(Press-News.org) Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have identified the genetic variations that are believed to cause osteoporosis. The study, published in Nature Genetics and involving leading researchers from Sweden and the world, shows among other interesting facts that women with a higher proportion of genetic variations associated with osteoporosis have a more than 50 percent increased fracture risk.
Osteoporosis is a common and a devastating age-related disease about 50 percent of all who have a hip fracture after age 80 die within one year from the time of injury. The consequences of osteoporosis are therefore well-known, but the causes of the disease are largely unknown.
56 genetic regions for bone density
In a groundbreaking international study, which is led partially from the Sahlgrenska Academy, researchers have now succeeded in identifying a total of 56 genetic regions that control bone density in human beings. Fourteen of these genetic variants increase the risk of fractures, the study, which has been published in the world-leading journal Nature Genetics, has shown.
"This is the first time anyone has identified the genetic variants that are so strongly associated with an increased risk of fracture," comments Claes Ohlsson, a professor at the Sahlgrenska Academy.
Study on 80,000 people
An international consortium, which also involves researchers from Umeå University, Uppsala University and Malmö University, is behind the study. In total, the researchers studied the genetic make-up of a total of 80,000 people and 30,000 fracture cases, making it the world's largest genetic study in this particular area of research.
"We can prove that women who have a large number of genetic variants associated with low bone density have up to a 56 percent higher risk of osteoporosis as compared with women who have a normal set-ups of the same genetic variants," comments Claes Ohlsson.
Targets for new treatment methods
The results have led to several new findings in bone biology, among other things the researchers identified several important molecular signaling pathways for bone density that can be targets for new treatment methods and therapies.
"In addition to already known proteins and pathways that were confirmed by the study, we are now facing a whole new biology in the field of bone research," comments Ulrika Pettersson, Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Neuroscience, Umeå University, and co-author of the study.
INFORMATION:
The article "Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies 56 bone mineral density loci and reveals 14 loci associated with the risk of fracture" has been published in Nature Genetics on 15 April.
The study is part of the EU-funded project: Genetic Factors of Osteoporosis (GEFOS).
Scientists have discovered genes that increase the risk of osteoporosis and fractures
2012-04-24
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2 distinguishable gene groups detected: 1 'normal' and 1 problematic
2012-04-24
Jerusalem, April 23, 2012 – Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and other institutions have identified two distinguishable groups of genes: those that produce very abundant biochemical products in the cell and function properly in the majority of biological processes, and a flexible subset that might have abnormal function in a disease.
They demonstrated that these two groups can be found among various organisms and cell types, including stem cells and cancer cells.
One set of genes is a robust network that conducts the basic functions of all cells, ...
Study shows that, in restaurants, race matters
2012-04-24
A new study from North Carolina State University shows that more than one-third of restaurant servers discriminate against African-American customers.
"Many people believe that race is no longer a significant issue in the United States," says Sarah Rusche, a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the study. "But the fact that a third of servers admit to varying their quality of service based on customers' race, often giving African-Americans inferior service, shows that race continues to be an issue in our society."
Researchers ...
Quantum physics mimics spooky action into the past
2012-04-24
This press release is available in German.
Physicists of the group of Prof. Anton Zeilinger at the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI), the University of Vienna, and the Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology (VCQ) have, for the first time, demonstrated in an experiment that the decision whether two particles were in an entangled or in a separable quantum state can be made even after these particles have been measured and may no longer exist. Their results will be published this week in the journal "Nature Physics".
Entangled ...
Fish larvae find the reef by orienting: The earlier the better
2012-04-24
MIAMI – The behavior of marine larvae is central to fully understanding and modeling the pelagic (open ocean) stage for many coastal organisms. For the first time, a numerical study conducted by the University of Miami (UM) incorporates horizontal larval fish navigation skills into realistic 3D flow fields, creating a powerful tool that spells out how larvae use environmental cues to find their way back to the reef after being out on the open ocean. The new model uses reliable larval swimming speeds and vertical migration, known life history traits and spawning time to ...
Collaborative research examines executive turnover in federal workplaces
2012-04-24
A research partnership represented by the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) National Center for Organization Development (NCOD) is examining factors predicting the turnover of senior executives in the federal workplace. It's an area that has not been widely researched, yet it can result in a costly toll on organizations – both financially in replacing senior staff as well as professionally in the loss of the knowledge, skills and strategy-building talent of senior-level management. The project ...
Pain relief with PAP injections may last 100 times longer than a traditional acupuncture treatment
2012-04-24
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have identified a new way to deliver long-lasting pain relief through an ancient medical practice.
In an article published in the April 23 online edition of Molecular Pain, UNC researchers describe how exploiting the molecular mechanism behind acupuncture resulted in six-day pain relief in animal models. They call this new therapeutic approach PAPupuncture.
Principal investigator Mark J. Zylka, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Cell and Molecular Physiology and the UNC ...
Vitamin E in diet protects against many cancers
2012-04-24
Next time you need to choose between vegetable oil and margarine in that favorite recipe, think about your health and reach for the oil.
While the question of whether vitamin E prevents or promotes cancer has been widely debated in scientific journals and in the news media, scientists at the Center for Cancer Prevention Research, at Rutgers Mario School of Pharmacy, and the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, believe that two forms of vitamin E – gamma and delta-tocopherols – found in soybean, canola and corn oils as well as nuts do prevent colon, lung, breast and prostate ...
Carnegie Mellon fluorescent biosensor reveals mechanism critical to immune system amplification
2012-04-24
PITTSBURGH—Using a new fluorescent biosensor they developed, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have discovered how a key set of immune cells exchange information during their coordinated assault on invading pathogens. The immune cells, called dendritic cells, are harnessed by cancer vaccines and other therapeutics used to amplify the immune system. The finding, published online March 29 in the journal Angewandte Chemie, marks the first time that scientists have visualized how antigens are transferred in the immune system between dendritic cells.
"Knowing the ...
Coalition petitions FDA to fortify corn masa flour with folic acid
2012-04-24
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 18, 2012 – Serious birth defects of the brain and spine in America's babies, particularly those of Hispanic origin, could be reduced if the nation's corn masa flour products were fortified with the B vitamin folic acid, according to a new petition filed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by a coalition of six organizations:
Gruma Corporation
Spina Bifida Association
March of Dimes Foundation
American Academy of Pediatrics
Royal DSM N.V.
National Council of La Raza
The ...
Protein prevents DNA damage in the developing brain and might serve as a tumor suppressor
2012-04-24
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have rewritten the job description of the protein TopBP1 after demonstrating that it guards early brain cells from DNA damage. Such damage might foreshadow later problems, including cancer.
Researchers showed that cells in the developing brain require TopBP1 to prevent DNA strands from breaking as the molecule is copied prior to cell division. Investigators also reported that stem cells and immature cells known as progenitor cells involved at the beginning of brain development are more sensitive to unrepaired DNA damage ...