We’re used to reading about targeted therapies and the promise of personalised medicine through the application of genomic technologies; this has been something of a hot topic for a number of years and pharmaceutical companies have long since implemented collection of biological samples as standard practice in their clinical trials to facilitate genomic research.
genome-wide association studies archive.
Hypertension (high blood pressure) seems to run in families, and a number of studies have linked genes and high blood pressure. A major study involving data from more than a quarter of a million people has linked variants in regions of DNA to this life-threatening condition, opening the way to understanding how existing drugs work and developing new ones.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disorder, and an international team of researchers have identified 57 different genes that could be associated with its development. These results are helping untangle the story of MS, and carrying these genes increasing the risk of developing MS – however, other factors may be involved, and genes could be shared with other autoimmune diseases.
Migraines affect 5-25% of women and 2-10% of men. Researchers found a genetic link to migraines in 2010, and have now found a further three gene variants linked to these debilitating headaches.
Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, and it can lead to loss of vision and severe pain. Australian researchers have tracked down two new genes linked to one form of the disease, open angle glaucoma.
Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) causing bloody diarrhoea, pain and weight loss, and which can increase the risk of bowel cancer. Researchers, publishing in Nature Genetics, have found 29 new genetic loci linked to ulcerative colitis, bringing the total of regions linked to the disease to 49, and linking 99 loci to IBD.
Researchers looking at the genomes of women with endometriosis have found a gene that might be at least partially responsible for the development of this disabling disease.
The age of menarche (first menstrual period) in girls seems to be falling in European countries. The latest study published from the GIANT study consortium suggests that early puberty is as a result of a number of different genes.
NordiCDB, the Nordic Control Database, is a collection of genome-wide association study (GWAS) SNP data from 6000 individuals with harmonized genotype information from Denmark, Estonia, Finland and Sweden.
According to Jewish history, the Jewish people arose from Hebrews who settled in an ancient land called Canaan, in the modern Middle East, and then, over many years, migrated to other areas of the Middle East, Europe and North Africa. Genome-wide association studies, based on data from the Human Genome Diversity Project, data have confirmed the genetic links between different groups of Jewish people .
