Study Reveals New Insights for Preventing and Treating Long-Term Health Conditions

A new study Published in eBioMedicine research has identified genetic overlaps in 72 long-term health conditions associated with aging, to identify where specific genes are linked to two or more conditions.

The study analysed millions of both genetic and patient records on the long-term health conditions of later life and has identified opportunities for new ways to prevent and treat multiple overlapping conditions. The GEMINI study looked at both genetics and clinical information from more than three million people in the UK and Spain.

With more than 2,500 combinations of conditions analysed, the programme aims to unlock cases where a drug or prevention strategies can prevent or delay the onset of multimorbidity. It also revealed genetic connections that explain why certain conditions may be more likely to co-occur in the same patient.

Dr Joao Delgado, at the University of Exeter Medical School led the research.

He said: "Overlapping long-term conditions have a huge impact on the lives of millions of people and are difficult and costly to treat. For the first time, we've combined analysis of both genetics and clinical records on a massive scale, in a new and robust approach to identify where genes play a critical role in more than one condition. We're now working to drill down into specifics combination of conditions, and expect to reveal drugs or lifestyle changes that already work for treating existing conditions that can be repurposed to prevent multimorbidity, with promising results. For example, we identified the role of treatable conditions, such as B12 deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia in the development of multimorbidity. This will lead to a more personalised approach to prevention and treatment in multimorbidity."

Reference:https://news.exeter.ac.uk/faculty-of-health-and-life-sciences/genetic-research-unlocks-new-ways-to-prevent-and-treat-multiple-long-term-conditions/