FDA Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: July 1st, 2020
July 1, 2020
Silver Spring, MD – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today continued to take action in the ongoing response to the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic:
Today, FDA took action to help facilitate the timely development of safe and effective vaccines to prevent COVID-19 Coronavirus by providing guidance with recommendations related to licensure for those developing COVID-19 Coronavirus vaccines.
Coronavirus
INOVIO Initiates Phase 1 Clinical Trial Of Its COVID-19 Vaccine, Plans First Dose Today
April 6, 2020
Plymouth Meeting, PA – INOVIO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:INO) today, Monday, April 6th, 2020, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the company’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application for INO-4800, its DNA vaccine candidate designed to prevent Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection, paving the way for Phase 1 clinical testing of INO-4800 in healthy volunteers beginning this week. The first dosing is planned for today.
Coronavirus
New research suggests gut bacteria may be linked to high blood pressure and depression
September 29, 2019
New Orleans, LA – A study of bacteria in the gut identified differences between people with high blood pressure compared to those with high blood pressure plus depression, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association’s Hypertension 2019 Scientific Sessions.
“People are ‘meta-organisms’ made up of roughly equal numbers of human cells and bacteria. Gut bacteria ecology interacts with our bodily physiology and brains, which may steer some people towards developing high blood pressure and depression,” said Bruce R. Stevens, Ph.D., lead author of the study and professor of physiology & functional genomics, medicine and psychiatry at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville, Florida.
This infographic illustrates the connection between the brain, central nervous system and other organs and how they interact with a person’s gut microbes to show different patterns – from people with high blood pressure plus depression; high blood pressure without depression; depression with healthy blood pressure; or healthy subjects without depression or high blood pressure. (Bruce R. Stevens, Ph.D.)
TDCI Warns Consumers about Genetic Testing Scams Aimed at Seniors
May 10, 2019
Nashville, TN – The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance (TDCI) is warning consumers about Genetic Testing Scams aimed at Seniors to collect their personal information.
That is way TDCI is joining other state and national regulators to warn consumers about reports of people claiming to represent genetic testing firms who are visiting senior living communities, assisted living facilities and senior centers to swab seniors’ cheeks purportedly to collect genetic material in order to screen for cancer or other life-threatening diseases.
American Heart Association reports Gene Editing Technology may improve accuracy of predicting individuals’ Heart Disease Risk
July 12, 2018
American Heart Association Circulation Journal Report
Dallas, TX – Scientists may now be able to predict whether carrying a specific genetic variant increases a person’s risk for disease using gene editing and stem cell technologies, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation.
For the first time, the study demonstrates the unique potential of combining stem cell-based disease modeling (Induced pluripotent stem cells) and CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing technology as a personalized risk-assessment platform for determining the disease-causing ability of a yet undescribed genetic variant, known as a “variant of uncertain significance” or VUS.
Gene-editing technology may help scientists discern whether genetic variations with undetermined effects are harmless or dangerous. (American Heart Association)
Genomic Medicine may one day revolutionize Cardiovascular Care
June 20, 2018
American Heart Association
Dallas, TX – A new scientific statement from the American Heart Association summarizes the state-of-the-science of genomic medicine — the study of the health effects of the molecular interactions of a person’s unique genes — for studying cardiovascular traits and disorders and for therapeutic screening.
Genomic medicine could enable doctors to make predictions about people’s health, from the likelihood of developing heart disease or stroke to the severity of disease, as well as medications for treatment. (American Heart Association)
American Heart Association says Smoking leaves historical “footprint” in DNA
September 27, 2016
American Heart Association Rapid Access Journal Report
Dallas, TX – Smoking leaves its “footprint” on the human genome in the form of DNA methylation, a process by which cells control gene activity, according to new research in Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics, an American Heart Association journal.
The new findings suggest that DNA methylation could be an important sign that reveals an individual’s smoking history, and could provide researchers with potential targets for new therapies.
Smoking has a very broad, long-lasting impact on the human genome. (American Heart Association)
Shelbyville Tennessee Soldier missing for nearly 70 years Will be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery on October 22nd, 2014
August 21, 2014
Private First Class Cecil Garris’ remains recovered in France
Nashville, TN – Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner Many-Bears Grinder recognize the service and sacrifice of Private First Class Cecil E. Harris of Shelbyville.
Harris was serving with the 179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division on January 2nd, 1945 when his platoon was holding a defensive position in Dambach, France near the German border during World War II.
Private First Class Cecil E. Harris of Shelbyville, Tennessee to be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.
American Heart Association says DNA particles in the Blood may help speed detection of Coronary Artery Disease
July 4, 2013
High blood levels of these DNA particles may eventually help identify patients at risk for further serious heart problems.
Dallas, TX – DNA fragments in your blood may someday help doctors quickly learn if chest pain means you have narrowed heart arteries, according to a new study published in the American Heart Association journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.
The study involved 282 patients, ages 34 to 83, who reported chest pain and were suspected of having coronary artery disease. Researchers used computed tomography imaging to look for hardened, or calcified, buildup in the blood vessels that supply the heart. Blood samples also were tested for bits of genetic material. Release of small DNA particles in the blood occurs during chronic inflammatory conditions such as coronary artery disease. [Read more]
