1th quarter 2006

Important diabetes gene discovered

Millions of people around the world suffer from diabetes mellitus, or high blood sugar. In the USA alone, 21 million, i.e. 7% of the population, are affected by the disease. The vast majority have type 2 diabetes, which used to be called "adult-onset" diabetes. The incidence of type 2 diabetes is increasing practically throughout the world. The reasons are growing affluence, the intake of more and higher energy food and a lack of physical work. All this results in higher body weight. In the USA alone, type 2 diabetes causes direct medical costs in the amount of approximately US$ 100bn per year.

Apart from environmental factors such as eating habits and physical exercise, genes also play an important role in the development of diabetes. In March, scientists reported the discovery of what appears to be a very important gene associated with the disorder.

In studies initially conducted on Icelandic patients, the Iceland-based company Decode identified a gene having two important features. It is common, and it causes a strong effect.

A variant of the gene labelled "transcription factor 7-like 2" (TCF7L2) that increases the risk of diabetes by 45% is found in more than one third of the population (in Iceland, Denmark and the USA). 7% of the population in the three countries carry two unfavourable copies of the gene and thus have an additional risk of developing type 2 diabetes of 141%.

Researchers assume that 21% of all cases of type 2 diabetes are attributable to this adverse variant of the TCF7L2 gene. It is already known that TCF7L2 is involved in controlling blood sugar levels. Presumably, TCF7L2 influences the activity of another gene, the proglucagon gene.

Based on these insights, Decode plans to use the gene as a drug target and develop new anti-diabetic drugs.