Type 2 Diabetes Can Be Caused Genetically
In a new study, done on 32000 people of five countries, scientists have found new gene variants that raise the risk of Type 2 diabetes in their DNA..
With Type 2 diabetes, the body gradually loses its ability to use insulin, a hormone key for turning blood sugar into insulin. It is a major cause of heart disease, as high blood sugar damages blood vessels, and leads to kidney failure, blindness and amputations.
“We have been for all of the last decade or more looking under the lamppost to try to find those genes … and lots of times the lamplight was not actually where we wanted it,” said Dr. Francis Collins, genetics chief at the National Institutes of Health, a co-author of the research unveiled Thursday.
Most breakthroughs so far have come from finding a mutation in a single gene that causes illness. But some of the world’s most common killers, such as heart disease and diabetes, are caused by complex interactions among numerous genes and modern lifestyles — and teasing out the genetic culprits until now has been almost impossible.
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