QATAR and other Gulf states should join the Type I Diabetes Genetics Consortium given the relative lack of information about genetic risk factors for the disease in the region, an expert from the US has urged.
"Such a move from the Gulf states would be a boost for research in this direction," Detroit Medical Center's Neurogenetics Clinic director Dr James Garbern said yesterday.
Dr Garbern, also an associate professor of neurology at Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan, is an invited speaker at Qatar Diabetes Association's ongoing International Conference on Childhood Diabetes & Obesity.
"It cannot be assumed that genetic risks are broadly applicable among all Arab populations," he observed while explaining that there is evidence for important genetic differences between different Arab sub populations as revealed by a study covering Lebanese and Bahraini populations.
In Type 1 diabetes (T1 D), usually diagnosed in children and young adults, the body does not produce insulin, a hormone needed to convert sugar (glucose), starches and other food into energy needed for daily life.
The disease increases the risk for many serious complications, including heart disease (cardiovascular disease), blindness (retinopathy), nerve damage (neuropathy), and kidney damage (nephropathy).
"The etiology of T1 D is multifactorial, with both environmental, particularly viral infections, and genetic factors probably playing major roles," Dr Garbern stated.
He pointed out that genetic linkage studies have found that approximately half of the familial clustering of T1 D can be attributed to variants in HLA (refers to the unique set of proteins called human leukocyte antigens, which are present on each individual's cell and allow the immune system to recognise 'self' from 'foreign') histocompatibility locus.
"Some of these HLA types have been shown to be important in some Middle Eastern populations," Dr Garbern maintained.
Grunberger Diabetes Institute (Michigan) chair Dr George Grunberger said that the inability to safely prevent T1 D in humans, unlike in animal models, is the challenge faced by medical science today.
The speaker, also a professor of internal medicine at Wayne State University School of Medicine, however explained that T1 D is a predictable disease with different phases, approaches to prevention and cure are possible, and new insulins and therapy would improve treatment.
Speaking about dietary management of T1 D, Children's Hospital of Michigan clinical dietitian Heidi Edwards recommended a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and calcium (low fat milk and other dairy products).
"It is also imperative to use less added fat, sugar and salt and check blood glucose and count the carbohydrate intake before each meal," she maintained.
The conference, which concludes today, is being attended a number of experts, most of them from the US.

Dr Garbern... explains genetic differences,Dr Grunberger... ‘T1 D is a predictable disease' and Heidi Edwards... dietary management

Source: The Gulf Times, Qatar