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"This study essentially doubles in one fell swoop the number of known andreplicated genetic factors contributing to obesity as a public healthproblem. And what we are seeing in obesity are a large number of commongenetic risk factors with a relatively modest impact on disease. One of themost notable aspects of these discoveries is that most of these new riskfactors are near genes that regulate processes in the brain. This suggeststhat as we work to develop better means of combating obesity, including usingthese discoveries as the first step in developing new drugs, we need to focuson the regulation of appetite at least as much as on the metabolic factors ofhow the body uses and stores energy," said Kari Stefansson, CEO of deCODE andsenior author on the paper.
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"Today's findings also underscore our ability to employ ourpopulation-based resources and statistical knowhow in Iceland as acornerstone of large-scale multinational collaborations to identify andreplicate the inherited causes of the most complex phenotypes. These newvariants may point to valuable new drug targets, and we are alreadyintegrating them into deCODEme.(TM) We look forward to expanding upon ourproductive collaboration with colleagues in the US and Europe to continue toincrease our understanding of the biology that underlies obesity," Dr.Stefansson added.
About obesity and this study
Obesity results from the consumption of more calories than the body uses,and it represents a growing public health problem worldwide, particularly inindustrialized countries. Obesity is a major risk factor for diseases such astype 2 diabetes, a range of cardiovascular conditions, and even some forms ofcancer. One third of the population of the United States is now classified asobese, and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around theworld as many as 400 million people are obese.
Obesity is a quintessentially complex condition. Behavioral factors suchas diet, eating habits and lack of exercise play a major role, but theseinteract with genetic factors that influence the regulation of appetite aswell as how the body uses energy and stores it as fat. The aim of the studypublished today was to identify more of these genetic factors as a means ofbetter understanding the biological processes that contribute to obesity.This information can be used to inform efforts to develop better means ofcombatting it. The discovery phase of the study published today correlatedmore than 300,000 SNPs with data on weight and body mass index (BMI). BMI isa measure used to relate weight to height, calculated as an individual'sweight in kilograms divided by their height in meters squared, andindividuals with a BMI greater than 30 are defined as obese. The 43 SNPsidentified in this first scan were then analyzed in 5,500 Danes and genotypicdata from the 33,000 participants in the GIANT Consortium's research. Thisanalysis yielded SNPs linked to overweight and obesity at seven regions ofthe genome not previously known to be involved in obesity; identified newSNPs at previously known obesity-linked sites in the genome; and confirmedand refined the impact on obesity of previously published SNPs at four othersites in the genome.
deCODE and the authors would like to thank the participants in thisstudy, and to acknowledge the fruitful collaboration with the GIANTConsortium, which included data from this study in its own meta-analysis alsopublished today. The research performed at deCODE was partly funded throughthe European Community's ENGAGE project, grant agreementHEALTH-F4-2007-201413. Support for the US research was provided by the USNational Institutes of Health, and for the Danish research by the LundbeckFoundation Centre of Applied Medical Genomics and the Danish Health ResearchCouncil.
About deCODE
deCODE is a bio-pharmaceutical company developing drugs and DNA-basedtests to improve the treatment, diagnosis and prevention of common diseases.Its lead therapeutic programs, which leverage the company's expertise inchemistry and structural biology, include DG041, an antiplatelet compoundbeing developed for the prevention of arterial thrombosis; DG051 and DG031,compounds targeting the leukotriene pathway for the prevention of heartattack; and DG071 and a platform for other PDE4 modulators with therapeuticapplications in Alzheimer's disease and other conditions. deCODE is a globalleader in human genetics, and has identified key variations in the genome(SNPs) conferring increased risk of major public health challenges fromcardiovascular disease to cancer. Based upon these discoveries deCODE hasbrought to market a growing range of DNA-based tests for gauging risk andempowering prevention of common diseases. Through its CLIA-registeredlaboratory, deCODE is offers deCODE T2(TM) for type 2 diabetes; deCODE AF(TM)for atrial fibrillation and stroke; deCODE MI(TM) for heart attack; deCODEProCa(TM) for prostate cancer; deCODE Glaucoma(TM) for a major type ofglaucoma; and deCODE BreastCancer(TM), for the common forms of breast cancer.deCODE is delivering on the promise of the new genetics.SM Visit us on theweb at http://www.decode.com; on our diagnostics site athttp://www.decodediagnostics.com; for our pioneering personal genome analysisservice, integrating the genetic variants included in these tests and thoselinked to another twenty common diseases, at http://www.decodeme.com; and onour blog at http://www.decodeyou.com.
Any statements contained in this presentation that relate to futureplans, events or performance are forward-looking statements within themeaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Theseforward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertaintiesthat could cause actual results, and the timing of events, to differmaterially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Theserisks and uncertainties include, among others, those relating to our abilityto obtain financing and to form collaborative relationships, the effect of apotential delisting of our common stock from The Nasdaq Global Market,uncertainty regarding potential future deterioration in the market forauction rate securities which could negatively affect our cash position andresult in additional permanent impairment charges, our ability to develop andmarket diagnostic products, the level of third party reimbursement for ourproducts, risks related to preclinical and clinical development ofpharmaceutical products, including the identification of compounds and thecompletion of clinical trials, the effect of government regulation and theregulatory approval processes, market acceptance, our ability to obtain andprotect intellectual property rights for our products, dependence oncollaborative relationships, the effect of competitive products, industrytrends and other risks identified in deCODE's filings with the Securities andExchange Commission, including, without limitation, the risk factorsidentified in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any updates tothose risk factors filed from time to time in our Quarterly Reports on Form10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K. deCODE undertakes no obligation toupdate or alter these forward-looking statements as a result of newinformation, future events or otherwise.Contacts: Edward Farmer +354-570-2819 [email protected] Gisli Arnason +354-570-1825 [email protected] Joy Bessenger +1-212-481-3891 [email protected]
SOURCE deCODE genetics Inc
