Despite major advances in our knowledge of glycemic pathophysiology and the availability of multiple therapeutic options to confront type 2 diabetes, unraveling the complex link between genetic risk and environmental factors in this burgeoning epidemic has proven difficult. Linkage approaches have clarified the etiology of monogenic diabetic syndromes and congenital lipodystrophies, and candidate gene association studies have identified a number of common variants implicated in type 2 diabetes. This year we have witnessed the advent of genome-wide association scanning: As many as nine genetic loci have now been reproducibly associated with type 2 diabetes in five genome-wide scans. Of particular interest are preliminary explorations of the connections between genetic risk and pharmacologic response. An improved understanding of genetic mechanisms should allow us to test whether behavioral or pharmacologic therapies can be tailored and thus the tremendous disease burden inflicted by type 2 diabetes alleviated.

中文翻译：

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2型糖尿病的遗传易感性及其对糖尿病治疗的意义。

尽管我们对血糖病理生理学的了解取得了重大进展，并且可以使用多种治疗方案来应对2型糖尿病，但是在这种迅速发展的流行病中，揭开遗传风险与环境因素之间的复杂联系已被证明是困难的。连锁方法已经阐明了单基因糖尿病综合征和先天性脂肪营养不良的病因，候选基因关联研究已经确定了许多与2型糖尿病有关的常见变异。今年，我们见证了全基因组关联扫描的出现：在五次全基因组扫描中，多达9个基因位点与2型糖尿病相关联。特别令人感兴趣的是对遗传风险与药理反应之间联系的初步探索。