Scientists have identified a variant of a gene that significantly increases the risk of people who carry it to develop type 2 diabetes (adult-onset diabetes). This gene version is found in about a third of the population of the United States.
The finding, which was reported this week in the journal "Nature Genetics", was discovered by the Icelandic company Decode, which specializes in identifying the genetic origins of human diseases. The new version - which is one of many versions of the gene appearing in the world's population - was first discovered among Icelanders and more recently among Americans and Danes.
According to Decode director Carrie Stephenson, the discovery should lead to the development of a procedure that will diagnose people who carry the gene version. If people know they have the variant, and therefore their risk of developing diabetes is higher than average, they will be motivated to exercise and stay slim, Stephenson said.
Humans carry two copies of each gene - one they receive from their father and the other from their mother. The degree to which people who carry the gene version are at risk of developing diabetes depends on whether they have received one or two copies of it. The risk of people who carry one copy is 45% greater than the average risk. The risk of people who carry two copies of the gene version is 141% greater than the average risk. Decode researchers did a theoretical calculation that tested what would happen if the gene version did not exist in the world. The result: the number of diabetics would decrease by 21%.
"It's an excellent study, and it's as compelling as an initial publication can be," said David Altshuler, a geneticist at Massachusetts General Hospital, who has previously cast doubt on Decode's findings. "As far as the epidemiological risk of getting diabetes is concerned, this is the biggest discovery so far."
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