July 29, 2016 – Genes and Diabetes

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Anchor lead:  What do you need to know about genes and diabetes? Elizabeth Tracey reports

Common genes really do account for much of the observed type 2 diabetes in families, a recent study concludes.  Rita Kalyani, a diabetes expert at Johns Hopkins, says such a survey of what’s involved in predicting risk for the condition is helpful for both patients and their families, as well as clinicians.

Kalyani:  We know that type 2 diabetes tends to run in families, but whether genetic changes or variants that are common account for this heritability versus variants that are less common wasn’t known until this study. And what this study demonstrated was in fact it was the common variants that tended to account for some of what we saw in the risk for type 2 diabetes. As we talk about precision medicine it can really help inform the best direction for future research.   :27

Kalyani says Johns Hopkins has just launched a new, advertisement free website for patients who want to know more about all aspects of diabetes, including management strategies and research, at hopkinsdiabetesinfo.org.  At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.