Evaluation of vincristine-associated myelosuppression in Border Collies.

Objective: To determine whether Border Collies (ATP binding cassette subfamily B1 gene [ABCB1] wildtype) were more likely than other breeds to develop vincristine-associated myelosuppression (VAM) and, if so, whether this was caused by a mutation in ABCB1 distinct from ABCB1-1Δ.

Animals: Phase 1 comprised 36 dogs with the ABCB1 wildtype, including 26 dogs with lymphoma (5 Border Collies and 21 dogs representing 13 other breeds) treated with vincristine in a previous study; phase 2 comprised 10 additional Border Collies, including 3 that developed VAM and 7 with an unknown phenotype.

Procedures: For phase 1, the prevalence of VAM in ABCB1-wildtype Border Collies was compared with that for ABCB1-wildtype dogs of other breeds with data from a previous study.

Population stratification confounds genetic association studies among Latinos.

In the United States, asthma prevalence and mortality are the highest among Puerto Ricans and the lowest among Mexicans. Case-control association studies are a powerful strategy for identifying genes of modest effect in complex diseases. However, studies of complex disorders in admixed populations such as Latinos may be confounded by population stratification.

Lack of support for the association between GAD2 polymorphisms and severe human obesity.

The demonstration of association between common genetic variants and chronic human diseases such as obesity could have profound implications for the prediction, prevention, and treatment of these conditions. Unequivocal proof of such an association, however, requires independent replication of initial positive findings. Recently, three (-243 A>G, +61450 C>A, and +83897 T>A) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within glutamate decarboxylase 2 (GAD2) were found to be associated with class III obesity (body mass index > 40 kg/m2).

Genetic admixture and asthma-related phenotypes in Mexican American and Puerto Rican asthmatics.

Genetic association studies in admixed populations may be biased if individual ancestry varies within the population and the phenotype of interest is associated with ancestry. However, recently admixed populations also offer potential benefits in association studies since markers informative for ancestry may be in linkage disequilibrium across large distances. In particular, the enhanced LD in admixed populations may be used to identify alleles that underlie a genetically determined difference in a phenotype between two ancestral populations.

Population structure, admixture, and aging-related phenotypes in African American adults: the Cardiovascular Health Study.

U.S. populations are genetically admixed, but surprisingly little empirical data exists documenting the impact of such heterogeneity on type I and type II error in genetic-association studies of unrelated individuals.

Polymorphisms in genes involved in inflammatory and angiogenic pathways and the risk of hemorrhagic presentation of brain arteriovenous malformations.

Background And Purpose: Accurate estimates of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) risk in patients harboring brain arteriovenous malformation (BAVM) are needed to evaluate interventional strategies and to help guide clinical management. Identification of genetic polymorphisms associated with ICH would facilitate risk stratification in BAVM patients.

Methods: We identified patients with BAVM and documented clinical presentation, demographic data, venous drainage pattern, and BAVM size.

ADAM33 is not associated with asthma in Puerto Rican or Mexican populations.

A recent study identified the ADAM33 gene as a promising candidate contributing to asthma. In Puerto Rican and Mexican populations, we have genotyped six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that were used in the Genetics of Asthma in Latino Americans Study. We chose to study these two populations because in the United States, Puerto Ricans have the highest asthma prevalence, morbidity, and mortality and Mexicans the lowest.