At a time when the effects of paediatric oncology research have meant that more and more children survive cancer, its funding is too low and dependent on short-term grants to be able to sustain this improvement in the long-term, says a report supported by the EU-funded 7th Framework Programme project Eurocancercoms and published on-line in ecancer today (Wednesday February 9)*. The authors also looked at the citation impact of paediatric oncology papers and found that childhood cancer research is once again the poor relation; unlike cancer papers in general, paediatric oncology papers received fewer citations than the average for the journals in which they were published.
“Working in this kind of discouraging environment makes the achievements of childhood cancer research all the more praiseworthy”, said Professor Richard Sullivan, from the Centre for Global OncoPolicy, London, UK, and one of the authors of the report. “About 80% of all childhood cancer patients now survive, due to massive improvements in diagnosis and treatment over the last forty years.”
‘The State of Research into Children with Cancer across Europe – New Policies for a New Decade’ is published by the European Society for Paediatric Oncology (SIOPE) and the Centre for Global OncoPolicy. The report will be presented today (Wednesday 9 February) at a special event in the European Parliament to mark International Childhood Cancer Awareness Day to
wide range of EU policymakers as well as young cancer patients and parents. The authors set out to look at the current state of paediatric oncology research in Europe.
They found that countries with a larger oncology burden, such as those in Eastern Europe, tended not to collaborate in research with those with a better-developed research structure, and this in turn affected the care they were able to give young patients. “Paediatric oncologists from ten countries were asked about their national situations and the differences were striking”, said Professor Kathy Pritchard-Jones, Cancer Programme Director at the UCL Institute of Child Health, London, UK and Past President of SIOPE. “For example, a respondent from Bosnia-Herzegovina cited lack of hospital space, no specialist paediatric oncology radiologists, and inadequate diagnostic facilities, with everything adapted to adult patients. The Czech Republic said that research grants were usually for only three years and there was little support for young scientists to attend international courses and congresses which could help harmonise the level of knowledge across European states.”
In Italy, it was the fragmentation of childhood cancer care which concerned doctors, with nearly 50 centres specialising in paediatric haematology and oncology, and a lack of co-ordination between research laboratories and clinics. In comparison, Sweden has only six paediatric oncology units, which work closely together but, even there, there are problems of funding and a lack of experienced staff. The UK expressed concern about the effects of health service cuts on children’s cancer care, and the fact that infrastructure changes had moved paediatrics alongside the adult cancer model, meaning that research for children now has to compete for funds at a much more visible level with research for adults.
The authors also found large differences in the provision of information on childhood cancer, with variations in the involvement of parental organisations, the use of digital media, and the adoption of a common national standard for information provision. “When a child is sick, the provision of accurate information to the patient and family is essential” said Professor Sullivan. “We believe that the establishment of a European Common Information Portal could do much to tackle major deficiencies in information in countries with few or no patient organisations, or where the existence of a large number of languages make access to such information difficult.”
The authors call for adequate long-term EU funding to support a Europe-wide clinical trials network for paediatric oncology. “This is an essential prerequisite for the effective testing and dissemination of new therapies and techniques”, said Professor Pritchard-Jones. “We also need to study treatment outcomes, and for this the creation of a European Childhood Cancer Epidemiological Registry is essential. With these tools we can maintain the enormous progress that has been made in the past. Without them, we run the risk of jeopardising that progress and failing children who are dependent on us for their survival.”
09 February 2011
Researchers predict nearly 1.3 million cancer deaths in Europe in 2011
There will be nearly 1.3 million deaths from cancer in Europe in 2011 according to predictions from a study published in the cancer journal, Annals of Oncology today (Wednesday 9 February) . The estimates, which have been reached after researchers used for the first time in Europe a new mathematical model for predicting cancer mortality, show a fall in overall cancer death rates for both men and women when compared to 2007. But they also highlight some areas of concern, particularly rising rates of lung cancer in women. Researchers, led by Professor Carlo La Vecchia (MD) of the Department of Epidemiology at the Mario Negri Institute and the Faculty of Medicine, University of Milan (Italy), and Professor Fabio Levi (MD), Head of the Cancer Epidemiology Unit at the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois and University of Lausanne, (Switzerland), used data on cancer deaths in the European Union for the period 1970-2007 to calculate rates of death each year and to identify trends which they used to predict death rates for 2011.
They looked at overall rates in the EU (the EU was defined as the 27 member states as of January 2007), and also individual rates in six major EU countries: France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK. They predicted there would be 1,281,466 cancer deaths in the EU in 2011 (721,252 men and 560,184 women), compared to 1,256,001 (703,872 men and 552,129 women) in 2007. When these figures are converted into world standardised rates per 100,000 of the population, this means there will be a fall from 153.8 per 100,000 to 142.8 per 100,000 in men, and from 90.7 to 85.3 in women – a drop of 7% in men and 6% in women – since 2007. However, the number of women dying from lung cancer is increasing steadily everywhere apart from in the UK, which has had the highest rates in women for a decade and is now seeing a levelling off. In the EU as a whole, world standardised death rates from lung cancer in women have gone up from 12.55 per 100,000 of the female population in 2007 to 13.12 in 2011. Lung cancer has overtaken breast cancer as the first cause of cancer death in Polish women, as well as in women from the UK.
The number of women who will die from lung cancer this year in the UK is 15,632 (compared to 14,900 in 2007); this represents a slight drop in the death rate from 20.57 per 100,000 women in 2007 to 20.33 in 2011. In Poland, 6,343 women will die from lung cancer this year compared to 5,643 in 2007, and this represents an increase in the death rate from 15.53 per 100,000 women to 16.60 in 2011. The overall downward trend in cancer death rates is driven mainly by falls in breast cancer mortality in women, and lung and colorectal cancer in men. “Lung, colorectal and breast cancers are the top causes of cancer deaths, and these are showing major changes,” said Prof La Vecchia. Declines in mortality from other major cancers such as stomach, uterus, prostate and leukaemia are likely to be seen in 2011, say the researchers. A worrying increase in deaths from pancreatic cancer in women, which had been observed in 2004, appears to have levelled off. “Pancreatic cancer mortality is favourably influenced by the decline in smoking in men, but unfavourably influenced by the increased prevalence of obesity and diabetes,” said Prof La Vecchia.
In their study the authors write: “A substantial decline in total cancer mortality rates has been observed since the late 1980s in men and since even earlier in women in the EU. Between 1990-94 and 2000-04 the rates declined by 9% in men…. and by 8% in women….In men the decline has continued in 2007 and will likely carry on up to 2011, and the greatest drop is predicted in Germany. For women too, the declines persist, but the trend in Polish women is less favourable. Given that Poland has the highest total cancer mortality rates in both sexes, the lack of improvement is particularly worrying. In France the predicted decline is also modest, although the 2011 rate in French women remains the second lowest after Spain. This is due to the recent unfavourable trends in lung cancer among French and Spanish women.”
Prof La Vecchia concluded: “Despite these favourable trends in cancer death rates in Europe the number of cancer deaths remains approximately stable, due to the ageing of the population. Further, there is a persisting gap in cancer mortality between central and eastern European countries compared to western Europe, and this is likely to persist for the foreseeable future.” The researchers plan to repeat the study to predict cancer deaths for 2012. They believe that such predictions can help countries to plan their allocation of resources and strategies for preventing, treating and managing cancer.
They looked at overall rates in the EU (the EU was defined as the 27 member states as of January 2007), and also individual rates in six major EU countries: France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK. They predicted there would be 1,281,466 cancer deaths in the EU in 2011 (721,252 men and 560,184 women), compared to 1,256,001 (703,872 men and 552,129 women) in 2007. When these figures are converted into world standardised rates per 100,000 of the population, this means there will be a fall from 153.8 per 100,000 to 142.8 per 100,000 in men, and from 90.7 to 85.3 in women – a drop of 7% in men and 6% in women – since 2007. However, the number of women dying from lung cancer is increasing steadily everywhere apart from in the UK, which has had the highest rates in women for a decade and is now seeing a levelling off. In the EU as a whole, world standardised death rates from lung cancer in women have gone up from 12.55 per 100,000 of the female population in 2007 to 13.12 in 2011. Lung cancer has overtaken breast cancer as the first cause of cancer death in Polish women, as well as in women from the UK.
The number of women who will die from lung cancer this year in the UK is 15,632 (compared to 14,900 in 2007); this represents a slight drop in the death rate from 20.57 per 100,000 women in 2007 to 20.33 in 2011. In Poland, 6,343 women will die from lung cancer this year compared to 5,643 in 2007, and this represents an increase in the death rate from 15.53 per 100,000 women to 16.60 in 2011. The overall downward trend in cancer death rates is driven mainly by falls in breast cancer mortality in women, and lung and colorectal cancer in men. “Lung, colorectal and breast cancers are the top causes of cancer deaths, and these are showing major changes,” said Prof La Vecchia. Declines in mortality from other major cancers such as stomach, uterus, prostate and leukaemia are likely to be seen in 2011, say the researchers. A worrying increase in deaths from pancreatic cancer in women, which had been observed in 2004, appears to have levelled off. “Pancreatic cancer mortality is favourably influenced by the decline in smoking in men, but unfavourably influenced by the increased prevalence of obesity and diabetes,” said Prof La Vecchia.
In their study the authors write: “A substantial decline in total cancer mortality rates has been observed since the late 1980s in men and since even earlier in women in the EU. Between 1990-94 and 2000-04 the rates declined by 9% in men…. and by 8% in women….In men the decline has continued in 2007 and will likely carry on up to 2011, and the greatest drop is predicted in Germany. For women too, the declines persist, but the trend in Polish women is less favourable. Given that Poland has the highest total cancer mortality rates in both sexes, the lack of improvement is particularly worrying. In France the predicted decline is also modest, although the 2011 rate in French women remains the second lowest after Spain. This is due to the recent unfavourable trends in lung cancer among French and Spanish women.”
Prof La Vecchia concluded: “Despite these favourable trends in cancer death rates in Europe the number of cancer deaths remains approximately stable, due to the ageing of the population. Further, there is a persisting gap in cancer mortality between central and eastern European countries compared to western Europe, and this is likely to persist for the foreseeable future.” The researchers plan to repeat the study to predict cancer deaths for 2012. They believe that such predictions can help countries to plan their allocation of resources and strategies for preventing, treating and managing cancer.
ScinoPharm proporciona servicio de fabricación por contrato para el Nuevo fármaco contra la depresión
ScinoPharm, un destacado proveedor de ingredientes farmacéuticos activos (API) y proveedor de servicios de investigación y fabricación por contrato (CRAM) para la industria mundial farmacéutica y de la biotecnología, proporcionará servicio de fabricación comercial para el ingrediente farmacéutico activo (API) hidrocloruro de vilazodone para Viibryd(TM), de Clinical Data, Inc., una nueva entidad de fármaco que acaba de recibir aprobación por medio de la Administración de Fármacos y Alimentos de Estados Unidos.
Viibryd es un nuevo fármaco para el tratamiento de adultos con enfermedad depresiva importante (MDD). El doble mecanismo de acción del fármaco y el perfil de efecto lateral lo diferencian de otros antidepresivos. El uso de Viibryd no causa una importante ganancia de peso o interferencia con la función sexual, tal y como se ha visto en algunos fármacos rivales.
"ScinoPharm se enorgullece de la fructífera asociación con Clinical Data al convertirse en su único proveedor API de hidrocloruro de vilazodone durante el lanzamiento de Viibryd. Comenzando con un proceso de investigación hasta el desarrollo a tiempo y la optimización de los procesos sintéticos complicados, hemos creado una asociación de ganancia", afirmó el doctor Jo Shen, director general y consejero delegado de ScinoPharm.
En una relación similar con Clinical Data, ScinoPharm se ha asociado con otras destacadas compañías farmacéuticas para llevar a cabo servicios personalizados de materiales clínicos a fase comercial. Hasta el momento, la compañía ha gestionado más de 60 proyectos NCE, con cuatro actualmente en fase III y tres que ya han recibido aprobación para su lanzamiento.
ScinoPharm tiene previsto ampliar sus servicios CRAM a través de su nueva planta GMP situada en Changshu, China, que se espera comience a realizar operaciones en el tercer trimestre de 2011. La planta de Changshu ampliará las capacidades generales I+D y de producción de la compañía para capturar las oportunidades empresariales dentro del mercado farmacéutico asiático de rápida expansión.
Viibryd es un nuevo fármaco para el tratamiento de adultos con enfermedad depresiva importante (MDD). El doble mecanismo de acción del fármaco y el perfil de efecto lateral lo diferencian de otros antidepresivos. El uso de Viibryd no causa una importante ganancia de peso o interferencia con la función sexual, tal y como se ha visto en algunos fármacos rivales.
"ScinoPharm se enorgullece de la fructífera asociación con Clinical Data al convertirse en su único proveedor API de hidrocloruro de vilazodone durante el lanzamiento de Viibryd. Comenzando con un proceso de investigación hasta el desarrollo a tiempo y la optimización de los procesos sintéticos complicados, hemos creado una asociación de ganancia", afirmó el doctor Jo Shen, director general y consejero delegado de ScinoPharm.
En una relación similar con Clinical Data, ScinoPharm se ha asociado con otras destacadas compañías farmacéuticas para llevar a cabo servicios personalizados de materiales clínicos a fase comercial. Hasta el momento, la compañía ha gestionado más de 60 proyectos NCE, con cuatro actualmente en fase III y tres que ya han recibido aprobación para su lanzamiento.
ScinoPharm tiene previsto ampliar sus servicios CRAM a través de su nueva planta GMP situada en Changshu, China, que se espera comience a realizar operaciones en el tercer trimestre de 2011. La planta de Changshu ampliará las capacidades generales I+D y de producción de la compañía para capturar las oportunidades empresariales dentro del mercado farmacéutico asiático de rápida expansión.
Lack of sleep found to be a new risk factor for colon cancer
An inadequate amount of sleep has been associated with higher risks of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and death. Now colon cancer can be added to the list. In a ground-breaking new study published in the Feb. 15, 2011 issue of the journal Cancer, researchers from University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, found that individuals who averaged less than six hours of sleep at night had an almost 50 percent increase in the risk of colorectal adenomas compared with individuals sleeping at least seven hours per night. Adenomas are a precursor to cancer tumors, and left untreated, they can turn malignant.
"To our knowledge, this is the first study to report a significant association of sleep duration and colorectal adenomas," said Li Li, MD, PhD, the study's principal investigator, family medicine physician in the Department of Family Medicine at UH Case Medical Center and Associate Professor of Family Medicine, Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. "A short amount of sleep can now be viewed as a new risk factor for the development of the development of colon cancer."
In the study, patients were surveyed by phone prior to coming into the hospital for scheduled colonoscopies at UH Case Medical Center. They were asked demographic information as well as questions from the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), which obtains information about the patient's overall sleep quality during the past month. The PSQI asks for such information as how frequently one has trouble sleeping and how much sleep one has had per night. The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute through Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
Of the 1,240 patients, 338 were diagnosed with colorectal adenomas at their colonoscopy. The patients with adenomas were found in general to have reported sleeping less than six hours compared to compared to those patients without adenomas (control) patients, and the association between amount of sleep and adenomas remained even when adjusted for family history, smoking, and waist-to-hip ratio (a measurement of obesity).
The researchers also found a slightly stronger association of sleep duration with adenomas with women compared to men, but the difference was not statistically significant.
Dr Li said the magnitude of the increase in risk due to less hours of sleep is comparable to the risk associated with having a first-degree relative (parent or sibling) with colon cancer, as well as with high, red meat intake. "Short sleep duration is a public health hazard leading not only to obesity, diabetes and coronary heart disease, but also, as we now have shown in this study, colon adenomas," he said. "Effective intervention to increase duration of sleep and improve quality of sleep could be an under-appreciated avenue for prevention of colorectal cancer."
Although why fewer hours of sleep may lead to colon cancer is unknown, Dr. Li said some of theories include that less sleep may mean less production of melatonin, a natural hormone that in animals has been linked to DNA repair, or that insulin resistance may underlie the link between sleep disturbance and cancer development.
*Source: University Hospitals Case Medical Center
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"To our knowledge, this is the first study to report a significant association of sleep duration and colorectal adenomas," said Li Li, MD, PhD, the study's principal investigator, family medicine physician in the Department of Family Medicine at UH Case Medical Center and Associate Professor of Family Medicine, Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. "A short amount of sleep can now be viewed as a new risk factor for the development of the development of colon cancer."
In the study, patients were surveyed by phone prior to coming into the hospital for scheduled colonoscopies at UH Case Medical Center. They were asked demographic information as well as questions from the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), which obtains information about the patient's overall sleep quality during the past month. The PSQI asks for such information as how frequently one has trouble sleeping and how much sleep one has had per night. The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute through Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
Of the 1,240 patients, 338 were diagnosed with colorectal adenomas at their colonoscopy. The patients with adenomas were found in general to have reported sleeping less than six hours compared to compared to those patients without adenomas (control) patients, and the association between amount of sleep and adenomas remained even when adjusted for family history, smoking, and waist-to-hip ratio (a measurement of obesity).
The researchers also found a slightly stronger association of sleep duration with adenomas with women compared to men, but the difference was not statistically significant.
Dr Li said the magnitude of the increase in risk due to less hours of sleep is comparable to the risk associated with having a first-degree relative (parent or sibling) with colon cancer, as well as with high, red meat intake. "Short sleep duration is a public health hazard leading not only to obesity, diabetes and coronary heart disease, but also, as we now have shown in this study, colon adenomas," he said. "Effective intervention to increase duration of sleep and improve quality of sleep could be an under-appreciated avenue for prevention of colorectal cancer."
Although why fewer hours of sleep may lead to colon cancer is unknown, Dr. Li said some of theories include that less sleep may mean less production of melatonin, a natural hormone that in animals has been linked to DNA repair, or that insulin resistance may underlie the link between sleep disturbance and cancer development.
*Source: University Hospitals Case Medical Center
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Los alimentos sólidos a los bebés antes de los cuatro meses puede generar obesidad
La Academia Americana de Pediatría ha dado a conocer un estudio en el cual se explica la introducción excesivamente temprana de alimentos sólidos en los bebés está relacionada con la posterior obesidad infantil. Esto se da especialmente entre aquellos niños que están siendo alimentados con leche de fórmula y no así en aquellos que habían tenido una lactancia materna.
Los pediatras recomiendan que la introducción de las primeras comidas sólidas (papillas, yogurt, etc) comience entre los 4 y 6 meses de edad de los niños. Pero a muchos de ellos sin embargo se les da este tipo de alimento antes de alcanzar el cuarto mes de vida. Un grupo de investigadores ha comparados los índices de obesidad en 847 niños de 3 años, llegando a la conclusión que los niños que comenzaron a comer antes de lo recomendable (y que previamente no estaban tomando leche materna) tenían un 6 veces más posibilidades de padecer de obesidad infantil que quienes lo habían hecho luego.
Los pediatras recomiendan que la introducción de las primeras comidas sólidas (papillas, yogurt, etc) comience entre los 4 y 6 meses de edad de los niños. Pero a muchos de ellos sin embargo se les da este tipo de alimento antes de alcanzar el cuarto mes de vida. Un grupo de investigadores ha comparados los índices de obesidad en 847 niños de 3 años, llegando a la conclusión que los niños que comenzaron a comer antes de lo recomendable (y que previamente no estaban tomando leche materna) tenían un 6 veces más posibilidades de padecer de obesidad infantil que quienes lo habían hecho luego.
Fuente: Health Children
Las personas que hablan de manera similar son más compatibles
Las personas que hablan y se expresan de una manera similar son más compatibles, según un estudio basado en el análisis del lenguaje y que elimina sustantivos y verbos para centrarse en las que los expertos han denominado como palabras función, como preposiciones, artículos o expresiones.
El trabajo se ha publicado en la revista Psychological Science. Según uno de sus autores , James Pennebaker, el cómo se utilizan palabras como 'nada', 'uno', 'que', 'se', 'él', e 'y', por escrito, constituye la forma de hablar. "Las palabras funcionales son muy sociales y requieren habilidades de uso sociales", ha destacado.
Para llegar a las conclusiones del trabajo, los expertos realizaron dos experimentos en los que un programa de ordenador comparaba los diferentes estilos de un idioma. En el primer análisis, se ha podido determinar que en grupos de universitarios hay conversaciones muy similares con preguntas comunes como "¿de dónde eres?", "¿qué te parece la universidad?", "¿qué especialidad quieres escoger?".
Sin embargo, los investigadores han encontrado "marcadas diferencias en la sincronía del lenguaje" y sólo aquellos que tenían en común la mayoría de las palabras función se mostraban más propensos a querer una relación en el futuro.
En el segundo estudio se reveló el mismo patrón entre las personas que participan en chats especializados en buscar parejas. En este caso, han señalado que las parejas cuyos estilos de escritura eran parecidos seguían quedando tres meses más tarde.
En este sentido, Pennebaker ha apuntado que "lo que la gente habla entre sí es importante, pero la forma en que se lo están diciendo puede ser aún más reveladora porque uno no es consciente de que sincroniza su discurso". "Sabemos que las personas tienden a sentirse atraídos con otras personas que se asemejan en términos de personalidad, valores y la apariencia física. Sin embargo, la forma en que la gente habla también es importante", ha concluido.
**EP
El trabajo se ha publicado en la revista Psychological Science. Según uno de sus autores , James Pennebaker, el cómo se utilizan palabras como 'nada', 'uno', 'que', 'se', 'él', e 'y', por escrito, constituye la forma de hablar. "Las palabras funcionales son muy sociales y requieren habilidades de uso sociales", ha destacado.
Para llegar a las conclusiones del trabajo, los expertos realizaron dos experimentos en los que un programa de ordenador comparaba los diferentes estilos de un idioma. En el primer análisis, se ha podido determinar que en grupos de universitarios hay conversaciones muy similares con preguntas comunes como "¿de dónde eres?", "¿qué te parece la universidad?", "¿qué especialidad quieres escoger?".
Sin embargo, los investigadores han encontrado "marcadas diferencias en la sincronía del lenguaje" y sólo aquellos que tenían en común la mayoría de las palabras función se mostraban más propensos a querer una relación en el futuro.
En el segundo estudio se reveló el mismo patrón entre las personas que participan en chats especializados en buscar parejas. En este caso, han señalado que las parejas cuyos estilos de escritura eran parecidos seguían quedando tres meses más tarde.
En este sentido, Pennebaker ha apuntado que "lo que la gente habla entre sí es importante, pero la forma en que se lo están diciendo puede ser aún más reveladora porque uno no es consciente de que sincroniza su discurso". "Sabemos que las personas tienden a sentirse atraídos con otras personas que se asemejan en términos de personalidad, valores y la apariencia física. Sin embargo, la forma en que la gente habla también es importante", ha concluido.
**EP
Un estudio descubre una alteración en el ADN que puede producir el sonambulismo
Un grupo de investigadores de la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de Washington( EEUU) afiman haber descubierto el código genético que genera el sonambulismo en los humanos tras haber analizado el ADN de una familia durante cuatro generaciones. En concreto, y según los resultados del estudio que publica la revista 'Neurology', el problema puede surgir a raíz de una alteración en el código genético ubicado en el cromosoma 20, que aseguran puede ser suficiente para que una persona acostumbre a levantarse y caminar mientras duerme. Este trastorno afecta a hasta el 10 por ciento de la población infantil y a un dos por ciento de los adultos, y en algunos casos puede provocar incidentes peligrosos, ya que hay quienes salen de casa o se monta en su coche para conducir, lo que ha provocado la muerte de algunos afectados. Sin embargo, los estudios sobre el origen del sonambulismo son todavía pobres y normalmente se suele asociar al exceso de cansancio o estrés.
Dado que este trastorno suele darse en varios miembros de una misma familia, los expertos quisieron analizar el ADN de una de ellas a lo largo de varias generaciones. A lo largo de cuatro generaciones, nueve de los 22 miembros eran sonámbulos y uno de los más pequeños, Ana, de 12 años, suele salir habitualmente de casa y vagar durante la noche.Utilizando muestras de saliva para analizar el ADN de todos los miembros, observaron que el problema podría surgir de una alteración del código genético ubicado en el cromosoma 20, que se había transmitido de generación en generación y hacía sonámbulo a quien la tuviese. Aunque todavía no han determinado cuál es el gen exacto que condiciona la aparición de este trastorno --hay hasta 28 genes implicados--, los autores apuntan a que la clave puede ser una alteración de la adenosina deaminasa, que ya se ha relacionado con otras patologías del sueño. Según ha explicado la doctora Christina Gurnett, autora de la investigación, en declaraciones a la BBC recogidas por Europa Press, "es posible que varios genes condicionen el sonambulismo", si bien "este avance es ya un hallazgo importante que puede ayudar a identificar y tratar este trastorno".
**Agencias
Dado que este trastorno suele darse en varios miembros de una misma familia, los expertos quisieron analizar el ADN de una de ellas a lo largo de varias generaciones. A lo largo de cuatro generaciones, nueve de los 22 miembros eran sonámbulos y uno de los más pequeños, Ana, de 12 años, suele salir habitualmente de casa y vagar durante la noche.Utilizando muestras de saliva para analizar el ADN de todos los miembros, observaron que el problema podría surgir de una alteración del código genético ubicado en el cromosoma 20, que se había transmitido de generación en generación y hacía sonámbulo a quien la tuviese. Aunque todavía no han determinado cuál es el gen exacto que condiciona la aparición de este trastorno --hay hasta 28 genes implicados--, los autores apuntan a que la clave puede ser una alteración de la adenosina deaminasa, que ya se ha relacionado con otras patologías del sueño. Según ha explicado la doctora Christina Gurnett, autora de la investigación, en declaraciones a la BBC recogidas por Europa Press, "es posible que varios genes condicionen el sonambulismo", si bien "este avance es ya un hallazgo importante que puede ayudar a identificar y tratar este trastorno".
**Agencias
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