I wrote to them asking them for a copy of the journal, to share it here.
Context: Over the last few months, genome-wide association studies have contributed significantly to our understanding of the genetic architecture of type 2 diabetes. If and how this information will impact clinical practice is not yet clear.
Evidence Acquisition: Primary papers reporting genome-wide association studies in type 2 diabetes or establishing a reproducible association for specific candidate genes were compiled. Further information was obtained from background articles, authoritative reviews, and relevant meeting conferences and abstracts.
Evidence Synthesis: As many as 17 genetic loci have been convincingly associated with type 2 diabetes; 14 of these were not previously known, and most of them were unsuspected. The associated polymorphisms are common in populations of European descent but have modest effects on risk. These loci highlight new areas for biological exploration and allow the initiation of experiments designed to develop prediction models and test possible pharmacogenetic and other applications.
Conclusions: Although substantial progress in our knowledge of the genetic basis of type 2 diabetes is taking place, these new discoveries represent but a small proportion of the genetic variation underlying the susceptibility to this disorder. Major work is still required to identify the causal variants, test their role in disease prediction and ascertain their therapeutic implications.
This is VERY interesting. I have long wanted to be a part of the Human Genome Project. I would greatly appreciate reading anything you can print about this I also think it would be of benefit to all the type 2’s we have.and to all the rest of us simply as a learning opportunity. It is exciting to have this information presented here. Thank you.
Saundra,
I tried to get the copy through the contact person listed on the abstract, but he referred me back to the main journal’s web site: http://jcem.endojournals.org/
Would you be able to contact them to see if they are able to furnish us with a copy (PDF) of the article, that we can have permission to share here?
Hi Manny,
Here is what I have found. I can get access as a non-memberr of the Endocrine Society to all the articles on-line and can also get a copy of the journal for myself. But I cannot share it as i am not liscensed to do so. But I have a phone number from their listing and can call them Monday morning and talk to someone and see if we can get permission to have a copy for our members on here. Anyone who wishes to read it has permission to do so by going to their site I also found that anything that is 12 months old is viewable at any time.on-line. However something that is not that old may not be found on-line. Anything that is printed is available for patients so that they can have information about their disease processes There is a lot to be found in these articles and I will go back until I finish reading all that they have up there. Anyone who wishes may go to the site and read anything they have. And I would encourage anyone to do so. But I would also caution you that it may be a bit confusing in understanding it. The Endocrin Society is just like every other medical society. Everything is published in medicaleese. I will get back to you on Monday or when i can get in contact with the society. Thanks Manny for bringing this to our attention.
Super!! Thanks for looking into the detail. Hopefully they will agree with allowing us (as a nonprofit) to get a license to share it with the members of the community.
Research suggests specific gene may link type 2 diabetes and sleep disorders.
On its website, BBC News (12/8) reports that a paper appearing in Nature Genetics reveals that “faults in a key ‘clock gene’ were linked to blood sugar levels and type II diabetes.” According to BBC News, the “fact that humans work on a rough 24-hour cycle, sleeping at night, and waking to be more active during the day, is controlled partly by hormones released by the body,” particularly melatonin. And, MTNR1B, “a gene which helps control the action of melatonin on different parts of the body,” is at the center of the new work.
During the “genome-wide association study,” researchers at several British universities “analyzed the genomes of 36,610 people of European descent to look for changes associated with an increased risk of diabetes,” the UK’s Guardian (12/8, Randerson) explains. Investigators “found that a mutation in the MTNR1B gene led to a modest nine percent increase in type 2 diabetes risk per copy of the mutated gene present.” Meanwhile, “two other genome-wide association studies in the same journal backed the finding,” which may raise “the possibility of genetic tests to identify people vulnerable to developing type 2 diabetes.”
I did a Yahoo search to find more web sites mentioning both MTNR1B and diabetes. One of the sites it found locked up my browser, though, so I lost the list of web sites it found. Beware of similar problems if you try such a web search.
I suffer severely from both diabetes and insomnia. Have a daughter who is an insomniac also. Would be good if tests could be done in the future. Good news that it is only a 9 % increase. What does it mean per copy? does it mean if you get it from one parent? what happens if you get it from both? does it double the chances or make then much more?
As I have finally learned after years of not understanding why I have gradually become heavy, but in that dreaded “apple” shape, with the big belly but smaller hips and rear, this kind of weight gain is a symptom of what I see as the primary disease, insulin resistance, which eventually leads to diabetes. So it depends on where the weight is. Nowadays when I see someone shaped like me, big belly but otherwise fairly normal proportions, I can bet they are insulin resistant if not yet diabetic.
You don’t get diabetes because you get fat. You develop belly fat as a result of insulin resistance. So if there is no family history, and your sister’s weight is not in her belly, she is probably not insulin resistant/prediabetic.
I find this interesting as I was diagnosed with T2 in 1993…I wasn’t really surprised about the diabetes part; but, thought that perhaps I was a late onset type 1 or late diagnosed (woud explain some childhood symptoms). But since I was 5’9" and wore a size 10??? My grandfather had to be type 1 as he was definitely never over-weight! He died, at the age of 28, the year before insulin was ‘discovered’. My mother, also diabetic, was over-weight and type 2.
Thanks, Cheri. I ‘look’ a lot like LADA. I’ll have to ask my endo about the results of their testing. I could check off most if not all of the qualifiers and non of the disqualifiers. Gonna check into this…don’t know whether it makes any difference…pumping my insulin seems to be doing the trick.
