View clinical trials related to Epigenetics.
Filter by:Topical Rapamycin ointment will be applied to participant forearms to test whether epigenetic changes in the skin are elicited.
This study tests the effectiveness of dietary interventions that have the possibility to improve markers of gut health and improve general well-being. This study will allow healthcare professionals to learn how dietary interventions involving fasting can affect health. Food is increasingly recognized as a core component of preventive and ameliorative health care. Juice fasting has quickly become one of the most popular self-prescribed dietary interventions in the United States. A wide variety of juice fasts are available in the popular market; a popular variation is the three-day juice fast. The purpose of this study is to assess the effects of a three-day juice fast on certain markers of age-related disease and bio-markers of longevity. In particular, this study will assess certain epigenetic markers, which measure how the environment (including diet) can change the way that genes are expressed without changing the genes themselves. The study will also assess the microbiome, and inflammatory and glycemic markers.
Periodontitis is related to host genetics, constitution of the dental biofilm and environmental factors such as smoking. DNA methylation is a mechanism of genetic expression that can inhibit or silence gene expression. In this way several researchers have been dedicated to study the genetic influence on the susceptibility and / or increased risk to periodontal disease. Studies have reported association between several epigenetic biomarkers with periodontal inflammation. Considering the hypothesis that there is an association between smoking and methylation in genes related to periodontal disease, the objective of this study was to verify the DNA methylation pattern in oral epithelial cells of patients with chronic periodontitis (CP) in the promoter of a specific gene involved in the control of inflammation, as suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) 1 in smokers and nonsmokers patients.
An overwhelming body of evidence of the protective effect of folic acid supplementation on neural tube defect affected pregnancies led to mandatory folic acid fortification in Canada in 1998. Folate is an important co-factor in the transfer of one-carbon units essential in DNA synthesis, repair, and methylation reactions, aberrations of which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of several chronic diseases including cancer. Epigenetic reprogramming occurs in utero and has the potential to be modulated by the methyl donor supply of which folate is a contributor. Animal studies have shown maternal folate exposure can modulate epigenetic changes in the offspring, however, there is limited evidence of this relationship in humans. The aim of this research is to determine the effects of maternal dietary folate and supplemental folic acid intake during the periconceptional and in utero periods on global and gene-specific DNA methylation in human infants. This is a prospective observational study involving 368 Canadian mother-child pairs recruited from St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, Ontario. Dietary and demographical information was collected from consenting pregnant women at study baseline (12-16 weeks gestation) and in the third trimester (34-37 weeks gestation). Maternal blood samples were obtained at baseline and prior to delivery and a sample of umbilical cord blood was collected at parturition to measure levels of folate status. Global and gene-specific DNA methylation in umbilical cord blood will be correlated with cord and maternal folate status. The data will be analyzed using separate ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions. Results from this study will contribute to a better understanding of how maternal folate and folic acid intake can modulate epigenetic modifications in the offspring and potentially have an effect on disease susceptibility later in life.
Study Hypotheses: 1. Anaemia, which is frequent before conception as well as during early pregnancy, affects metabolism and foetal growth trajectories, influencing the risk of NCDs in the offspring. 2. Anaemia from conception till end of 2nd trimester is most detrimental for foetal and newborns' health, compared to 3rd trimester anaemia. 3. Anaemia from conception till end of 2nd trimester affects foetal and newborns health through poor placental development reflected in increased villous branching and changed umbilical and uterine blood flow. 4. Anaemia in early pregnancy disrupts the vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A)/placental growth factor (PlGF) balance and the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) axis resulting in poor placental development, and poor health of newborns. This may be reflected in specific methylation patterns. 5. Anaemia's impact on the risk for NCDs in the offspring may be mediated via epigenetic mechanisms, including changes in DNA methylation patterns.