Endocrine Abstracts

The number of people world wide with diabetes is predicted to double to 221 million by the year 2010. Diabetes remains the leading cause of blindness, end stage renal disease and lower extremity amputations in the United States but the greatest impact of the disease is the two to four times greater risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke. Of the 5102 patients, aged 25 to 65 years with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes recruited into the UK Prospective Diabetes Study (UKP...

Genetic factors play a critical role in Type 2 diabetes as shown by family, twin and migration studies. Whilst the rising prevalence of Type 2 diabetes reflects increasing food intake and reduced exercise it is the genetically susceptible individuals and races who are most likely to develop diabetes. Recent evidence has supported a genetic rather than the "fetal malnutrition" explanation of the association of low birth weight with diabetes. Low birth weight in the offspring of...

One of the major current challenges in molecular genetics is the identification of genes underlying common, genetically complex diseases. The human genome sequence, and that of several model organisms, is now available and tools are available to measure in a single experiment the expression of every gene in these genomes. These resources offer unprecedented opportunities for disease gene identification. We have combined a classical genome screen approach, which localises disea...

Type 2 diabetes is likely to be caused by defects in several genes and their interactions with lifestyle and environmental factors. During the recent years there has been a true increase in the incidence and prevalence of type 2 diabetes. With increasing prevalence of obesity worldwide the epidemic of Type 2 diabetes has emerged. In addition to general obesity, other major modifiable risk factors for Type 2 diabetes are central obesity, lack of physical activity, smoking, low ...