There are genetic links between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and the incurable Parkinson’s disease (PD), according to researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York.
The important discovery – just published in the journal Genome medicine titled “The landscape of rare genetic variations associated with inflammatory bowel disease and comorbid Parkinson’s disease has highlighted the potential for joint therapeutic strategies to target these two debilitating diseases.
IBD refers to ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease in which the patient suffers from chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, risking damage to the digestive system. Both involve diarrhea, rectal bleeding, weight loss, weakness and abdominal pain.
Parkison’s disease is a brain disorder that causes involuntary or uncontrollable movements, such as tremors, difficulty with balance and coordination, and stiffness whose symptoms usually begin gradually and worsen over time.
The team, led by Dr. Meltem Ece Kars, a postdoctoral researcher at the Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine; professor of genetics and genomics Yuval Itan; and genetics professor Inga Peter,
The team used advanced genomic analysis techniques to study the genetic overlap between IBD and PD. Their findings indicate that mutations in the LRRK2 gene are a common element linking the two diseases and identified new genes that may be affected in people with both IBD and PD.
Genetic links
Kars explained: “We discovered that IBD and PD are caused by some common genetic factors, including variants in LRRK2 and other previously unknown genes for this combined disease. This could radically change our approach to these diseases, allowing the development of therapies that target both conditions simultaneously.
The study analyzed data from the Mount Sinai BioMe BioBank, the UK Biobank and a group of 67 patients diagnosed with both IBD and PD from the Danish National Biobank. This combined dataset allowed researchers to explore rare, high-impact genetic variants and identify novel genes and biological pathways that contribute to IBD-PD comorbidity.
“Our research not only links these two diseases genetically, but also opens the way to new forms of treatment, and potentially prevention strategies, that could ease the burden of these diseases on patients,” said Dr. Kars.
The researchers used various computational methods to discover significant associations between LRRK2 gene variants and the co-occurrence of IBD and PD, including the network-based heterogeneity clustering approach which they found very effective in the discovery of genes in small cohorts that cannot be analyzed by traditional gene association methods. Their analysis also revealed several pathways related to immunity, inflammation and autophagy – the body’s cellular recycling system – involved in both conditions.
These findings have potential implications across many medical fields, suggesting that understanding genetic factors could lead to better targeted therapies. The study highlights the importance of genetic research in developing personalized medicine approaches that could improve the treatment of patients with both diseases.
The promise of these results extends beyond current treatments. “By identifying the common genetic underpinnings of IBD and PD, we are paving the way for innovative treatments, whether through the development of new drug targets or the repurposing of existing drugs, that could potentially address the root causes of these diseases,” Kars added. . The results of this study could also influence future research directions, encouraging a more integrated approach to the study of diseases.
News Source : www.jpost.com
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