April 19, 2006. Found in 20% of people of African descent: MUHC describes gene that shuts down immune system

Caspase-12 is a molecule with a death wish. Found only in people of African descent, this protein shuts down our body's immune system, opening the door to potentially lethal infections. In a groundbreaking new study published in the prestigious journal Nature this week, the team that first discovered the role of caspase-12 in humans has now uncovered the mechanism by which it sabotages us, allowing researchers to develop methods to counter its damaging effects...

to read more click on http://www.muhc.ca/media/news/?ItemID=20534

The Gazette, Tuesday, January 03, 2006, Momar Ndao holds a glass jar up to the light and smiles mischievously. Coiled in the jar is a roundworm parasite, more than 30 centimetres long, floating in formaldehyde. It looks like a thick noodle, but this parasite - Ascaris lumbricoides - is far from harmless.
It grows in the stomachs of humans. It can slither its way into the small intestine, causing fatal peritonitis.
"Parasites are so clever," Ndao, 42, says...

to read more click on http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/montreal/story.html?id=5051a00d-0f69-44f7-91b7-a924be27e184

January 17, 2005. The discoveries of two investigators from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) have been listed in the prestigious Québec Science magazine's Top Ten Discoveries of 2004. The February issue of the publication describes the pioneering work of Dr. Erwin Schurr and Dr. Qutayba Hamid. Dr. Schurr is recognized for his identification of leprosy susceptibility genes...

to read more click on http://www.muhc.ca/media/news/?ItemID=13981

January 27, 2004. A Link Between Leprosy and Parkinson's? : Leprosy is infamous for disfiguring its victims with boils and decaying flesh, but underlying the disease are degenerating nerves. Now researchers investigating a region of DNA that can render some people more susceptible to the scourge have found a potential link between leprosy and another neurodegenerative disease...

to read more click on http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2004/127/1

January 25, 2004. Leprosy susceptibility genes identified : The eradication of leprosy, one of the world’s oldest and most feared diseases, may be one step closer. An international research team lead by scientists from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) discovered that small changes in certain genes...

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November 3, 2003. Susceptibility to Malaria : Approximately forty percent of the world's population is at risk of malaria infection. New research from McGill University and the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre suggests that some individuals may be naturally resistant to this infection. Their findings, published in the December issue of Nature Genetics...

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November, 4 2003. Mice Inherit Resistance To Malaria : In the December issue of Nature Genetics, Philippe Gros and colleagues at McGill University, report that mice lacking a metabolic enzyme (pyruvate kinase) are protected from their malaria parasite...

to read more click on http://hum-molgen.org/NewsGen/11-2003/000009.html

February 10, 2003. Host Gene That Makes People Vulnerable to Leprosy Discovered : An international research team, led by Dr. Erwin Schurr and Dr. Thomas Hudson, Scientists at the McGill University Health Centre, have identified a gene on human chromosome 6 that makes people vulnerable to leprosy. The study will be published in the March 2003 issue of Nature Genetics...

to read more click on http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/medicine_health/report-16339.html