In less than two weeks after Universiti Teknologi Malaysia announced it research result on finding of type 2 diabetes. A news with title: Scientist find gene linked to type-two diabetes published on the star today. However, the news never indicated how long it take to commercialize the finding. The most apparent product now for type two diabetes is still from Taiwan.
Excerpt: Scientist find gene linked to type-two diabetes
WASHINGTON (AFP) - A team of scientists has discovered a gene variant with the closest link to type-two diabetes of any such genes found to date, the scientists said in a research report.
Presence of the variant in test groups with type-two diabetes, the most common form of the disease, suggests that the variant accounts for about 20 percent of all cases, Kari Stefansson, senior author on the study, said in a statement.
People with one copy of the specific variant have about a 45 percent higher chance of coming down with diabetes than those without, and those with two copies are 141 percent more likely to be struck by the disease, according to the study, to be published Monday in the online edition of Nature Genetics.
"This is a milestone in human genetics. A common gene variant conferring elevated risk of (type-two diabetes) has been earnestly sought by the genetics community for many years," said Stefansson, who is also chief executive of Decode Genetics, a biopharmaceutical company which sponsored the research.
The discovery could allow scientists to develop a test to diagnose the risk of type-two diabetes in patients, Stefansson said.
Diabetes is a chronic condition in which the body does not produce adequate insulin -- type one -- or it cannot properly make use of the insulin it does produce -- type two.
According to the World Health Organization, close to 200 million people worldwide have diabetes, a number expected to rise to 366 million by 2030 due to changing diets, urbanization, and an aging population.
In the Pacific region, the Middle East and other high-diabetes regions, up to 25 percent of adult deaths are due to the disease, WHO said. It is an important cause of blindness, kidney failure and amputations, and is also linked to cardiovascular disease.
The researchers first isolated the gene variant while studying 2,000 diabetes and control patients in Iceland. They found one occurance of the specific gene variant in 50 percent more diabetes sufferers than in those free of the disease.
They then replicated the findings in tests on people in Denmark and the United States.
"This discovery sheds new light on the biological causes of the disease," Stefansson said.
"Importantly, virtually all of this risk can be captured by looking at a single-letter change in DNA - ideal for the development of a genetic test for assessing individual risk and developing more personalized and effective prevention strategies.
"This is also an exciting starting point for the discovery of new drugs, and we are actively pursuing the development of both diagnostic and therapeutic products to better prevent and treat" type-two diabetes, he said.
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