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Science Forum Index » Medicine - Nutrition Forum » High Blood Glucose Levels caused by Genetic...
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| Bolaleman... |
 Posted: Sun May 11, 2008 10:38 am |
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High blood glucose levels are closely linked with increased risk for
cardiovascular disease and higher mortality rates. Canadian, French
and British researchers have now identified a DNA sequence that
controls the variability of blood glucose levels in people. The
results of this study were published May 1 in the online version of
the journal Science (http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-05/mu-
gbe050108.php).
The research was conducted by Dr. Phillippe Froguel and colleagues at
Imperial College London and le Centre national de la recherche
scientifique (CNRS) in Lille, France, in collaboration with Dr. Robert
Sladek, Dr. Constantin Polychronakos and their teams at McGill
University and the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) in Montreal.
Dr. Ghislain Rocheleau, a post-doctoral fellow in Dr. Sladek’s lab, is
the study’s co-first author. The scientists worked with data collected
from a large genome study originally conducted for diabetes research
that looked at over 390,000 different locations – or loci – on the
human genome. The study’s first important diabetes results were
published in 2007 and received worldwide media attention.
"In this study, researchers looked at the genetic code of healthy, non-
diabetic individuals whose blood glucose levels were in the normal
range. They discovered that a single DNA mutation within three
different genes explained, in part, why some individuals have high or
low blood glucose levels. The researchers believe that these genes
actually affect the threshold level of glucose in the bloodstream,
which triggers the secretion of insulin. The higher the threshold, the
higher the blood glucose level will rise before insulin starts to
regulate it.
“These sequences explain about 5 per cent of the normal variation in
blood glucose levels between otherwise healthy people,” explained Dr.
Sladek, of McGill’s Faculty of Medicine, the Department of Human
Genetics, the MUHC Research Institute and the McGill University and
Génome Québec Innovation Centre. “Five per cent may not sound huge,
but for complex traits, that’s rather a lot. By contrast, hundreds of
different genes influence height.”
These findings provide important insights into the genetic mechanisms
behind glucose metabolism, say the researchers, which they predict
will lead to greater understanding of the genetic roots of metabolic
disorders in general. “In theory, any medical test which has a genetic
component can use this approach,” Sladek explained. “That brings us to
the idea of ‘personalized medicine.’ Eventually, we might be able to
customize treatment to an individual’s unique genetic structure.”
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