TGen-led study identifies genes associated with unhealthy liver function

Study with Geisinger Health System tests nearly 2,300 extremely obese diabetes patients

2013-10-02

(Press-News.org) PHOENIX, Ariz. — Oct. 1, 2013 — A groundbreaking study of nearly 2,300 extremely obese diabetes patients, led by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), has identified genes associated with unhealthy liver function.

This is believed to be the nation's first large-scale genome-wide association study in overweight patients with diabetes.

Results of the study, done in conjunction with the Geisinger Health System, will be presented at the 64th annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Nov. 1-5 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

The study — Genome-wide analysis identifies loci associated with total bilirubin levels, steatosis, and mild fibrosis in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease — looked at how genomic factors affect the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. It was selected for presentation from among a record 3,139 submittals from around the world proposed for what also is known as The Liver Meeting 2013.

"These genetic factors could help us identify patients who are most at risk of developing non-alcoholic forms of fatty-liver disease (NAFLD), and which patients may be more likely to progress to severe forms of NAFLD, such as steatohepatitis (NASH)," said Dr. Johanna DiStefano, the study's principal investigator and lead author. Dr. DiStefano is Director of TGen's Diabetes, Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases Division.

NAFLD is the build up of extra fat in liver cells, not caused by alcohol. It is one of the most common causes of chronic liver disease. NASH is liver inflammation and damage caused by a buildup of fat in the liver, not caused by alcohol.

"Our results showed evidence for new genetic loci that may play a role in the biological mechanisms of NAFLD and NASH," said Dr. Glenn S. Gerhard, a faculty member of the Geisinger Obesity Institute and a co-investigator of the study.

"We discovered genes that may help identify those patients most at risk for the types of liver disease so severe that they could require transplants," said Dr. Gerhard, Administrative Director for the Institute for Personalized Medicine at Penn State University-Hershey.

Patients included in this study were those with extreme obesity enrolled in a bariatric surgery program.

The study identified evidence for association with markers in the neurocan gene (NCAN) on chromosome 19p12, and rs2501843 on chromosome 1.

### The American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) is the leading organization of scientists and healthcare professionals committed to preventing and curing liver disease. AASLD was founded in 1950 by a small group of leading liver specialists to bring together those who had contributed to the field of hepatology.

AASLD has grown to an international society responsible for all aspects of hepatology. Its annual meeting, The Liver Meeting, has grown in attendance from 12 to more than 9,500 physicians, surgeons, researchers, and allied health professionals from around the world.

About Geisinger Health System Geisinger Health System is an integrated health services organization widely recognized for its innovative use of the electronic health record, and the development of innovative care models such as ProvenHealth Navigator® and ProvenCare®. As the nation's largest rural health services organization, Geisinger serves more than 2.6 million residents throughout 44 counties in central and northeastern Pennsylvania. The physician-led system is comprised of more than 19,500 employees, including a 1,000-member multi-specialty group practice, six hospital campuses, two research centers and a 448,000-member health plan, all of which leverage an estimated $6.1 billion positive impact on the Pennsylvania economy. The health system and the health plan have repeatedly garnered national accolades for integration, quality and service. In addition to fulfilling its patient care mission, Geisinger has a long-standing commitment to medical education, research and community service. For more information, visit http://www.geisinger.org, or follow the latest Geisinger news and more on Twitter and Facebook.

Press Contact: Wendy Wilson
Media Team Director
Geisinger Health System
570-969-7807
wkwilson@geisinger.edu

About TGen Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is a Phoenix, Arizona-based non-profit organization dedicated to conducting groundbreaking research with life changing results. TGen is focused on helping patients with cancer, neurological disorders and diabetes, through cutting edge translational research (the process of rapidly moving research towards patient benefit). TGen physicians and scientists work to unravel the genetic components of both common and rare complex diseases in adults and children. Working with collaborators in the scientific and medical communities literally worldwide, TGen makes a substantial contribution to help our patients through efficiency and effectiveness of the translational process. For more information, visit: http://www.tgen.org.

Press Contact: Steve Yozwiak
TGen Senior Science Writer
602-343-8704
syozwiak@tgen.org

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Researchers find that drinking fluoridated water gives no additional risks for hip fractures

2013-10-02

Alexandria, Va., USA – Today, the International and American Associations for Dental Research (IADR/AADR) published a paper titled "Estimated Drinking Water Fluoride Exposure and Risk of Hip Fracture: A Cohort Study." In this study a team of researchers, led by Peggy Näsman, Karolinska Institute, Department of Dental Medicine, Stockholm, Sweden, investigated possible adverse health effects on bone tissue from drinking fluoridated water. The study included a large cohort of Swedish residents chronically exposed to various fluoride levels, with the hypothesis of a possible ...

Solar power's future brawl

2013-10-02

WASHINGTON, D.C. Oct. 1, 2013 -- A trio of researchers at North Dakota State University and the University of South Dakota have turned to computer modeling to help decide which of two competing materials should get its day in the sun as the nanoscale energy-harvesting technology of future solar panels -- quantum dots or nanowires. Andrei Kryjevski and his colleagues, Dimitri Kilin and Svetlana Kilina, report in AIP Publishing's Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy that they used computational chemistry models to predict the electronic and optical properties of ...

Rensselaer researchers propose new theory to explain seeds of life in asteroids

2013-10-02

Troy, N.Y. – A new look at the early solar system introduces an alternative to a long-taught, but largely discredited, theory that seeks to explain how biomolecules were once able to form inside of asteroids. In place of the outdated theory, researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute propose a new theory – based on a richer, more accurate image of magnetic fields and solar winds in the early solar system, and a mechanism known as multi-fluid magneto-hydrodynamics – to explain the ancient heating of the asteroid belt. Although today the asteroid belt between Mars ...

Renal risk index: A clinical tool to predict the risk of end-stage renal disease

2013-10-02

Ann Arbor, Mich. — End-stage renal disease is one of the major public health problems among solid organ transplant recipients that is associated with death after transplant and high cost of care. Using the national data of 43,514 liver transplant recipients, researchers at University of Michigan researchers in collaboration with Arbor Research Collaborative for Health created and validated a risk score called renal risk index based upon the liver transplant recipient's characteristics at the time of transplant to predict the post- transplant end stage renal disease. ...

Out-of-pocket medical spending will drop for many under Affordable Care Act, study finds

2013-10-02

Out-of-pocket medical expenses will decline for most consumers who become newly insured or change their source of health insurance under the federal Affordable Care Act, according to a new RAND Corporation study. The study found that overall the Affordable Care Act will have a varied impact on health spending by individuals and families, depending primarily on their income and whether they would have been uninsured in 2016 without the program. People who will be newly insured and do not qualify for government subsidies are those who are most likely to see increased ...

New genetic discovery could reduce the guesswork in drug dosing

2013-10-02

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The discovery of genetic differences affecting up to a third of the population could take the guesswork out of prescribing the correct dose of 25 percent of drugs currently on the market, researchers say. The scientists found two genetic variants that alter the activity level of an enzyme responsible for processing, or metabolizing, drugs ranging from the painkiller codeine to the breast cancer drug tamoxifen. The Ohio State University researchers who found these differences say that pending additional research, the variants are good candidates for ...

Notre Dame study: The face is the focus for a person wielding a gun

2013-10-02

A person wielding a gun focuses more intently on the face of an opponent with a gun, presumably to try to determine that person's likelihood of pulling the trigger, according to a new study that builds on gun-in-hand research from the University of Notre Dame. Notre Dame Associate Professor of Psychology James Brockmole, who specializes in human cognition and how the visual world guides behavior, conducted the research at Notre Dame with Adam Biggs, currently a post-doctoral fellow in the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences and the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, and ...

Lactation may be linked to aggressive cancer in Mexican women

2013-10-02

Scientific data suggest that a woman reduces her risk of breast cancer by breastfeeding, having multiple children and giving birth at a younger age. A study led by the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and recently published online by Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, indicates that women of Mexican descent may not fit that profile. In fact, results suggest that women of Mexican descent with more children and those who breastfeed are more likely to be diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. During the four-year Ella Binational ...

UW scientist sniffs out possible new tick species

2013-10-02

MADISON — In June 2012, Tony Goldberg returned from one of his frequent trips to Kibale National Park, an almost 500-square-mile forest in western Uganda where he studies how infectious diseases spread and evolve in the wild. But he didn't return alone. "When I got back to the U.S., I realized I had a stowaway," says Goldberg, professor of pathobiological sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine and associate director for research in the UW-Madison Global Health Institute. "When you first realize you have a tick up your nose, it takes ...

Recent study reduces Casimir force to lowest recorded level

2013-10-02

A research team that includes a physics professor at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) has recorded a drastically reduced measurement of the Casimir effect, a fundamental quantum phenomenon experienced between two neutral bodies that exist in a vacuum. For more than 60 years, scientists have studied the peculiar electromagnetic interaction between two neutral objects. The Casimir effect, a long-standing point of study in quantum physics, refers to this unavoidable physical force that exists between the objects, even when those objects are placed ...

TGen-led study identifies genes associated with unhealthy liver function

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: