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deCODE Obesity Study Sheds Light on how Genetics Affects Risk and Onset of Common Diseases
In a paper published online today in the journal Nature, a team of deCODE scientists detail a major mechanism through which genetic factors contribute to major public health problems.
In its work on the inherited components of dozens of common diseases, deCODE has discovered gene variants that significantly affect individual susceptibility or protection against disease. In the common forms of these conditions - such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases - deCODE has previously shown that genetic variants confer increased or decreased risk by upregulating or downregulating the activity of major biological pathways.
In today's paper, the deCODE team and collaborators from Merck demonstrate one of the principal ways in which the activity of biological pathways is functionally perturbed in a quintessentially complex condition: obesity.
Kari Stefansson, CEO of deCODE, put the study into context: "One of the observations we have made in our work on the isolation of disease genes is that the genetic risk of common diseases is often conferred by variations in the sequence of the genome that affect expression of genes. Hence, one of the ways to approach the study of common diseases is through the analysis of gene expression. This paper provides a substantial contribution towards the understanding of gene expression in man and one example of how it can be used to expand our knowledge of one disease, namely obesity."
more news
deCODE welcomes signing of GINA
deCODE genetics welcomes the signing of the Genetic Information Non-discrimination Act (GINA), a bill that, many years in the making, has now been signed by President Bush. GINA will provide a federal counterpart to existing legislation in many states prohibiting discrimination against individuals in matters of employment or healthcare coverage based upon the results of genetic tests or other genetic information.
April 27, 2008deCODE Scientists Discover Another Set of Common Genetic Variants Linked to Risk of Breast Cancer
Scientists from deCODE genetics today report the discovery of two common single-letter variants (SNPs) associated with risk of estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer. More than 60% of the general population carry at least one copy of the risk variant of the most important SNP
April 02, 2008A Smoking Gene: deCODE Scientists Identify a Genetic Variant that Confers Nicotine Dependence
Scientists from deCODE have identified a clear link between a genetic variant and susceptibility to nicotine dependence. Results will be published in the April 3 issue of Nature.
February 10, 2008deCODE Discovers Fourth Set of Prostate Cancer Risk Variants, Now Integrated into deCODEme™
deCODE scientists announced the discovery of two more genetic variants linked with increased risk of prostate cancer. These variants have been integrated into the prostate cancer disease module in deCODEme™, and subscribers can check for them in their updated personal profile.