CPAG: software for leveraging pleiotropy in GWAS to reveal similarity between human traits links plasma fatty acids and intestinal inflammation

Apparently, Crohn's disease and plasma palmitoleric acid have an association. Using a new technology, CPAG or Cross-Phenotype Analysis of GWAS, scientists were able to perform meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and search for similarities between over 600 traits. Using GWAS is particularly helpful being that Crohn's disease is associated with a genetic variant. Pleiotropic SNPs (single polynucleotide polymorphisms) are common within the human genome, which means one genetic locus affects multiple phenotypes. The significance of cross-phenotype associations lies in the fact that they may represent pleiotropy, and it has been discovered that the PTPN22 gene is associated with many conditions, such as Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, and more. It was found that 7% of SNPs are associated with more than one raw trait. In addition, by identifying traits associated with particular genetic variants and clustering the traits in order to visualize associations, clusters of known cholesterol-related traits, such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and autoimmunity, were easy to see and represented known relationships. 

The results were compared using a Chao-Sorensen model, the first use of a model usually used for ecology research, to study genetics. The model assessed heterogeneity, or the discordance of observed disease groups with already defined disease group. Many traits were had a high correspondence, which can be explained by reasons such as a similar risk factor, consequence of a disease, a similar gene affecting different pathways. Crohn's disease and psoriasis only overlap with two SNPs but were found to have genes in the interleukin (IL)-23 pathway, suggesting that the risk of both conditions could be related to signaling. Researchers went on to test whether increased plasma fatty acid would induce intestinal inflammation in zebrafish to find that plasma fatty acids have an effect on intestinal inflammation. It is known that countries with high fat diets have a stronger correlation with Crohn's disease. Three different fatty acids were injected into zebrafish larvae. Palmitic acid induced a greater increase in inflammation compared to TNBS-exposed and BSA-injected. Linoileic acid was suggestive of having an anti-inflammatory effect. 

I found this study to be of great interest, as it supports that environment can have a direct effect on the expression of certain diseases. The consumption of too much unnecessary fat could lead to the expression of Crohn's disease. 

Schizophrenia is Eight Different Diseases, Not One

           Emerging research has shown that Schizophrenia consists of a cluster of genes that each express a facet of the disease. Schizophrenia is a mental disorder which is characterized by weird social behavior and the inability to differentiate between reality and hallucillatory thinking. Dr. C. Robert Cloninger, professor of psychiatry and genetics at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, spearheaded the new research into Schizophrenia, emphasizing how the disorder can be devastating to the people experiencing its symptoms. He stated "We are opening a new era of psychiatric diagnosis." Additionally, "his work will allow for the development of a personalized diagnosis, opening the door to treating the cause, rather than the symptoms, or schizophrenia."

                         Above: Dr. C. Robert Cloninger discussing how several genetic factors
                                                        express Schizophrenia symptoms.

           This genetic cluster observation is illustrated by people with specific genetic profiles experiencing "word salad," while another group of people with different assortment of genes experience false noise. Furthermore, different sets of gene yield different probabilities for having the disorder. For example, one genetic set results in a nearly 95% chance of having schizophrenia, whereas another genetic profile yield a 71% chance with an early age of development at 17.
From an overall perspective, the average individual has a 1% chance of developing schizophrenia in one's lifetime.


Article: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/09/15/genetic-cause-schizophrenia/15535557/

More Information: http://www.firstpost.com/living/many-types-schizophrenia-can-divided-8-classes-study-1713031.html

200 Genes Linked to Chron's Disease

More than two hundred gene locations have now been identified for the chronic bowel condition Crohn's Disease, in a study that analyzed the entire human genome.This study shows how studying smaller but better defined groups can lead to a better understanding of how complex diseases are inherited, and paving the way for personalized treatment.

 

Crohn's Disease, a type of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, is a chronic illness of complex origins affecting approximately 100 to 150 people per 100,000. Understanding the genetic component of such complex diseases is central to explaining patients' symptoms and improving treatment.
Despite Crohn's having a large genetic component, this has been hard to dissect. This is partly due to the large number of genes involved, their complex interactions with environment and the spectrum of clinical presentations. As a result, many scientists have been focusing on ever larger cohorts of patients under the impression that larger data sets data will give better results.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121213121805.htm
http://health.rush.edu/HealthInformation/In-Depth%20Reports/10/000103.ASPX
 

Nut consumption linked to reduced death rate

People who consumed daily handfuls of nuts were 20% less likely to die from any cause over a 30- yr period than people who didn’t consume nuts found in the largest study of its kind.  The study showed that regular nut eaters were more slender disproving eating a lot of nuts will lead to obesity.  The most obvious benefit was a 29% reduction in deaths from heart disease and a reduction of 11% in the risk of dying from cancer.  It could not determine if a specific type of nut was more beneficial than another kind; however the reduction in mortality was the same in peanuts and tree nuts.  Sophisticated data analysis was used to rule out other factors that could account for mortality benefits. In the analysis the more nuts people ate the less likely they were to die over 30-year follow up period.  Nuts consumed less than once a week had a 7% reduction in mortality, once a week 11% reduction in mortality, two-four times a week  13% reduction, five to six weeks 15% reduction and seven or more times a week 20% reduction.  The authors cannot defiantly prove cause and effect, but data is strongly consistent with the statistics of existing clinical and observational trials to support health benefits of consumption of nuts on many chronic diseases.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131120192145.htm

http://www.dana-farber.org/Newsroom/News-Releases/Large-study-links-nut-consumption-to-reduced-death-rate.aspx