More than 40 genes found for Diabetes

We know type 1 diabetes is as much affected by genes as it is by lifestyle and environment. But a huge international study found that there could be as many as 41 genetic loci that affect the risk of type 1 diabetes!

Research on Type 1 Diabetes. Image: Newscom

Touted as the largest genetic study into type 1 diabetes, and published in Nature Genetics online this week, the study combined results from two previous studies and found 41 genomic locations were significantly associated with diabetes. The DNA of more than 10,000 people with diabetes from all over the world were studied, including more than 2,300 families with at least two diabetic kids. Another 11,000 people without diabetes were also studied.

Of the 41 genes located, the study also found that 18 chromosomal regions that were associated with diabetes in families with at least 2 diabetic children. Some of the genes found are involved in autoimmune responses and inflammation.

This is a landmark study, because it involved a huge number of participants so there is more power to say that the findings are real. But if there really are that many genes involved in diabetes, which is not surprising given how complex the disease is, then I don’t know how easy it would be to control it then. I mean, our eventual hope is to find treatments and therapies using the genetic information. So it’s a long road just to figure out the specific roles these, or any genes, play in diabetes, and later to find applications from the information – be it treatment, therapy, or prevention.

Oops, I’m not being pessimistic. It’s just a reality that genetics people have to face when we study complex diseases.