the right dose, and at the right time. However, in order for such treatments to be developed, companies need to be able to better link data from the laboratory to the clinic (bench to bedside). This concept is frequently referred to as translational medicine. Semantic Web Health Care and Life Sciences SIG Charter, 2008 http://www.w3.org/2008/05/HCLSIGCharter#translat Translational research goes from bench to bedside, where theories emerging from preclinical experimentation are tested on disease- affected human subjects, and from bedside to bench, where information obtained from preliminary human experimentation can be used to refine our understanding of the biological principles underpinning the heterogeneity of human disease and polymorphism(s). The former direction has received much attention, usually through exploratory clinical studies referred to as "phase 1" trials. The latter, however, has been largely ignored. Scope Note, Journal of Translational Medicine http://www.translational-medicine.com/info/about/ the integrated
application of innovative pharmacology tools, biomarkers, clinical
methods, clinical technologies and study designs to improve disease
understanding, confidence in human drug targets and increase confidence in
drug candidates, understand the therapeutic index in humans, enhance
cost-effective decision making in exploratory development and increase
phase II success. What's
next in translational medicine? Littman BH, Di Mario L, Plebani M,
Marincola FM. What's next in translational medicine? Clin Sci (London) 112
(4): 217- 227, Feb 2007 Related
terms: clinical proteomics, molecular medicine, translational research:
Research Google = about 72,900
Nov. 3, 2004; about 692,000 Nov 10, 2006; about 1,380,000 Sept 17, 2007; about
2,300,000 Nov 13, 2009 translational
science: translating preclinical and
clinical knowledge Translational Science February 21-23, 2012 • San
Francisco, CA Program | Register | Download
Brochure Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Consortium links together a network of clinical and translational research centers that provide research systems and facilities, information systems that link clinical research centers nationwide, enhanced community engagement in clinical research, and training for a new generation of clinical and translational scientists. Translational Science, NIH Common Fund http://commonfund.nih.gov/ctsa/ uncertainty: The condition in which reasonable knowledge regarding risks, benefits, or the future is not available. MeSH 2003 An event or outcome that is not certain but may or may not happen is uncertain. When the uncertainty is quantified on the basis of empirical observations, it is called risk. Bandolier EBM Evidence Based Medicine Glossary http://www.medicine.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/glossary.html The shift to a post- Mendelian view of genetics (with variable penetrance and eventually, insights into polygenic diseases) and genomics seems likely to result in more uncertainty, not less, at least for some time. Related term: Business risk management vaccines: Biologics women's health: For many years, women were not included as participants in clinical research and, even when women were included, gender differences in outcomes were not examined. Although the focus of our work is on women’s health, Women’s Health Research at Yale generates scientific investigations on gender differences that broaden the scope of knowledge on all human health. Women's Health Research at Yale. http://info.med.yale.edu/womenshealth//about/index.html world health: In the coming decades, information generated by genomics will have major benefits for the prevention, diagnosis and management of many diseases which have been difficult or impossible to control. At the same time, this new field presents a series of highly complex scientific, economic, social and ethical issues. Genomics and World Health, WHO, 2002 http://www3.who.int/whosis/genomics/genomics_report.cfm# Science's review of "The sequence of the human genome" (J. Craig Venter et al 291: 1304-1352 Feb. 16, 2001) concludes that a "paramount challenge awaits: public discussion of this information and its potential for improvement of personal health ... There are two fallacies to be avoided: determinism, the idea that all characteristics of the person are 'hard- wired" by the genome; and reductionism, the view that with complete knowledge of the human genome sequence, it is only a matter of time before our understanding of gene functions and interactions will provide a complete causal description of human variability." http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/291/5507/1304 Nature's "Initial sequencing and analysis of the human genome" (International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium, 409 (no. 6822:860-914, 15 Feb. 2001) concludes "Finally it has not escaped our notice [a graceful allusion to Crick and Watson's 1953 Nature paper] that the more we learn about the human genome, the more there is to explore." and ends by quoting T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets [Little Gidding] "We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started, and know the place for the first time." We would be wise to keep these words in mind. Bibliography Healthcare Conferences http://www.healthtech.com/Conferences/Search.aspx?k=&r=&s=HLTS Patient and disease related resources:
Patient
resources, Cancer Genetic testing
How to look for other unfamiliar terms IUPAC definitions are reprinted with the permission of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. |
