KU research sheds light on diabetes link to genes

[LahoreEstate]

By Sarwat Ghulam Rasool
KARACHI: Experts have suggested that the risk of developing diabetes at an early age becomes four times higher if the parents have diabetes and also due to inter-family marriages.

University of Karachi's (KU) Genetics Department collected data from several families where inter-family marriages were common to determine how much their children were at risk of developing the disease.

Diabetes causes the glucose level in the blood to rise beyond normal ranges, which can affect several parts of the body. People with diabetes have a much higher risk of their eyes, kidneys, nerves and coronary blood vessels being damaged than the people who do not suffer from the disease.

"Diabetes is hereditary and can be genetically transferred from generation to generation. There are two main types of diabetes, type I and type II. Type I diabetes is also known as insulin dependent diabetes, whereas, type II diabetes is non-insulin dependent diabetes," said KU Genetics Department Professor Dr Farzana Nasir Naqvi.

"By collecting blood samples from different ethnic groups it has been found that the risk of inheriting type II diabetes is much higher in children whose parents have the disease," she said.

"Usually type II diabetes develops after the age of 40 but if both parents have diabetes then type II diabetes can develop after the age of 28."

Type I diabetes is an auto-immune disease, as the body's immune system destroys insulin producing cells. Type I diabetes also known as juvenile onset diabetes and can occur at any age and the patients are normally under the age of 40. Although type II diabetes is more common and is also known as late onset diabetes in which deficiency of insulin occurs due to insulin resistance, she maintained.

A researcher Feroza Naseer Ahmed said, "The child can inherit the disease from either of the parents."

She explained that the family history index exposure is important to see the possibility of transference of diseases. The exposure can be weak, strong or negative, each indicating the number of people having the disease in the family and the probability of the disease being transferred to the offspring. If a family has a strong exposure it indicates that the prevalence of disease is high while a weak exposure shows that the disease is moderately prevalent while a negative exposure signifies that that no family member has the disease.

She said, "We also conducted a research to identify the biochemical markers inside the body to diagnose the cause of diabetes. The body has several enzymes, which are a part of the body's defence mechanism. If enzyme activity slows down, the body's immune system is negatively affected and the person in question can contract many diseases.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...09_pg12_11