These are just the questions that patients will have to be prepared to answer in the near future. Geneticists in India have discovered genetic markers that may be able to predict whether a person is more likely to develop coronary heart disease (CAD).

Research carried out by Dr. M. Balasubramanyam and Dr.V.Mohan at the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (India) shows that people who are pre-diabetic or who have Type 2 diabetes have much shorter telomeres1 and, since these people are prone to CAD, an early test could indicate their susceptibility and help them to alter their lifestyle to avoid or delay the onset of the disease.

The study looked at patients telomeres while they progressed from pre- diabetes to type 2 diabetes.

Telomeres have been compared with the plastic tips on shoelaces because they prevent chromosome ends from fraying and sticking to each other, which would otherwise result in genomic instability. Telomeres are also thought to be the “clock” that regulates how many times an individual cell can divide. Telomeric sequences shorten each time the DNA replicates.

Now that we have made that as clear as mud, let’s explore how the research will benefit diabetics.

Diabetics are more susceptible to oxidation and inflammation which could be the one of the reasons for telomere shortening and so an early indication of their telomeres starting to shorten could indicate the onset of diabetes and ultimately be a predictor for CAD.

Telomeres play an important role in complex genetic diseases like CAD, hypertension and diabetes. Will researchers firmly be able to confirm that shortened telomeres in pre-diabetics predispose patients to developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease?

This is exactly what the researchers from the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation proposed at the Society for Experimental Biology’s Annual Meeting. The future of diabetic research is both exciting and welcomed in the fight against age related diseases.

via HULIQ.com

Society for Experimental Biology

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Madras Diabetes Research Foundation In India Discovers Genetic Biomarkers That Could Predict Coronary Heart Disease