Fracture prone? Blame your genes
April 22nd, 2012 - 2:37 pm ICT by IANSSydney, April 22 (IANS) Are you prone to fractures or trip often? If yes, then blame it on some unidentified genetic regions associated with osteoporosis and bone fracture, says a study.
An international team of scientists have now discovered a large number of genetic variants linked to osteoporosis and bone fracture.
Osteoporosis is a silent but devastating age-related disease that kills half of those who fracture their hip after the age of 80 years within 12 months. Women aged over 65 are at greater risk of death after hip fracture than from breast cancer.
Researchers including those from The University of Western Australia (UWA), found that variants in 56 regions of the genome influenced bone mineral density, while 14 of these variants increased the risk of bone fracture, the journal Nature Genetics reported.
Bone mineral density is the most widely used measurement to diagnose osteoporosis and assess the risk of fracture, with higher density tied to with lower risk of fracture, according to a university statement.
In the largest ever genetic study of osteoporosis of its kind, researchers from Holland’s Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, studied more than 80,000 individuals across Europe, North America, East Asia and Australia.
Richard Prince, professor and study co-author from UWA, said osteoporosis was strongly related to gene variation.
“We have found new genes strongly related to bone structure. This latest research has helped pinpoint many factors in critical molecular pathways that may lead to therapeutic treatments,” said Prince.
Researchers also found that women with an excess of bone mineral density-decreasing genetic variants had up to 56 percent higher risk osteoporosis and a 60 percent higher risk of all types of fractures.
- Gene combinations linked to hip osteoporosis in postmenopausal women - Mar 30, 2011
- Wine could help protect older women from thinning bones - Aug 03, 2012
- Elderly can blame low sodium for fractures and falls - Nov 21, 2010
- Obese kids at greater risk of bone fractures and osteoporosis in old age - Apr 11, 2011
- Thinning of bones linked to heart failure - Feb 03, 2012
- Breast cancer survivors are at higher risk for hip fractures - Feb 03, 2011
- Childhood obesity genes identified - Apr 12, 2012
- New gene could trigger osteoporosis - Oct 05, 2011
- Anxiety can weaken bones - Apr 15, 2011
- Age of onset of puberty predicts adult osteoporosis risk - Jan 29, 2011
- Apple-shaped women 'more likely to develop osteoporosis' - Nov 30, 2010
- Genes linked to brittle bone identified - Oct 07, 2009
- Weak bones 'run in the family' - Jan 30, 2010
- Long-term use of osteoporosis drugs raises risk of fractures - Feb 23, 2011
- HIV-infected postmenopausal women at increased bone fracture risk - Jan 06, 2010
Tags: america east, bone fracture, bone mineral density, bone structure, breast cancer, breast cancer researchers, erasmus university, gene variation, genetic regions, genetic study, genetic variants, hip fracture, journal nature genetics, molecular pathways, richard prince, therapeutic treatments, types of fractures, university medical centre, university of western australia, uwa