A round-up of today's other news stories in brief
Centre for chronic conditions opens.
A NEW centre to treat a number of chronic conditions called primary immunodeficiencies (PID) will be opened today by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Barry Andrews (above). The Jeffrey Modell Research and Diagnostic Centre for Primary Immunodeficiencies will be run jointly by Beaumont and St James’s hospitals and by the New York-based Jeffrey Modell Foundation. Primary immunodeficiencies are a group of chronic conditions that affect the body’s immune system.
- RONAN McGREEVY
'Faulty gene' find offers new hope for migraine sufferers
MIGRAINE SUFFERERS have been offered new hope after researchers identified a faulty gene responsible for the debilitating headaches.
The finding could lead to better treatment and improve the quality of life for the one in five people who have the neurological disorder.
Scientists at the University of Oxford, along with colleagues in Canada, took DNA samples from migraine sufferers and their families. They found that if a gene called Tresk is defective, it can trigger pain nerves in the brain and cause a severe headache.
The discovery explains why people in the same family are often affected by the condition and could lead to new drugs that can switch off the pain.
Dr Zameel Cader, from the Medical Research Council’s Functional Genomics Unit at the University of Oxford, said: “We have now made a major step forward in our understanding of why people suffer with migraine and how, in certain cases, your family can literally give you a headache.
“Previous studies have identified parts of our DNA that increase the risk in the general population but have not found genes which can be directly responsible for common migraine. What we’ve found is that migraines seem to depend on how sensitive our nerves are in the pain centres of the brain.
“This finding should help lead to the key player which controls this excitability and will give us a real opportunity to find a new way to fight migraines.”
The study, published in Nature Medicine, was funded by the Medical Research Council, Genome Canada, Genome Quebec, Emerillon Therapeutics, the Wellcome Trust and Pfizer. – (PA)
Cancer charities to raise €250,000 with gala ball
CANCER charities are set to benefit from a gala ball on Saturday night which will raise at least €250,000.
The Ireland Stands Up To Cancer ball, which will be the first gala event at the Convention Centre Dublin (CCD), has sold out despite the recession with 920 tickets selling at €200 each.
It marks a welcome return for charities to a source of funding which raised millions during the Celtic Tiger years, but was one of the first casualties of the economic downturn.
The charities involved are the All Ireland Cooperative Oncology Research Group (ICORG), Friends of St Luke’s Hospital, The Children’s Cancer Fund, Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin and The Marie Keating Foundation.
The event will coincide with an awareness-raising week on Newstalk radio station this week to highlight the research being carried out in Ireland.
It is also hoped to feature interviews with both Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan, who is receiving treatment for pancreatic cancer, and Kylie Minogue who has survived breast cancer.
ICORG chief executive Brian Moulton said the public still talked about cancer “in hushed tones” when the medical profession were making huge strides in tackling all forms of the disease.
“Things really are improving at an exciting rate,” he said.
“We’re going to talk about the positive stories surrounding these charities, the research we bring to people and we will have a number of people talking about really significant advances in cancer screening and the biology of cancer.”
- RONAN McGREEVY