: Recent events and dramatic progress in genetics research conspire to create the need for this Core Laboratory as part of an acute stroke therapy Program Project. Genetic profiling of stroke patients may help better identify and predict clinical behavior. For instance, genetic markers might predict tendency to hemorrhage after rtPA, and response to various neuroprotective therapies, particularly those based on targeting gene-activated pathways. Through proteomics, we may be able to develop a diagnostic profile that can help determine the presence, amount, and age of ischemic damage, thereby providing assurance to Clinicians when deciding if a patient indeed has had a stroke that might qualify for urgent treatment. The potential for these Clinical applications led the recent Stroke PRG to identify the study of genomics and proteomics as a top research priority. The PRG group called for banking of blood samples for future genetic studies to be obtained as part of all clinical trials, along with careful documentation of clinical and demographic features on each patient. The Genetics program at the University of Texas Houston Medical School, under the direction of Drs. Dianna Milewicz and Eric Boerwinkle, has undergone exponential growth in its research activities, and is anxious to establish collaborative research ties with vigorous Clinical research groups like our Stroke program. While no specific research protocols are proposed in this Program Project, the establishment of this Core Laboratory under the direction of Dr. Milewicz will position us to begin novel genetic studies within the context of our clinical trials. Furthermore, it will enable us to participate in collaborative genetic research among other SPOTRIAS centers.
SPECIFIC AIM : To support genomics-based clinical research on acute stroke patients in the CRC. As recommended by the Stroke PRG, the laboratory will harvest and bank genomic DNA samples from all patients enrolled in the acute stroke trials carried out as part of the Program Project, and provide high-throughput DNA genotyping and sequencing. The facility will support ongoing collaborative research projects within the institution and will serve as a resource for collaborative studies across all the SPOTRIAS centers.
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