Genetic studies of a cluster of acute lymphoblastic leukemia cases in Churchill County, Nevada.

Objective: In a study to identify exposures associated with 15 cases of childhood leukemia, we found levels of tungsten, arsenic, and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene in participants to be higher than mean values reported in the National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals. Because case and comparison families had similar levels of these contaminants, we conducted genetic studies to identify gene polymorphisms that might have made case children more susceptible than comparison children to effects of the exposures.

Design: We compared case with comparison children to determine whether differences existed in the frequency of polymorphic genes, including genes that code for enzymes in the folate and purine pathways.

Investigating childhood leukemia in Churchill County, Nevada.

Background: Sixteen children diagnosed with acute leukemia between 1997 and 2002 lived in Churchill County, Nevada, at the time of or before their illness. Considering the county population and statewide cancer rate, fewer than two cases would be expected.

Objectives: In March 2001, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention led federal, state, and local agencies in a cross-sectional, case-comparison study to determine if ongoing environmental exposures posed a health risk to residents and to compare levels of contaminants in environmental and biologic samples collected from participating families.

Laboratory science and public health at CDC.

Laboratory technology is as essential to public health practitioners for monitoring threats to public health as it is to clinical practitioners who depend on laboratory technology to diagnose and monitor disease in individuals. Laboratory technology provides essential information for effective public health interventions, whether monitoring emerging infectious diseases, such as avian influenza globally; identifying pathogens, such as Escherichia coli in the U.S.

Thrombomodulin Ala455Val Polymorphism and the risk of cerebral infarction in a biracial population: the Stroke Prevention in Young Women Study.

Background: The genes encoding proteins in the thrombomodulin-protein C pathway are promising candidate genes for stroke susceptibility because of their importance in thrombosis regulation and inflammatory response. Several published studies have shown that the Ala455Val thrombomodulin polymorphism is associated with ischemic heart disease, but none has examined the association with stroke. Using data from the Stroke Prevention in Young Women Study, we sought to determine the association between the Ala455Val thrombomodulin polymorphism and the occurrence of ischemic stroke in young women.

HFE genotype and transferrin saturation in the United States.

Purpose: Examine the penetrance (defined by high transferrin saturation [TS]) of C282Y and H63D in the U.S. population.

The ethics of access to online genetic databases: private or public?

With the sequencing of the human genome comes the promise of advances in medical science. For this promise to be fully realized, researchers must have access to information resulting from this landmark endeavor as well as from subsequent research initiatives. However, because genomic sequences are potential sources of profit for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, many private companies seek to limit access to this information.

Homocyst(e)ine and cardiovascular disease: a systematic review of the evidence with special emphasis on case-control studies and nested case-control studies.

Background: Elevated concentrations of homocyst(e)ine are thought to increase the risk of vascular diseases including coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease.

Methods: We searched MEDLINE (1966-1999), EMBASE (1974-1999), SciSearch (1974- 1999), and Dissertation Abstracts (1999) for articles and theses about homocyst(e)ine concentration and coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease.

Results: We included 57 publications (3 cohort studies, 12 nested case-control studies, 42 case-control studies) that reported results on 5518 people with coronary heart disease (11,068 control subjects) and 1817 people with cerebrovascular disease (4787 control subjects) in our analysis.

Introductory remarks.

The cause of osteoporosis, a condition in which bone mass is decreased to a point where structural failure may occur, is unknown; many factors that contribute to the development of osteoporosis are known.Bone mass increases until the late twenties, the time when people attain peak bone mass. For a time after peak bone mass is reached, bone loss and formation are approximately equal.