Eli Lilly Identifies 12 Genetic Regions Linked to Diabetes, Obesity
Why must we always, always look for drugs to solve society’s ills? Genetic structures have not changed appreciably in eons, and yet the rates of many diseases is going up and up. If genetics have not changed, the key must be environmental influences. The genetic defects have always been there, but now, with poor lifestyle choices, the diseases are manifesting themselves. The Pima Indians are the perfect example…
Eli Lilly’s Consortium for Diabetes and Obesity has identified a dozen genetic regions that it believes are “keys to unlocking what makes individuals susceptible to type-2 diabetes and obesity,” the Indianapolis-based company announced on Friday. “We now know that there are 12 little pieces of the chromosome where susceptibility genes are found,” Lilly Vice President of Endocrine research and Clinical Investigation Jose Caro told Reuters Health. “In the next 2 years, we will identify among these 12 little regions two or three that we want to study very deeply.” The whittled down list will give Lilly novel targets against which to develop therapeutic drugs, he said.