Health Highlights: March 30, 2008

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors ofHealthDay:

Six More Type 2 Diabetes Genetic Markers Identified

Six more genetic variants have been identified that may contribute to a person's risk of getting type 2 diabetes. This brings the number of genetic traits to 16 associated with type 2 diabetes, which affects almost 21 million Americans and 400 million people worldwide, according to a news release from the U.S. government's National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

An international team of scientists had previously identified 10 genetic factors that might contribute to a person's chances of getting type 2 diabetes, but the additional six were a surprise, according to the news release. One of the genetic variants had been associated with prostate cancer risk.

"Each of these genes, therefore, provides new clues to the processes that go wrong when diabetes develops," said one of the senior authors, Dr. Mark McCarthy, of the University of Oxford in England. "And each provides an opportunity for the generation of new approaches for treating or preventing this condition."

The analysis is published in the latest online edition ofNature Genetics, and it was based on data from more than 70,000 people. An international research team from more than 40 centers in Europe and North America contributed to the findings.

Individually, the genetic markers heighten the possibility of getting diabetes only very slightly, the NIH news release said, but collectively, they may be able to be a powerful predictive tool. Scientists are analyzing the findings to develop a practical diagnostic model.

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Two Coronary Stents Implanted at the Same Time Increase Clotting Risk, Study Finds

Heart patients who have two coronary stents used during an emergency procedure have more than four times the chance than other patients of having a clot inside one of the stents block blood flow to the heart.

This finding by Dutch researchers presented in Chicago March 29 at a scientific session sponsored by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) concluded that one-in-six stent patients could expect a single incident of stent thrombosis, which could lead to a heart attack. But those who had more than one stent used at the same time had four times the risk of thrombosis.

A stent is a tiny, wire mesh tub the forces the walls of a clogged artery open, but medical experts are still debating whether its benefits consistently outweigh possible disadvantages.