Use of "DNA fingerprints" to help Aberdeen scientists track down causes of osteoporosis
Scientists in Aberdeen are to use "DNA fingerprints" to help them track down the genes responsible for the bone-thinning disease, osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis is a common condition causing increased risk of fracture, particularly in the elderly. Up to ten per cent of men and more than one third of women over the age of 60 will have a fracture due to osteoporosis in their lifetime.
Now a team led by Professor Stuart Ralston, Professor of Medicine at the University of Aberdeen's Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, is to use a new genetic mapping technique to try to identify some of the genes which make some people more likely to develop osteoporosis than others.
They are being funded by an 18-month grant of almost £84,000 from leading medical research charity the Arthritis Research Campaign.
"Several factors contribute to the risk of osteoporosis, including poor diet, lack of exercise and smoking, but there is increasing evidence to show that heredity plays an important role in causing the disease," explained Professor Ralston.
"Previous research has identified some genes which appear to predispose to osteoporosis, but we believe that many others remain to be discovered which play a greater role. The aim of this project is to use a new genetic mapping technique to try to identify them."
The Aberdeen research will involve analysing the "DNA fingerprint" in samples from individuals with severe osteoporosis, and comparing this with the DNA fingerprint in people who have high bone density and are therefore protected from developing osteoporosis.
In doing this, the team should be able to pinpoint specific regions of the human genome which are abnormal in patients with osteoporosis, and identify the genes responsible. If may then be possible to develop a diagnostic test so that people most at risk could be given preventative treatment. Another spin-off could be in identifying new genes that could be of value in developing new treatments.
