Gene changes and lab values in diabetes in black patient populations.

Diabetes is a condition in which your blood sugar is higher than normal. There are many types of diabetes. The most common type is called type 2 diabetes (T2D) which usually occurs later in life, mostly in adults. More and more Americans are getting T2D. “Non-white” Americans are more likely to have T2D than white Americans. T2D has been studied a lot in white populations. Several genes are known to increase the chance of having T2D in this group. Many other genes, currently unknown, may also be linked to T2D or high blood sugar. Blacks and other “non-white” groups have not been studied very much. The scientists in this project have found some genes that seem to contribute to high blood sugar in blacks. They showed that some of the same genes they found in white populations also occur in black people. They have also found that some gene changes seem to affect blood sugar in blacks but not in white populations. The scientists’ goal is to use BioVU to confirm that the new gene changes they found in blacksindeed contribute to high blood sugar. The scientists will then combine findings from BioVU with findings they get from other populations (e.g., white, Asian). Combining findings from different populations will increase the chance of discovering genes that truly contribute to diabetes.