Gene flaw found in uncommon diabetes.Between 100,000 and 500,000 people in the United States suffer from maturity-onset diabetes maturity-onset diabetes n. Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. of the young (MODY), an uncommon form of Type II diabetes Type II diabetes Type II diabetes is the most common form of diabetes and usually appears in middle aged adults. It is often associated with obesity and may be delayed or controlled with diet and exercise. Mentioned in: Diabetic Ketoacidosis that develops before age 25. Although most people with MODY do not have to take insulin injections, they run an increased risk of heart disease, blindness and kidney failure kidney failure or renal failure Partial or complete loss of kidney function. Acute failure causes reduced urine output and blood chemical imbalance, including uremia. Most patients recover within six weeks. . Researchers at the University of Chicago and several institutions in France have now discovered a gene defect that could underlie 80 percent of MODY cases. The group, led in the United States by Graeme I. Bell, found a flaw in the gene for the enzyme glucokinase in a French family with 15 MODY patients. The scientists present their findings in the April 23 NATURE. Bell's team asserts that the defect causes MODY patients to produce insufficient amounts of glucokinase, which they believe is required for pancreatic cells to detect sugar concentrations in the blood. Accordingly, the researchers hypothesize hy·poth·e·size v. hy·poth·e·sized, hy·poth·e·siz·ing, hy·poth·e·siz·es v.tr. To assert as a hypothesis. v.intr. To form a hypothesis. , the pancreas fails to secrete secrete /se·crete/ (se-kret´) to elaborate and release a secretion. se·crete v. To generate and separate a substance from cells or bodily fluids. the proper amount of insulin. Bell told Science News his group has recently detected a defective form of the same gene in a family with conventional non-insulin-dependent diabetes, which affects roughly 13 million people in the United States. Most of these patients develop the disease as they age or if they become obese. Richard Kahn, a physician at the American Diabetes Association The American Diabetes Association, or the ADA, is an American health organization providing diabetes research, information and advocacy. Founded in 1940, the American Diabetes Association conducts programs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, reaching hundreds of , terms the finding "an important piece of work in regard to understanding the genetics of diabetes altogether." |
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