Gene linked to melanoma

jerry submitted, created time 3 months 2 weeks (www.reuters.com)

A study find that a variation of the gene for the vitamin D receptor appears to increase the risk of melanoma, a serious and sometimes fatal skin cancer. Patients with the BsmI variant had a 30% higher risk of melanoma, accounting for perhaps 10% of all cases.

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More vitamin D can put more pep in seniors' steps

captainclaw submitted, created time 1 year 6 months (www.reutershealth.com)

A new study suggest declining physical performance among some Dutch seniors may not be a simple consequence of aging, it may actually be due to a vitamin D deficiency.

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Risk factors and myocardial infarction in patients with obstructive sleep apnea: impact of β2-adrenergic receptor polymorphisms

angelfish submitted, created time 1 year 7 months (www.biomedcentral.com)

"The increased sympathetic nervous activity in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is largely responsible for the high prevalence of arterial hypertension, and it is suggested to adversely affect triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels in these patients. The functionally relevant polymorphisms of the β2-adrenergic receptor (Arg-47Cys/Arg16Gly and Gln27Glu) have been shown to exert modifying effects on these risk factors in previous studies, but results are inconsistent.....continue"

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