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In 2008, two teams of researchers identified variations in a single gene, MYH9, that are strongly associated with kidney diseases disproportionately affecting African Americans. MYH9 risk variants account for nearly all of the increased risk for idiopathic focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and HIV-associated FSGS among African Americans compared to European Americans and a portion of the increased risk for hypertensive kidney disease. Surprisingly, however, these variants were not associated with kidney failure arising from diabetes.
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) will convene a conference entitled MYH9 and Kidney Disease: Clinical and Public Health Implications of Recent Genetic Findings in Populations on April 19-20, 2010, in Bethesda, MD, in partnership with the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD), National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Cancer Institute (NCI), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR). The conference will review genetic, public health, and ethical and social implications of these new findings, and conference participants will provide feedback to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) regarding future research directions.
The conference will focus on: (1) possible further basic science and genetic studies; (2) public health approaches; and (3) important questions regarding screening and social and ethical ramifications of the findings and public health recommendations in the U.S. population.
Goals of the conference are to:
• Review the current state of knowledge related to the clinical utility, public health implications, and future research needs after identification of MYH9 loci as a factor associated with genetic susceptibility to non-diabetic kidney disease, including hypertensive nephrosclerosis, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, and HIV-associated nephropathy;
• Stimulate research and clinical application in this area;
• Foster the development of multi-specialty collaborations; and
• Provide recommendations to NIDDK for future research in advancing this field.
