Articles that explore the connection between epigenetics and diseases and disorders, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, autoimmune disease, and more.
Heart disease is one of the most prevalent ailments among Americans, and can often be deadly. According to the CDC, about 1 in 4 deaths is directly related to heart disease, and it is the leading cause of death among both men and women in the US. Risk factors that contribute to the development of heart disease include poor diet, lack of exercise, high blood pressure, and smoking. Coronary artery disease is the leading type of heart disease and is [more…]
There are many different diets available in the nutritional world today that could dramatically adjust our gut bacteria, depending on what we consume. High-fat, low-carb diets, low-fat, high-carb diets, fasting, and cleanses are just a few examples of popular diets, and even what some may call “fads”, which might leave a person confused (and hungry). Maintaining dietary health is one of the most important factors in ensuring a long, prosperous life. Often times we forget to prioritize healthy eating habits [more…]
Many people believe that breastfeeding is the best gift a mother can offer to her child. It has lots of benefits, not only because breast milk contains the right amount of nutrients, but also because it’s packed with lots of antibodies and biologically active compounds that play a key role in boosting a baby’s immune system. We have already seen how maternal nutrition and lifestyle can shape the development and future health of a baby via epigenetic mechanisms. Among many [more…]
It is estimated that 1 in 59 children in the United States fall somewhere on the autism spectrum. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that affects the nervous system and is characterized by challenges with speech, social skills and communication. Many factors can determine a child’s predisposition to developing autism, such as genetic mutations during brain development, chemical imbalance, and certain genetic disorders like tuberous sclerosis and fragile X syndrome. Autism has been an incredibly difficult disease to [more…]
HIV is a chronic viral infection that attacks the immune system, eventually incapacitating its ability to fight infection leaving the person vulnerable to the development of AIDS, which often leads to death. Anti-retroviral therapies can help to control the virus, but complete eradication of the virus has been tricky to achieve due its stealthy ability to hide from the immune system. HIV is unable to reproduce itself, so it relies on hijacking cellular machinery in order to ensure its survival. [more…]
DNA is the blueprint from which most living organisms are built. It makes up the genes that carry the distinctive characteristics and information that determine physical appearance and health, and it makes everybody unique. At the beginning of life, human embryos inherit genes from both their mother and father, and although the actual genes cannot be altered, the way they are expressed can be influenced by epigenetics. Parents can have a huge epigenetic influence on the development of an embryo [more…]
Viruses can cause many different health problems in humans including HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, herpes, and even cancer. They are an extremely small foreign organism that invade healthy cells, and seek to wreak havoc in a healthy human or animal. Viruses are comprised of either RNA or DNA covered in a protein shell, and cannot reproduce on their own, so they rely on their host to survive. Once a virus is inside the body, it hijacks the machinery of healthy cells by [more…]
CRISPR/Cas9 is receiving a lot of buzz as a precise gene editing tool, but did you know it may also be an epigenome editing tool? Scientists from the Salk Institute used a modified CRISPR/Cas9 technique to alter gene activity rather than altering the actual underlying gene itself. They accomplished this in mouse models with disease-associated genes, treating several different diseases including kidney disease, muscular dystrophy, and type 1 diabetes. In 2014, What is Epigenetics covered the breakthrough of CRISPR/Cas9 and [more…]
Have you ever heard the old saying “you are what you eat?” This is not just an expression anymore, as scientists have discovered that we are what we eat and possibly even what our parents or grandparents ate. As surprising as it sounds, a pregnant woman’s diet and lifestyle, as well as the diet of an infant in his or her first years of life, may shape the child’s lifelong health or cause them to be more disease prone, not [more…]
Fascinating new research out of Drexel University suggests that restoring balance to certain epigenetic enzymes might reinstate memory and lead us closer to a potential therapy for Alzheimer’s disease. This devastating type of dementia causes issues with memory, cognition, and behavior. Could epigenetics help reverse symptoms and bring back cognitive abilities in those with Alzheimer’s? The symptoms usually appear gradually and worsen over time, such as memory loss, difficulty planning or solving problems, and confusion with time or place. According [more…]
