This 2018 editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine concerned a clinical trial of an osteoporosis treatment: “When measurement of bone density was first introduced 25 years ago, absolute bone mineral density (g per square centimeter) was considered as too onerous for clinicians to understand. Ultimately, these events led to a treatment gap in … Continue reading Chronological age by itself is an outdated clinical measurement
This 2018 Washington rodent study investigated ovarian disease in F3 great-granddaughters caused by their F0 great-grandmothers’ exposures to DDT or vinclozolin while pregnant: “Two of the most prevalent ovarian diseases affecting women’s fertility and health are Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (POI) and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). POI is characterized by a marked reduction in the primordial … Continue reading Epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of ovarian disease
The coauthor of: A self-referencing study of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance; and A review of epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of reproductive disease pointed out the opportunity for the researchers of A seasonal epigenetic effect of conception on BMI to have their work make a difference in their field: “The ability of environmental epigenetics to promote an adaptive … Continue reading The imperative of human transgenerational studies
This 2018 Chinese review highlighted areas in which CRISPR/Cas9 technology has, is, and could be applied to rewrite epigenetic changes: “CRISPR/Cas9-mediated epigenome editing holds a great promise for epigenetic studies and therapeutics. It could be used to selectively modify epigenetic marks at a given locus to explore mechanisms of how targeted epigenetic alterations would affect … Continue reading Reversing epigenetic changes with CRISPR/Cas9
This 2018 Japanese review subject was the relationships of organ memory and non-communicable diseases: “Organ memory is the engraved phenotype of altered organ responsiveness acquired by a time-dependent accumulation of organ stress responses. This phenomenon is known as “metabolic memory” or “legacy effect,” which is similar to neuronal and immune memory. Not only is the … Continue reading Organ epigenetic memory
This 2018 UK review discussed three pre-existing conditions of epigenetic genome-wide association studies: “Genome-wide technology has facilitated epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS), permitting ‘hypothesis-free’ examinations in relation to adversity and/or mental health problems. Results of EWAS are in fact conditional on several a priori hypotheses: EWAS coverage is sufficient for complex psychiatric problems; Peripheral tissue is … Continue reading Hidden hypotheses of epigenetic studies
This 2018 Texas human review subject was prostate cancer epigenetics: “We comprehensively review the up-to-date roles of epigenetics in the development and progression of prostate cancer. We especially focus on three epigenetic mechanisms: DNA methylation, histone modifications, and noncoding RNAs. We elaborate on current models/theories that explain the necessity of these epigenetic programs in driving … Continue reading Restoration of a “normal” epigenetic landscape
This 2018 Canadian cell study described the development of a single-cell protocol to: “Profile primitive hematopoietic cells of mouse and human origin to identify epigenetically distinct subpopulations. Deep sampling of the CpG content of individual HSCs allowed for the near complete reconstitution of regulatory states from epigenetically defined subpopulations of HSCs and revealed a high … Continue reading Measuring epigenetic changes at a single-cell level
This 2018 UC San Diego review subject was the interplay between breast cancer treatments and their effects on aging: “Although current breast cancer treatments are largely successful in producing cancer remission and extending lifespan, there is concern that these treatments may have long lasting detrimental effects on cancer survivors, in part, through their impact on … Continue reading Epigenetic effects of breast cancer treatments
This 2018 German review provided short summaries of 44 studies on the contribution of histone modifications to allergies. An overall summary of their search results was: “There are at least two levels at which the role of histone modifications is manifested. One is the regulation of cells that contribute to the allergic inflammation (T cells … Continue reading Allergies and epigenetic histone modifications
