Gene scan shows new disease links

Tweet

The widest-ever genetic probe into inherited disease has identified at least 10 new genes linked to seven major ailments including diabetes,hypertension,coronery heart disease, bipolar diorder and rheumatoid arthritis. Being published on Thursday in the British journal Nature,the study is being hailed as a vital gain in knowledge eases and as a ground-breaking demonstration of the power of genomics. The $15- million, two-year investigation by 200 British scientists involved comparing and contrasting DNA samples from 17,000 Britons. Working in 50 research institutions , the team sifted almost 10 billion pieces of DNA, looking for telltale genetic variants associated to the seven diseases. "Many of the most common diseases are very complex, part 'nature' and part nurture, with genes interacting with our environment and lifestyles," saud Oxford University professor Peter Donnelly, who headed the consortium. "By identifying the genes underlying these conditions, our study should enable scientists to understand better how disease occurs, which people are most at rist and, in time, to produce more effective, more peronalized treatments." The net cast by the genesifters covered 2000 patients for each disease making 14,000 samples. These were compared with samples from 3000 healthy individuals. What they were looking for are so called Snips, or single-nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)-tiny flaws in the genetic code that can subtly affect the cascade of processes to make and repair tissue. Previous work by the consortium has helped identify the clearest link yet to obesity and three new genes linked to type 2 diabetes, a disease that is gaining epidemic proportions in many developed countries. Another insight is into bipolar disorder, previoulsy known as manic depression, which an estimated 100million people around the world suffer from. The team exposed several balky genes among bipolar patients that, collectively, affect the way brain cells communicate with each other. Nick Craddock of Cardiff University, which led the bipolar work, said the path was now open for the better diagnotics for mental disease as well as new treatments. These could include drugs as well as education and advice on life-style choices. "With the ongoing scientific advances in understanding of bipolar illness, we have the oppurtunity to make things very different for the next generation," he said. This should be a time of great optimism for those individuals and families that have experienced illnesses like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and depression." The inquiry yielded the first-ever genetic link between Type 1 diabete and the inflammatory bowel disorder known as Crohn's disorder. A gene called ptpn2 is common to both auto immune diseases. This implies they share biological pathways. The Wellcome trust, a british medical research charity that funded the research, described the outcome as a dazzling show of geonomics, the ability to unravel, compare and analyse the human genome for human benefit. "What has been achieved in this research is the analysis of half a million genetic variants in each of 17,000 individuals, with the discovery of more than 10 genes that predispose to common disease," the trust's director said.