Non-Europeans 'at an increased genetic risk of lupus'

People of non-European descent are genetically predisposed to be more likely to develop lupus, according to a new study.Carried out by the National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre at Guy's and St Thomas' and King's College London, the research offers new insights into the causes of the inflammatory skin condition, which remain poorly understood.Explaining the higher prevalence of lupus in non-Europeans To carry out this study, the team looked at genetic data gathered from 22,670 Europeans, 13,174 Chinese people and additional data from south Asian, east Asian and African populations, spanning 1,000 genomes in total.Results published in the medical journal Nature Genetics indicated that non-European populations have a higher number of the gene variants known as alleles that are thought to contribute to the risk of developing lupus, particularly among the Chinese population. This confirms that the condition's increased prevalence in non-Europeans has a genetic basis.Further analysis of the data also uncovered 10 additional risk alleles associated with lupus, bringing the total of known lupus-related alleles to 88.The wider implications Based on these findings, it could be possible in future to develop tests to predict if an individual is more likely to develop lupus, while the discovery could also facilitate the creation of personalised treatments for the condition.Study co-author Dr David Morris, a researcher at King's College Londo...
Source: Arthritis Research UK - Category: Rheumatology Source Type: news