The Hindu : National : Indians have no genetic shield against HIV, says study

The Hindu : National : Indians have no genetic shield against HIV, says study


Indians have no genetic shield against HIV, says study

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: There is some bad news on the HIV-AIDS front. A multi-institutional nationwide study of the genetic landscape of people of the country conducted by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research has revealed that a known protective genetic marker against HIV-1 sub-type is virtually absent in the country. In other words, the people in the country are bereft of any natural or genetic protection against HIV-AIDS.

The study, which involved scientists and researchers drawn from six CSIR laboratories as well as experts at the Indian Statistical Institute and anthropologists from several institutions, has also revealed that vegetarians among north Indians are at a high risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, if they also had low levels of vitamin B12.

Releasing the findings on Friday, Union Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said studies with regard to other diseases were under way.

The results would be available in due course. The other diseases under study include diabetes, asthma, epilepsy, cancer, parkinsonism, chronic pancreatitis, malaria, glaucoma and retinitis pigmentosa.
Better management

A major aim of the project is to make predictions of both diseases as also the effectiveness of specific drugs used for various diseases.

A pilot pharmacogenomic study on response to salbutamol, which is used for treatment of asthma, has, for instance, identified genetic markers in a receptor gene, which could classify individuals as poor and good responders. This kind of findings could help in better management of diseases.

A large number of projects would be undertaken during the eleventh plan period that would aim at using the data for predictive marker discovery and pharmacogenomics, he added. The study, which began in 2003, has generated genetic information on over 4,000 genetic markers from over 1,000 bio-medically important and pharmaco-genetically relevant genes.