Thousands of years of a diet with lots of animal fats and sparse carbohydrates left a mark on the DNA of Native people of the Far North, a genetic condition that slows the body’s ability to burn fat for energy.
Experts once thought the condition was rare, but new DNA testing of newborns has found that CPT1A Arctic variant…is common among the state’s indigenous residents. While not normally a problem, the condition can lead to serious health problems when a person doesn’t or can’t eat, especially when very young.
The genetic condition exists among the Inuit people of North America, Greenland and Russia, affecting their metabolism.
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[T]he gene poses a risk for people who fast for prolonged periods, because their bodies cannot produce needed glucose from fat. Consequences can be grave for infants who go without food longer than overnight….
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Alaska appears to be the only northern region that does routine CPT1A screenings for newborns, [said David Koeller, a pediatrician and geneticist at Oregon Health and Science University]. There have been pilot studies outside Alaska to try to understand the prevalence, but also some concerns in Canada and elsewhere that newborn screening will create a stigma for those children who test positive, he said.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: ‘Arctic gene’ that poses risks when fasting is found in many more infants now that DNA testing has begun
