Two people have the same genetic disease. One of them goes blind in childhood, the other much later in life. It is a phenomenon that has intrigued researchers for years, and is a focus of the field of epigenetics, the study of changes in gene expression caused by mechanisms other than changes in the underlying DNA sequence.

Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine have uncovered something that may help explain how people not genetically predisposed to epilepsy develop the disorder.
Published in the Journal of Neuroscience, the study⁽¹⁾ reports that a gene known to predispose people who inherit an active form of it to certain forms of epilepsy, can be "switched on" in mice that do not appear to have inherited the active form, and thus a genetic predisposition, to the condition.

Aging patients confined to wheelchairs by non-healing fractures were able to walk and live independently again following treatment with the osteoporosis drug teriparatide (Forteo), a preliminary study has found. Research presented in February at the Orthopaedic Research Society meeting showed that out of 145 patients who had an unhealed bone fracture, half of them for six months or longer, 93 percent showed significant healing and pain control after being on teriparatide, a recombinant form of parathyroid hormone, for only eight to 12 weeks.

Niacin, known also as vitamin B3 or nicotinic acid, has long been seen as one of the best weapons in cholesterol management. It is cheap and effective. It is able to lower levels of fatty acids, triglycerides, and to a lesser extent, LDL- the "bad" cholesterol. At the same time it can impressively raise HDL levels (the "good" cholesterol). There's just this one drawback. Nobody likes taking niacin because for most people, it causes alarming and embarrassing flushing, an intense rush of blood to the face and other skin surfaces along with itching, prickling sensations.

A Medical College of Georgia study has shown that individuals with schizophrenia are at high risk for type 2 diabetes.

In the study, 50 people newly-diagnosed with schizophrenia or related psychotic disorders with no other known risk factors were looked at. 16 percent either had diabetes or an abnormal rate of glucose metabolism, says Dr. Brian Kirkpatrick, MCG Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior.