Could we use gene mutations to treat diabetes and heart disease?

                              
Researchers say they have found a gene mutation that moderates the metabolism of sugar within the intestine, giving individuals who have the mutation a distinct advantage over those who don't. 
Those with the mutation have a lower chance of diabetes, obesity, heart failure, and even death. The analysts say their finding may give the basis for drug therapies that could imitate the workings of this gene mutation, offering a potential advantage for the millions of individuals who endure with diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.

The study shows that individuals who have the characteristic gene mutation have an advantage when it comes to diet. Those who eat a high-carbohydrate diet and have this mutation will retain less glucose than those without the mutation. A high-carbohydrate diet includes such foods as pasta, bread, cookies, and sugar-sweetened beverages. Researchers said that they're excited about this study since it helps them to clarify the interface between what we eat, what we absorb, and our chance for disease. Knowing this opens the door to improved treatments for the cardiometabolic disease.

During the study, the analysts examined the relationship between SGLT-1 mutations and cardiometabolic disease using genetic data gotten from 8,478 participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. The analysts found that almost 6 percentages of the subjects carried a mutation in SGLT-1 that causes limited impairment of glucose absorption. People with this change had a lower incidence of type 2 diabetes, were less obese, had a lower rate of heart failure, and had a lower mortality rate when compared to those without the mutation, indeed after adjusting for dietary intake.

Based on these discoveries, the researchers recommend that specifically blocking the SGLT-1 receptor could provide a way to slow down glucose uptake to anticipate or treat cardiometabolic disease and its consequences.