Having certain genetic variants could explain why people can develop type 1 diabetes in markedly different ages, including adult ages of life.
An end confirming a new investigation that was presented on Monday at the annual meeting of this year of the Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) of Lisbon.The study is the first to suggest that there is a genetic predisposition for Type 1 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes, as it is well known, is caused by an autoimmune attack in the body killing the beta cells of insulin producers in the pancreas, eventually leaving most people with a dependence on insulin throughoutLife.
It usually affects young children and adults, but can affect patients after 30 years.It is the so -called Type 1 Diabetes.An example of this type of late 1 diabetes, well known, is that of the British Prime Minister Theresa May.
Certain groups of genes associated with the regulation of the immune system in humans are related to the risk of developing type 1 diabetes. The main genetic determinants are alleles DR3 and DR4 (or variants) of a group of genes called HLA complex.The highest risk occurs when these risk alleles occur in pairs that can be homozygous (DR3 / DR3 or DR4 / DR4), or compound heterozygotes (DR3 / DR4).
This study was conducted by Dr. Nick Thomas, together with Professor Andrew Hattersley and other colleagues from the University of Exeter, the United Kingdom, and aims to investigate whether the greatest risk of type 1 diabetes that is observed in children and young adultsWith the genotypes DR3 and DR4 persists in adulthood.
The team analyzed the development of Type 1 diabetes late in a population of 120,000 individuals in the United Kingdom from birth to 60 years in selected subjects of the HLA of highest risk.
The authors conclude that: “Although the three main genotypes largely increase the risk of type 1 diabetes throughout life, the analysis of the population that DR4 / DR4 specifically predisposes to T1D for 30 years of age and the bearers ofThis genotype have the greatest risk of tarded type 1 diabetes. ”They add: "This is a clear evidence that type 1 diabetes after 30 years is not just a late version of type 1 diabetes before the 30 years necessary to understand these differences"
