Regenerative Medicine News and General Information
A New Study Found 40 More Genes Linked to Type 2 Diabetes
May
Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces.
Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar. Hyperglycaemia, or raised blood sugar, is a common effect of uncontrolled diabetes and over time leads to serious damage to many of the body’s systems, especially the nerves and blood vessels.
In 2014, 8.5% of adults aged 18 years and older had diabetes. In 2019, diabetes was the direct cause of 1.5 million deaths and 48% of all deaths due to diabetes occurred before the age of 70 years.
In a recently published study, researchers from the US and England analyzed the DNA profiles of thousands of people of varying ancestries and identified new genes that contribute to type 2 diabetes.
One Step Closer to a Genetic Risk Score
The researchers accessed data from other studies to create the Diabetes Meta-Analysis of Trans-Ethnic association studies (DIAMANTE) Consortium and analyzed the genetic makeup of 180,834 individuals with type 2 diabetes, and compared it to 1,159,055 individuals without the condition.
The team identified 237 genomic regions that are associated with an altered risk of type 2 diabetes. According to the researchers, they have identified 117 genes linked to causing type 2 diabetes, 40 of which have not been reported before.
Also, more than 100 evidence-based targets that are prioritized for the next stages of therapeutic development were identified.
The researchers believe that their results bring us one step closer to developing a genetic risk score for the disease.
Sources:
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes
Erika Watts. (2022, May 20). Type 2 diabetes: New study identifies 40 more genes linked to the disease. Medical News Today. Retrieved from:
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Photo by Sangharsh Lohakare on Unsplash
