GWAS. While our blog mainly deals with monogenic epilepsies, assessing common genetic risk factors through genome-wide association studies has been an established way of understanding potential genetic contributors to both common and rare disorders. More recently, polygenic risk scores have entered the stage, composite measures of many common variants which explain a significant proportion of the overall population risk for epilepsy. However, a major limitation of many genome-wide association studies has been the focus on populations of European ancestry. So far, very few studies have examined common genetic risk factors in the epilepsies in non-European populations. In a recent publication examining results from the BioBank Japan Project, 42 disorders were examined in more than 200,000 individuals, including the epilepsies. While no single epilepsy variant stood out, the study provides an interesting confirmation of a previously known common risk factors for the epilepsies. Continue reading
Tag Archives: population genetics
SCN1A – this is what you should know in 2015
2015 update. Our updates on SCN1A mutations and Dravet Syndrome are amongst our most frequently read posts. Therefore, following the tradition of annual reviews that we started last year, we thought that a quick update on SCN1A would be timely again, building on our previous 2014 update. These are the five things about SCN1A that you should know in 2015. Continue reading
These are the genes we don’t need – or do we?
Rare human knockouts. Recessive disorders arise when both copies of a causative gene are affected by mutations. These diseases are thought to be a very rare occurrence, but the cumulative impact of these conditions is not known. Population genome sequencing offers the possibility to assess the spectrum and distribution of potentially causative mutations in large groups of individuals. In a recent publication from deCODE published in Nature Genetics, the authors examine the population spectrum of rare human knockouts using the unique genetic data and population structure of the Icelanders. Here is the story about potential candidate genes identified by population genetics. Continue reading
