TO MARK International DNA Day on April 25, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics (CING) announced ten of its most important achievements in the last year, including the discovery that Cypriot women are more susceptible to breast cancer if they do not follow the Mediterranean diet.
The research for this discovery was done by Professor Kyriacos Kyriacou and was published in the Biomed Central Cancer magazine.
“2013 marks the 60th anniversary of the discovery of the double helix of DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick and the 10th anniversary of the first sequencing of the human genome,” chief executive Medical Director, Professor Philippos Patsalis said.
International DNA Day commemorates the day in 1953 when James Watson, Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins, Rosalind Franklin and colleagues published papers in the journal Nature on the structure of DNA. On the same day in 2003 it was declared that the Human Genome Project was very close to completion.
The Human Genome Project was the international, collaborative research programme whose goal was the complete mapping and understanding of all the genes of human beings. All our genes together are known as our "genome".
Patsalis went on to reveal the other major discoveries the institute had made including the start of gene therapy to cure inherent neuropathy and encephalopathy with the use of virus’ that can replace the missing genes. The study was developed by Professor Kleopa Kleopa.
“Dr. Savvas Papacosta and his team worked on pain relief for Parkinson’s Disease sufferers. They completed the first two operations in Cyprus to implant electrodes into the brain to combat pain which cannot usually be cured with the use of pharmaceuticals,” Patsalis said.
A team of doctors headed by Dr Marios Pantzari have internationally patented a pharmaceutical supplement which helps battle multiple sclerosis, with their research published in the British Medical Journal.
“Dr. Marina Kleanthous team applied a prenatal cure for the prevention of thalassaemia by replacing faulty genes with genes taken from the mother’s umbilical cord of a previously born child. They also managed to apply the non-operational diagnosis of thalassaemia in pregnant women,” Patsalis added. Their work was published in the European Journal of Human Genetics.
By using the molecular technique, array-CGH, Dr. Carolina Sismani’s team managed to detect chromosomal defects in unborn children, proving more effective than pathological diagnosis of such defects. Biomedical Research International published their work.
Professor Leonidas Fylaktou’s research team found genes in the blood linked with muscle degeneration that are linked to muscular dystrophy. This discovery will help doctors diagnose the problems earlier and will help sufferers deal with it more effectively.
A team from the department of neurogenetics headed by Professor Kyproulla Christodoulou have recently finished a study on Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome, which is a genetic disorder of the peripheral nervous system characterised by progressive loss of muscle tissue and touch sensation across various parts of the body. Their research on the incurable syndrome was published in the European Journal of Medical Genetics.
Patsalis’ team recently finished their clinical trial on non-invasive the prenatal diagnosis of Down’s Syndrome, with 175 cases and almost a 100 per cent success rate. Their work was published in Prenatal Diagnosis and Nature Medicine.
“Only through better knowledge will we be able to make quick and exact diagnoses to prevent or radically cure the diseases which are the scourge of mankind,” he concluded.
