Genetics of type II diabetes drugs

High blood sugar levels can lead to diabetes. There are two types of diabetes. Type I often occurs in children and young adults. Type II usually occurs later, in adults. A big risk factor for type II is being overweight. In type I, your body makes little to no insulin. Insulin is a protein that helps clear sugar from your blood. In type II, your body does not make enough insulin to keep your blood sugar levels in check. More and more people in the US are gaining weight. As a result, more people are getting type II diabetes. About 1 in 10 people in the US has type II diabetes. There are drugs that help control type II diabetes. One is metformin. The other is a group of drugs, called sulfonylureas. These drugs only work when the pancreas can still make insulin. They cause the pancreas to release insulin, which lowers blood sugar. But, sometimes, they can lower blood sugar too much. Two out of every three people taking these drugs have had this problem at least once. If your blood sugar drops too low, it can be life-threatening. Once a drug does its job, your body breaks it down. Proteins in the liver often help break down drugs. Genes make proteins. We know that changes in the genes that make these proteins may cause them not to work well. If one or more of the proteins that break down a drug does not work well, it can lead to a buildup of the drug in the body. If you have too much of a sulfonylurea drug, it may cause you to release too much insulin. This could cause your blood sugar to drop too low. Researchers will use BioVU to look for gene changes in patients taking sulfonylurea drugs. They will look for a link between gene changes and low blood sugar. The results of this study may help us learn which patients taking these drugs may have problems. We may adjust the dose. We may also give a different drug that will work better. This will help us give the best drug at the right dose for each patient.