More Variants for Diabetes

TGen researchers, along with University of Southern California scientists, identified five genetic markers that could lead to better treatments for people with type 2 diabetes, says DNAction, Pathway Genomics' blog. At the American Diabetes Association meeting, the researchers presented how they analyzed 115,352 SNPs and 28 others genes to identify variants that predict patients' response to treatment with thiazolidinedione, that improves insulin sensitivity, says a report at Science Daily. The variants associated with TZD response were found in cytochrome P450 3A4 as well as in genes associated with PPARG function, the receptor at which TZD acts as an agonist. Author Joanna DiStefano says they will next characterize the function of the variants and assess them in other patients.