Genome-Wide Meta-Analysis for Serum Calcium Identifies Significantly Associated SNPs near the Calcium-Sensing Receptor (CASR) Gene
Kapur et al., PLoS Genetics
An international team of researchers reports its genome-wide association study of serum calcium's association with SNPs in or near the calcium-sensing receptor gene on 3q13. "This genome-wide meta-analysis shows that common CASR variants modulate serum calcium levels in the adult general population," the researchers write, adding that their "results show that CASR is a key player in genetic regulation of serum calcium in the adult general population."
Personalized Medicine's Starts and Fits
December 10, 2009
Personalized medicine, says this article in The Scientist, could breathe new life into failed drug candidates. "If Merck could have known in advance who would have cardiovascular problems from Vioxx, they may not have had to withdraw it from the market," Personalized Medicine Coalition's Edward Abrahams says. "'Failed' just means it failed in a percent of the population." And as Francis Collins settles in as the head of NIH, the article adds, many expect that personalized medicine will move to the top of the to-do list
In an accompanying editorial, Richard Gallagher writes that "we've stumbled forward a little on the road to personalized medicine, but it looks like the pace towards Nirvana is about to pick up."
We said the same thing in
We said the same thing in 2004 when vioxx first got pulled. Microarrays can do the job of accurate companion diagnostics now at a cost that makes financial sense. todd@arrayit.com