Some Hopeful Medical News
As a person with Type 2 diabetes, a mother in law to someone with Crohn’s Disease, a wife of a man whose family is prone to coronary disease, and finding out recently Big Mo’s youngest son has been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, I was extremely interested in reading this report on some research being done in Great Britain.
Scientists have found 10 genes that link to seven very common diseases.
No cures have been found yet, but this study gives the basis for finding out the paths of these genes and how to intervene to prevent or control the diseases.
This is very hopeful and good news for people with these conditions, and gives a lot of hope to people that they may be able to control or get rid of their disease completely if a cure or treatment is discovered.
Written by ~J~Bipolar disorder: A whole collection of genes were found to be associated with this mental illness, also known as manic depression, which is marked by extreme mood swings. Each on its own makes a small contribution to risk, but together they can have a significant effect. Several of the genes identified play a key role in the way nerve cells in the brain talk to each other. Bipolar disorder affects about 100 million people worldwide.
Coronary heart disease: The study found several new genetic regions that increased the risk of heart disease. Most notable was a site on chromosome 9, one of the paired bundles of DNA in which the genetic code is written, which increased the risk by 50% in people carrying one version of the risk variant. For those carrying both copies of the variant, the risk was almost doubled. Coronary heart disease is Britain’s biggest killer, claiming 105,000 lives each year.
Crohn’s Disease: Three new genes were found to increase a person’s susceptibility to this illness, which affects between 30,000 and 60,000 people in the UK. One, PTPN2, which is involved in the regulation of the immune system, was also found to be shared with type 1 diabetes. It is the first genetic link between the two diseases to be identified.
Hypertension (high blood pressure): A number of genetic signals were found pointing to a higher risk for hypertension. The results suggest that high blood pressure arises because of a wide range of interacting factors, including a large number of genes. More work is needed, but the research takes scientists closer to understanding the mechanisms behind this incredibly common disorder which affects more than 16 million Britons and a billion people worldwide.
Rheumatoid Arthritis: (RA). Several genes were found for the first time to have a possible role in RA. Further work will have to be undertaken to validate the findings and understand how the genes might influence the development and course of the auto-immune disease suffered by 387,000 people in the UK. Scientists hope the research will lead to new cures.
Type 1 Diabetes: The study highlighted four new chromosome regions that increase the risk of type 1 diabetes, another auto-immune disease in which the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas are destroyed. The newly discovered link with Crohn’s may provide clues on how to treat type 1 diabetes in the future. The disease affects around 350,000 people, in the UK, including 20,000 children.
Type 2 Diabetes: Research from the consortium has helped identify clear genetic links between obesity and type 1 diabetes. One of these, the gene FTO, influences the risk of diabetes through an effect on weight gain. The work illustrates the fact that type 2 diabetes is not just the result of lifestyle factors, such as poor diet and lack of exercise, but is also gene-driven. An estimated 1.9 million people in the UK have type 2 diabetes.
Big Mo Says:
June 6th, 2007 at 10:44 pmVisit Big Mo
HMMM!! Thanks for the info.
My wife just finished a book that talked about medical advances with diabetes just in the last few decades. Again I thank God we live in an age of scientific advancement.
My little buddy may very well see a cure in his lifetime.
~J~ Says:
June 6th, 2007 at 10:48 pmVisit ~J~
I think your little buddy can almost count on it, Big Mo.