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ASKING FOR OBESITY: Eating high-carb foods such as beans and chips is one way of asking to become obese and at risk for diabetes. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
The discovery of a gene linked to diabetes and cholesterol could help in the search for better treatments for diabetes and obesity.
In a study published in the journal Nature Genetics, a group of British and Swiss researchers found that gene KLF14 acts as a “master switch” controlling other genes found in adipose tissue (fat) in the body.
Although it was already known that gene KLF14 was connected to diabetes and cholesterol levels, the role it plays in controlling other genes located further away in the genome wasn’t known. (The genome is the entirety of an organism’s hereditary information.)
The other genes found to be under the control of the KLF14 master switch gene are linked to a wide range of metabolic traits, including body mass index (a measure of body fat based on height and weight that applies to adult men and women), obesity, cholesterol, and insulin and glucose levels, thus highlighting the interconnection of metabolic traits.
The study, known as MuTHER, involved a multinational team involving researchers from King’s College in London, University of Oxford, The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, and the University of Geneva. A company called deCODE Genetics, based in Iceland, also contributed to the findings from the study.
As indicated by one of the researchers and leader of the study, Dr. Tim Spector, this is the first time that it has been shown how small changes in a gene acting as a “master gene” can provoke a cascade of metabolic effects in other genes. If this initial finding is validated by further studies, this could have tremendous therapeutic potential.Both obesity and Type 2 diabetes are reaching epidemic levels worldwide. Because they lead to several other serious conditions, it is urgent to find new ways of fighting them.
Obesity and diabetes go hand in hand. Eighty-five percent of people with diabetes are either overweight or obese. The more obese people become, the greater the risk for them to develop diabetes.
One in 10 adults worldwide is obese, a number that has almost doubled since the 1980s as the obesity epidemic has begun to involve not only industrialized countries but also developing countries. It is estimated that in the United States, obesity-related diseases account for almost 10 percent of approximately $150 billion a year in medical spending.
Diabetes is the fastest-growing deadly disease, and it increases the risk of several other major killers. In Type 2 diabetes particularly, the body is not able to properly use the food we eat to provide energy to our cells. The incidence of the disease has skyrocketed in all age groups just in the last few years.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 220 million people worldwide have diabetes and that by 2030 there will be double the amount of diabetics as in 2005.
Diabetes increases significantly the risk of heart disease and stroke and is one of the leading causes of kidney failure.
Diabetes is now one of the leading causes of death in the United States, and it affects people from all races and from all educational and social backgrounds. It is estimated that approximately 16 to 19 million Americans have diabetes, and perhaps one-third to one-half of them don’t know it. Millions more have a condition known as prediabetes.
Diabetes and its complications have significant impact on individuals, families, and national budgets. WHO estimates that in the period 2006–2015 China will lose $558 billion in national income due to heart disease, stroke, and diabetes alone.
The recent findings on the role of gene KLF14 will certainly lead to a better understanding and treatment of this serious disease.
Dr. César Chelala is an international public health consultant.
