| Medical insurance can be a little costly when you fill in | | | | scientists should be starting on the road to looking for |
| forms that state your family has a history of various | | | | cures, treatments or diagnosis. |
| illnesses. This is because the assumption is that, if it's in | | | | If a patient can be identified by his or her genes as |
| the family, then you have an increased risk of | | | | having an increased risk of any particular disease, this |
| developing it but that is not always so and is it fair that | | | | then gives them the choice to make lifestyle changes |
| medical insurance premiums are raised because of it? | | | | and take preventative measures. This is because the |
| One thing that could help medical insurance companies | | | | scientists admit that gene study is only the beginning. |
| and, more importantly, the health of the nation, is the | | | | Many diseases will only develop in a person with |
| new research results recently released by scientists | | | | increased risk if other, environmental, factors are in |
| carrying out the biggest genetic study ever attempted. | | | | place. Diet and general health also play a large part in |
| The Guardian reports that scientists made major | | | | whether or not a disease develops and the findings |
| headway in identifying the genes that put us all at | | | | from the latest studies will give patients and doctors a |
| increased risk of developing various diseases. This is | | | | much wider scope to prevent or heal. |
| essential information in the quest for finding cures for | | | | Eight new genetic links were found for Crohn's |
| the same illnesses. | | | | disease. This illness affects up to 60,000 people in the |
| The human genome project was completed in 2000 | | | | UK and genetic links bring a 40% increase in risk. |
| which mapped every gene in the human body and | | | | Diabetes affects over 2 million people in the UK and |
| from this scientists have also been able to identify rare | | | | four new genes related to the disease have been |
| genetic variants that cause diseases such as cystic | | | | discovered. |
| fibrosis as well as many others. | | | | Up to 100 million people worldwide suffer from bipolar |
| In a study costing a staggering 9 pounds million, 17,000 | | | | disorder (manic depression) and genetics have been |
| people took part in 50 research groups and 24 new | | | | found to play a key role in the way nerve cells work in |
| genetic links were found for Crohn's disease, bipolar | | | | the brain which could lead to better medicine or even a |
| disorder (manic depression), type 1 and 2 diabetes, | | | | cure. With coronary heart disease that claims 105,000 |
| heart disease, high blood pressure and rheumatoid | | | | lives each year in Britain alone, several new genetic |
| arthritis. Certain genes had already been identified as | | | | links have been discovered through this study and a |
| having a link with these diseases and the increase in | | | | further three new genes identified for high blood |
| findings allows for more intense research and thus, | | | | pressure. |
| more chance of finding a cure. | | | | For those with rheumatoid arthritis, three more possible |
| A test on this scale has never been carried out before | | | | locations in the genome that play their part in people |
| and is being hailed as offering many breakthroughs, | | | | developing this condition have been found. It is |
| particularly in the areas of diabetes. For each disease | | | | important to remember that it's not simply life saving |
| that was being looked at, 2,000 patient's samples were | | | | that this study is being carried out for but also for |
| taken and compared with 3,000 'control' samples from | | | | better patient quality of life and preventing the |
| healthy patients. 500,000 genetic differences were | | | | diseases developing in the first place. |
| looked at. This sort of research is vital to show where | | | | |