By Joe Markman
LA Times
The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, the most sweeping anti-discrimination law in nearly 20 years, prohibits employers from hiring or firing based on a person's genetic makeup.
Reporting from Washington - The most sweeping federal anti-discrimination law in nearly 20 years takes effect today, prohibiting employers from hiring, firing or determining promotions based on genetic makeup.
Additionally, health insurers will not be allowed to consider a person's genetics -- such as predisposition for Parkinson's disease -- to set insurance rates or deny coverage.
Not since the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 has the federal government implemented such far-reaching workplace protections. Stuart J. Ishimaru, acting chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, said in a statement that the law reaffirms the idea that people have a right to be judged solely on merit.
"No one should be denied a job or the right to be treated fairly in the workplace based on fears that he or she may develop some condition in the future," he said.
The National Federation of Independent Business, a nonprofit lobbying group for small businesses, filed a number of concerns in April with the EEOC, which oversees the law. The concerns included whether employers who "innocently discover" genetic information about their workers may be held liable for having that information in their files, the "confusing" interplay of other federal statutes, and the lack of an exception for publicly available genetic information on the Internet.
The business group is seeking to teach its members that under the law, any piece of medical history -- whether an employee's own or that of a family member -- constitutes genetic information, said Elizabeth Milito, senior counsel at the federation.
Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for the industry group America's Health Insurance Plans, said that his association originally supported the bill, but that the resulting regulations ultimately would disrupt efforts to stay healthy through wellness and disease-management programs.
"If a patient is at risk for a particular condition, they are a good candidate to do more preventive screenings, and this would prohibit some of that information even being gathered," Zirkelbach said.
There is not a lot of evidence that this kind of discrimination has been taking place. As of May, no genetic-employment discrimination cases had been brought before U.S. federal or state courts, according to the National Human Genome Research Institute. The government filed suit in 2001 against the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co. under the ADA for secretly testing some workers for a genetic defect that some believe can predispose a person to carpal tunnel syndrome. The railway settled the EEOC suit for $2.2 million.
Peter Bennett, an attorney in Maine who specializes in employment law, said he knew of no pending genetic discrimination cases, but expects them to pile up soon, in what he called a "kabuki dance" of litigation to sort out who is liable for what.
The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, signed by President Bush in May 2008, is a huge victory for proponents of personalized medicine, which includes using genetic tests to aid in the diagnosis of disease and the selection of medicine.
"The psychological security regarding employment and insurance was a stumbling block to the advancement of personalized medicine," said Edward Abrahams, executive director of the Personalized Medicine Coalition.
"Moving that boulder from the train tracks was a major accomplishment."
For more information go to www.parkinsonresearchfoundation.org
Monday, November 23, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Stereotactic radiosurgery as effective in eliminating Parkinson's disease tremors as other treatments but less invasive
Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) offers a less invasive way to eliminate tremors caused by Parkinson's disease and essential tremor than deep brain stimulation (DBS) and radiofrequency (RF) treatments, and is as effective, according to a long-term study presented November 2, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).
Source: American Society for Radiation Oncology
"The study shows that radiosurgery is an effective and safe method of getting rid of tremors caused by Parkinson's disease and essential tremor, with outcomes that favorably compare to both DBS and RF in tremor relief and risk of complications at seven years after treatment," Rufus Mark, M.D., an author of the study and a radiation oncologist at the Joe Arrington Cancer Center and Texas Tech University, both in Lubbock, Texas said. "In view of these long-term results, this non-invasive procedure should be considered a primary treatment option for tremors that are hard to treat."
Parkinson's disease is a slowly progressive neurologic disease that causes tremors, in addition to other symptoms. Essential tremor is the most common of all movement disorders and causes uncontrollable shaking of the hands, head, and sometimes other parts of the body.
Stereotactic radiation is a specialized type of external beam radiation therapy that pinpoints high doses of radiation directly on a confined area in a shorter amount of time than traditional radiation treatments. Stereotactic radiosurgery, or SRS, refers to a single or several stereotactic radiation treatments of the brain or spine. SRS is delivered by a team involving a radiation oncologist and a neurosurgeon. This radiation treatment is often called by the brand
names of the manufacturers, including Axesse, CyberKnife, Gamma Knife, Novalis, Primatom, Synergy, X-Knife, TomoTherapy and Trilogy.
Between 1991 and 2007, 183 patients underwent stereotactic radiosurgery thalamotomy, for hard-to-treat tremors caused by Parkinson's disease and essential tremors. A thalamotomy is a procedure that destroys tissue at a particular spot—the Ventralis Inter-Medius nucleus—on the thalamus of the brain which influences movement.
With a median follow-up of seven years, 84 percent of patients had significant or complete resolution of tremors. In patients with Parkinson's disease, 83 percent had near or complete tremor resolution, while those with essential tremor had 87 percent of this degree of tremor resolution.
For more information go to www.parkinsonresearchfoundation.org
Source: American Society for Radiation Oncology
"The study shows that radiosurgery is an effective and safe method of getting rid of tremors caused by Parkinson's disease and essential tremor, with outcomes that favorably compare to both DBS and RF in tremor relief and risk of complications at seven years after treatment," Rufus Mark, M.D., an author of the study and a radiation oncologist at the Joe Arrington Cancer Center and Texas Tech University, both in Lubbock, Texas said. "In view of these long-term results, this non-invasive procedure should be considered a primary treatment option for tremors that are hard to treat."
Parkinson's disease is a slowly progressive neurologic disease that causes tremors, in addition to other symptoms. Essential tremor is the most common of all movement disorders and causes uncontrollable shaking of the hands, head, and sometimes other parts of the body.
Stereotactic radiation is a specialized type of external beam radiation therapy that pinpoints high doses of radiation directly on a confined area in a shorter amount of time than traditional radiation treatments. Stereotactic radiosurgery, or SRS, refers to a single or several stereotactic radiation treatments of the brain or spine. SRS is delivered by a team involving a radiation oncologist and a neurosurgeon. This radiation treatment is often called by the brand
names of the manufacturers, including Axesse, CyberKnife, Gamma Knife, Novalis, Primatom, Synergy, X-Knife, TomoTherapy and Trilogy.
Between 1991 and 2007, 183 patients underwent stereotactic radiosurgery thalamotomy, for hard-to-treat tremors caused by Parkinson's disease and essential tremors. A thalamotomy is a procedure that destroys tissue at a particular spot—the Ventralis Inter-Medius nucleus—on the thalamus of the brain which influences movement.
With a median follow-up of seven years, 84 percent of patients had significant or complete resolution of tremors. In patients with Parkinson's disease, 83 percent had near or complete tremor resolution, while those with essential tremor had 87 percent of this degree of tremor resolution.
For more information go to www.parkinsonresearchfoundation.org
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Nervous System Drug-by-design: Formulation May Slow Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Huntington's
Science Daily
Working like an architect, Prof. Hagit Eldar-Finkelman of Tel Aviv University's Sackler School of Medicine is "building" a new drug, L803-MTS, to treat a number of central nervous system (CNS) diseases like Alzheimer's. In pre-clinical studies, it also shows promise against Parkinson's, Huntington's and diabetes.
L803-MTS is based on the physical structure of the GSK3 protein, which plays a causative role in insulin resistance and Type II diabetes. Working with chemists, biotechnologists and 3-D modelists, Prof. Eldar-Finkelman and her colleagues built -- like engineers constructing a building -- a drug that locks onto the GSK3 protein, rendering it harmless and unable to wreak havoc inside the body.
Recent research findings on the L803-MTS drug have been published in the Journal of Molecular Biology (2008) and Current Pharmaceutical Design (2009, currently in press).
An innovative approach
Since Prof. Eldar-Finkelman linked GSK3 to insulin resistance in diabetes more than ten years ago, a race has been on among drug manufacturers to find a drug that can potentially turn off the harmful effects of GSK3. But rather than build on existing drugs, Prof. Eldar-Finkelman and her colleagues worked from the ground up. "I decided to take a completely different approach from all the big drug companies rushing to find the ultimate drug," says Prof. Eldar-Finkelman. "I designed my own."
Pre-clinical results have been positive, and the new drug does not exhibit dangerous toxic side effects, a problem with existing formulations. While L803-MTS cannot reverse the onset of a CNS disease once it has started, Prof. Eldar-Finkelman believes it can slow down the devastating effects of CNS diseases, like impaired memory and depression, or insulin-resistance.
"Ours is the first lab that showed the importance of GSK3 as a target in Type II diabetes, and was among the first to introduce a specific inhibitor against the GSK3," she says. "Our approach became so popular that today many pharmaceutical companies, big and small, are competing to work on a GSK3 inhibitor."
A new competition
With seed money from Ramot, Tel Aviv University's technology transfer arm, Prof. Eldar-Finkelman has taken her basic research to the next step, seeking a strategic partner to guide the research through the clinical process and eventual commercialization.
"One important thing to note is that our drug acts differently than other compounds," she says. "Most GSK3 inhibitors are developed on the basis of ATP competitors. Ours are substrate competitors, meaning that they bind to a different site at the surface of the protein. This strategy is completely different, and yields a better and safer compound."
Prof. Eldar-Finkelman is now conducting additional pharmacological and toxicological tests on the new compound. She believes it will be a lead compound for treating CNS disorders, "because it was based on rational drug design. We started from scratch and thought through the design of a specific compound that would be safe and effective. Our aim is to slow the progression of CNS diseases, but the new drug might also be used as a preventative therapy," she adds.
For more information go to www.parkinsonresearchfoundation.org
Working like an architect, Prof. Hagit Eldar-Finkelman of Tel Aviv University's Sackler School of Medicine is "building" a new drug, L803-MTS, to treat a number of central nervous system (CNS) diseases like Alzheimer's. In pre-clinical studies, it also shows promise against Parkinson's, Huntington's and diabetes.
L803-MTS is based on the physical structure of the GSK3 protein, which plays a causative role in insulin resistance and Type II diabetes. Working with chemists, biotechnologists and 3-D modelists, Prof. Eldar-Finkelman and her colleagues built -- like engineers constructing a building -- a drug that locks onto the GSK3 protein, rendering it harmless and unable to wreak havoc inside the body.
Recent research findings on the L803-MTS drug have been published in the Journal of Molecular Biology (2008) and Current Pharmaceutical Design (2009, currently in press).
An innovative approach
Since Prof. Eldar-Finkelman linked GSK3 to insulin resistance in diabetes more than ten years ago, a race has been on among drug manufacturers to find a drug that can potentially turn off the harmful effects of GSK3. But rather than build on existing drugs, Prof. Eldar-Finkelman and her colleagues worked from the ground up. "I decided to take a completely different approach from all the big drug companies rushing to find the ultimate drug," says Prof. Eldar-Finkelman. "I designed my own."
Pre-clinical results have been positive, and the new drug does not exhibit dangerous toxic side effects, a problem with existing formulations. While L803-MTS cannot reverse the onset of a CNS disease once it has started, Prof. Eldar-Finkelman believes it can slow down the devastating effects of CNS diseases, like impaired memory and depression, or insulin-resistance.
"Ours is the first lab that showed the importance of GSK3 as a target in Type II diabetes, and was among the first to introduce a specific inhibitor against the GSK3," she says. "Our approach became so popular that today many pharmaceutical companies, big and small, are competing to work on a GSK3 inhibitor."
A new competition
With seed money from Ramot, Tel Aviv University's technology transfer arm, Prof. Eldar-Finkelman has taken her basic research to the next step, seeking a strategic partner to guide the research through the clinical process and eventual commercialization.
"One important thing to note is that our drug acts differently than other compounds," she says. "Most GSK3 inhibitors are developed on the basis of ATP competitors. Ours are substrate competitors, meaning that they bind to a different site at the surface of the protein. This strategy is completely different, and yields a better and safer compound."
Prof. Eldar-Finkelman is now conducting additional pharmacological and toxicological tests on the new compound. She believes it will be a lead compound for treating CNS disorders, "because it was based on rational drug design. We started from scratch and thought through the design of a specific compound that would be safe and effective. Our aim is to slow the progression of CNS diseases, but the new drug might also be used as a preventative therapy," she adds.
For more information go to www.parkinsonresearchfoundation.org
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