Mixed Bag

Newly discovered gene regulator could precisely target sickle cell disease
A research team from Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center and other institutions has discovered a new genetic target for potential therapy of sickle cell disease (SCD). The target, called an enhancer, controls a molecular switch in red blood cells called BCL11A that, in turn, regulates hemoglobin production. MedicalXpress

Diabetics' Beta Cells Don't Quit Completely (CME/CE)
Even patients with long-standing type 1 diabetes have very low levels of residual beta cell function and make small amounts of insulin, researchers found. In a small study of 74 patients who'd had diabetes for a median of 30 years, 73% still had detectable C-peptide levels of as low as 3.3 pmol/L after a meal, Richard Oram, MD, of Exeter University in England, and colleagues reported online in Diabetologia. (C-peptide is a byproduct when insulin is produced.) MedPage Today

Erosive Hand OA Linked to Lipids (CME/CE)
The pattern of joint involvement in erosive OA was similar to that seen in severe non-erosive disease, particularly for symmetry, with an adjusted odds ratio of 6.5 (95% CI 3-14.1) for involvement of the same joint in the opposite hand, according to Michelle Marshall, PhD, of Keele University in Staffordshire, England, and colleagues.

But individuals with erosive hand OA had more than twice the risk of metabolic syndrome (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1-7.1) and more than four times the risk of dyslipidemia (OR 4.7, 95% CI 2.1-10.6) compared with patients who had severe non-erosive OA, the researchers reported online in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. MedPage Today

Stomach Cells Naturally Revert to Stem Cells
Scientists from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Utrecht Medical Center in the Netherlands report in the new study that a class of specialized cells in the stomach reverts to stem cells more often than they thought.

“We already knew that these cells, which are called chief cells, can change back into stem cells to make temporary repairs in significant stomach injuries, such as a cut or damage from infection,” said Jason Mills, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine at Washington University. “The fact that they’re making this transition more often, even in the absence of noticeable injuries, suggests that it may be easier than we realized to make some types of mature, specialized adult cells revert to stem cells.” NewsWise

Maine Becomes First State to Allow Purchase of Mail-Order Drugs from Abroad (FREE)
On Wednesday, Maine became the first state to allow the direct purchase of medications from foreign pharmacies, the Wall Street Journal reports. Drug manufacturers have filed a lawsuit, saying the move puts consumers at risk for counterfeit or tainted products. Maine's governor counters, "It's not a safety issue. It's turf." Journal Watch

Rise in Thyroid Cancers Not 'Incidental' (CME/CE)
Patients whose thyroid cancer was detected as an incidental finding tend to be older and have later-stage disease -- although tumor size and metastases aren't much different from thyroid cancer diagnosed clinically, researchers found. That suggests the rise in thyroid cancer seen over the last few decades isn't solely attributable to an increase in incidental findings, David Goldenberg, MD, of Hershey Medical Center in Pennsylvania, and colleagues reported online in JAMA Otolaryngology -- Head & Neck Surgery. MedPage Today

Afib Higher in Whites Than Minorities (CME/CE)
Whites are more likely to develop atrial fibrillation than blacks and other ethnic groups, suggesting that European ancestry may be a risk factor for the disease.

Whites exhibited a higher risk for the arrhythmia than blacks (HR 0.84, 95% CI 0.82-0.85; P < 0.001), Hispanics (HR 0.78, 95% CI 0.77-0.79: P < 0.001) and Asians (HR 0.78, 95% CI 0.77-0.79; P < 0.001) in an analysis of hospital treatment data on 14 million Californians that used adjusted multivariate Cox modeling.

The greater risk among whites was found to be most pronounced in the absence of cardiovascular comorbidities, researcher Gregory Marcus, MD, of the University of California San Francisco, and colleagues wrote in the Oct. 11 issue of the journal Circulation. MedPage Today

Oral pazopanib improves sight in macular degeneration cases
Oral pazopanib is well tolerated and improves mean best-corrected visual acuity, central retinal lesion thickness, and central retinal thickness at day 29 in a small, per-protocol, non-rescued population of patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to a study published online Oct. 10 in JAMA Ophthalmology. MedicalXpress