A double set of a certain gene makes some people more vulnerable to developing diabetes late in life, though doctors say it is too early to turn this finding into therapy or treatment.
A study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine identifies a genetic variation that could be used to identify people more susceptible to developing diabetes.
“Type 2 diabetes clearly has a genetic component. We?ve known it for years of studying twins and families,” said Dr. Toni Pollin, a University of Maryland, Baltimore researcher who participated in the nationwide study.
Using results of a 1995 to 2001 study involving 3,234 people with pre-diabetic conditions, researchers established exactly which gene plays a role in diabetes.
The gene in question acts like a “master switch” regulating the function of other genes, said lead author Dr. Jose Florez, of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Researchers found one copy of the genetic variant in 40 percent of participants and two copies in 10 percent.
“For the 10 percent of people who inherited two copies of the variant, the risk of developing diabetes is about 80 percent higher than it is for noncarriers,” Florez said.
Targeting treatment to counteract the effects of the gene remains years away.
“We?re still very far from any effective treatment” resulting from this discovery, Pollin said.
The best prevention remains what doctors have advised for years, according to the American Diabetes Association: Eating healthy and getting plenty of exercise.
Even the participants at highest genetic risk can benefit from improving their diet or activity level, Pollin said. “Lifestyle modification is one very powerful way to influence whether or not you get diabetes.”
Diabetes facts
» 20.8 million Americans have diabetes.
» It can cause blindness, kidney failure and amputations, heart disease and stroke.
» Type 2 diabetes accounts for 95 percent of all cases.
» 40 percent of adults age 40 to 74 ? 41 million people ? have pre-diabetic conditions.
Source: NIH
