Genetic diabetes test created
Friday November 20th, 2015
A new genetic test for diabetes is under development at Exeter University, UK.
The test will allow more effective diagnosis and patient care, say the developers, led by Dr Richard Oram.
It tests 30 genetic variants in an individual's DNA to indicate whether they have type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
A patient's genetic risk factors are then combined into a single score - high scores mean type 1 diabetes is likely, and low scores suggest type 2 diabetes. Hence those who require insulin treatment can be more easily identified.
"This will be an important addition to correctly classifying individuals with diabetes and will improve the number of people who get the right treatment when they are first diagnosed, especially people who sit in the overlap between type 1 and type 2 diagnosis," said Dr Oram.
"There is often no going back once insulin treatment starts. This may save people with Type 2 diabetes from being treated with insulin unnecessarily, but also stop the rare but serious occurrence of people with Type 1 being initially treated with tablets inappropriately and running of the risk of severe illness."
Dr Oram adds: "Having this information about their diabetes and about their genetic risk will make a big difference to the way people feel about their care. If you speak to people with diabetes they often want to know why they have developed the disease and whether some of their risk for the disease is genetic."
Details of the test were published in the journal Diabetes Care.
The team say that once the test has been made cheaper and quicker, it could be used alongside an existing test which measures anti-bodies.
Diabetes Care 17 November 2015
Printer friendly page