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From: Diabetes news room
Scientists in San Antonio are on the cutting edge of research into the underlying causes of diabetes. They want to figure out exactly which genes are involved in this chronic, debilitating disease. Call them "diabetes detectives." The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio researchers are trying to pinpoint which genes contribute to this monstrous health problem, and with 25,000 genes in the genome, it's quite a daunting task. In the past several years, this lab has zeroed in on at least seven promising candidates. "These are novel genes. We know that they're involved. Statistically, the evidence is unassailable. And we now are working on animal models where we have knocked out the gene," diabetes genetics researcher Chris Jenkinson said.
In the science world, they're called knockout mice ?animals that have had their genes manipulated to see if certain genes make them more vulnerable to problems like blood sugar instability and obesity. The special machines that map where variations are on the chromosomes take human genetic information, in this case from San Antonio patients, and translate it into a starting place for animal experimentation. It's information that may someday lead to new and more effective medications. "We've stumbled across a few good drugs, but there are no drug cures for diabetes. There is no answer," Jenkinson said. Jenkinson says diabetes is becoming a tidal wave that threatens to engulf our health care system. If he and other detectives can find the root genetic causes, future treatments will be more personalized, and hopefully, more effective against a killer. Diabetes researchers at the UT Health Science Center are using about $6 million a year in federal funding and private grants to pay for their groundbreaking studies.
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