A group of American scientists from the University of Florida discovered and narrowed the number of genes that increase the risk of developing type 1 diabetes. The results obtained during the study can help other scientists better predict who can develop type 1 diabetes and how to deal with it.
Type 1 diabetes mellitus occurs when the body’s pancreatic cells that produce insulin are destroyed by the body’s immune system. Experts cannot say what exactly causes this disease, but they believe that genetics and external factors can play an important role in this.
During the study, experts collected data on the genetic structure of 27 thousand people, taking into account those who suffer from diabetes. After that, they began to search for individual differences in DNA that increase the risk of developing type 1 diabetes. After studying about 200 thousand possible locations in the genome, scientists used a special method to more accurately determine the versions of the DNA sequence that could lead to diabetes. In some areas of the genome, they have reduced the number of pathogenic DNA changes from 1,000 to 5,000 or less.
These results will help make medical work more effective and efficient by providing detailed guidance on where to find the genetic variations that cause type 1 diabetes and possibly other autoimmune ailments such as arthritis.