Nocturnal enuresis, officially recorded as nocturnal enuresis, is a highly genetic condition, but until now it wasn’t clear which genes were responsible.
Now, researchers have identified genetic variants that increase the risk of bed wetting. The team hopes the results will help develop treatments for bedwetting in the future.
In the study, researchers from Aarhus University in Denmark set out to understand why some people experience more bedwetting than others.
“It’s a serious condition that can negatively affect children’s self-esteem and well-being. For example, children may be afraid of being bullied, and often choose not to participate in events that include overnight stays,” said Jane Hvaregard Christensen, one of the researchers on the study.
To understand why some people are more prone to bedwetting, the researchers analyzed the genes of 3,900 Danish children and young people who had been diagnosed with nocturnal enuresis or took medication to treat it. They were compared to about 31,000 children and youth who did not suffer from the problem.
read more
The analysis identified two sites in the genome where specific genetic variants increased the risk of bedwetting.
The study’s first author, Cecilie Segard-Jorgensen, said the potential causal genes we are referring to play roles in ensuring that our brain develops the ability to maintain low urine production at night, that bladder activity is regulated and recorded, and that we sleep appropriately, among other things. .
The analysis also showed that common genetic variants could explain up to a third of the genetic risk of bedwetting.
This indicates that the genetic variants that we all have may trigger bedwetting, when they occur in a particular combination.
“But you can also still have all the variants without wetting the bed at night, because there are other risk factors we haven’t mapped out yet – whether they are genetic or environmental,” said Christensen.
So it is clear that this is a very complicated matter and that it is not possible to speak of a single gene that causes nocturnal enuresis.
In particular, the researchers found that children who had genetic variants that increased their risk of developing ADHD were particularly susceptible to bedwetting.
Christensen added, “Our findings do not mean that ADHD causes bedwetting in a child, or vice versa, but only two cases have common genetic causes. Further research in this area will be able to clarify details in biological differences and similarities between.” The two disturbances. “
To verify the results, the researchers also analyzed more than 5,500 people from Iceland, and found that the same genetic variants also appeared to increase the risk of bedwetting.
“In the future, we want to know whether the same genetic variants increase the risk of bedwetting in children in other parts of the world. Bedwetting is not just a problem in northern Europe but it affects millions of children all over the world,” said Christensen.
Source: Daily Mail
