PRESS
Pfizer's Viagra Faces FDA Review for Use in Children With Lung Condition
July 27, 2010
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FDA Grants Orphan Drug Status For Cyclodextrin Compound To Treat Fatal Genetic Cholesterol Disease
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AltheaDx and The Nicholas Conor Institute for Pediatric Cancer Research Announce Molecular Diagnostics Collaboration to Improve the Diagnosis and Treatment of Childhood Cancer
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April 12, 2010
PhRMA Honors Patient Advocates Ron and Raychel Bartek
March 18, 2010
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First whole genome sequencing of family of 4 reveals new genetic power
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GENE THERAPY REVERSES EFFECTS OF LETHAL CHILDHOOD MUSCLE DISORDER IN MICE
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CHI SUPPORTS RESEARCH AND HOPE FOR PATIENTS OF RARE DISEASES
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RARE DISEASE ADVOCATES UNITE TO TRANSLATE SLOGAN OF GLOBAL GENES PROJECT IN TIME FOR WORLD RARE DISEASE DAY!
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GLOBAL GENES PROJECT TO RAISE AWARENESS FOR MILLIONS OF CHILDREN LIVING WITH RARE DISEASE
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THE PATIENT ASCENDANT
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FUTURE OF NEWBORN SCREENING ENVISIONED: PROCEEDINGS NOW VIEWABLE ONLINE
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CHILDREN'S RARE DISEASE NETWORK RECEIVES LIFE TECHNOLOGIES FOUNDATION GRANT
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SIGNATURE GENOMIC LABORATORIES DETECTS CHROMOSOME ABNORMALITIES IN INDIVIDUALS WITH PALLISTER-KILLIAN SYNDROME WITHOUT INVASIVE SKIN BIOPSY
May 7, 2009
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SIGNATURE GENOMIC LABORATORIES DETECTS CHROMOSOME ABNORMALITIES IN INDIVIDUALS WITH PALLISTER-KILLIAN SYNDROME WITHOUT INVASIVE SKIN BIOPSY
May 7, 2009
SPOKANE, Wash., May 07, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Geneticists at Signature Genomic Laboratories have demonstrated that microarray-based genetic testing can identify a rare genetic disorder using DNA from blood rather than the more-invasive skin biopsy routinely used for testing.
Pallister-Killian syndrome (PKS) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by mental retardation, seizures, streaks of hypo- or hyperpigmentation and coarse facial features. PKS results from the presence of four, rather than the normal two, copies of the short arm of chromosome 12 in some of the body's cells. The extra fragments of DNA usually cannot be identified in the cultured cells derived from blood used for conventional chromosome analysis, necessitating a painful skin biopsy for diagnosis. In their study, published in the May issue of the American Journal of Medical Genetics, geneticists at Signature reported eight individuals referred for testing for unexplained mental retardation or developmental delay in whom microarray analysis of uncultured DNA from peripheral blood identified a two-copy gain of the short arm of chromosome 12. In all but one individual, traditional cytogenetic analysis using cultured cells could not identify the abnormality, a discrepancy the authors attribute to the inability of abnormal cells to compete with normal cells during the culturing process required for conventional chromosome analysis. The authors suggest that, because it does not require cultured cells for analysis, microarray analysis can better detect chromosome abnormalities that are not present in every cell.
"These results show that microarray analysis can circumvent some of the inherent technical limitations of traditional chromosome analysis in the identification of abnormalities that are not present in every cell," said Dr. Lisa G. Shaffer, Ph.D., President and CEO of Signature and senior author of the study. "Furthermore, although Pallister-Killian syndrome is rare, individuals suspected to have the disorder can be tested using DNA derived from a simple blood draw rather than submit to a painful and invasive skin biopsy."
About Signature Genomic Laboratories, LLC
Signature Genomic Laboratories is the leader in providing microarray-based chromosome analysis. Signature's worldwide client base includes clinical geneticists, neurologists, pediatricians, neonatologists, obstetricians, and the research community. Signature is CAP accredited, CLIA certified, and has clinical licenses from California, New York, Rhode Island and Florida. Additional information about Signature Genomic Laboratories is available at www.signaturegenomics.com.
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