University expertise is contributing to a new genetic study in the Hebrides which could shed light on the causes of diseases such as stroke, diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
University of Aberdeen professor Zosia Miedzybrodzka and the NHS Grampian based North of Scotland Clinical Genetics service have provided genetics advice to patients from the Western and Northern Isles for over 25 years.
As part of that clinical work, the service has identified inherited conditions which are enriched in those populations, and that expertise is now being used in an exciting collaboration with University of Edinburgh population geneticists Professor Jim Wilson and Dr Shona Kerr and team.
People with Western Isles heritage are being encouraged to contribute to genetic research to describe the genetic variation in the island population and relate those to common and rare disease.
The study is aiming to recruit 2,000 people and will not be limited to people living in the Inner or Outer Hebrides, but will also include people with Hebridean grandparents who live anywhere in the world.
Participants will be asked to complete an online questionnaire about their health and lifestyle and to return a saliva sample by post, which researchers will use for genetic analysis.
Volunteers who live in the UK can choose to receive specific genetic information from their saliva sample. This information, provided in collaboration with the NHS, could help prevent future disease.
The MRC-funded research builds on the work of the Viking Genes study, which has recruited over 8,000 volunteers with Orkney or Shetland ancestry.
Register your interest in the study
Sgrùdadh DNA Innse Gall gus coimhead air a’ cheangal eadar galar agus gineachan
Thathar ag iarraidh air daoine aig a bheil co-dhiù dà shean-phàrant à Innse Gall an Alba pàirt a ghabhail ann an sgrùdadh ginteil mòr.
Dh’fhaodadh gineachan sònraichte Innse Gall fios a thoirt dhuinn air na tha ag adhbharachadh ghalaran leithid stròc, tinneas an t-siùcair, tinneas-cridhe agus aillse agus, ri tìde, dh’fhaodadh sin ar cuideachadh le leigheasan ùra dhan t-sluagh san fharsaingeachd, a rèir luchd-rannsachaidh.
Bheir cruth ginteil nan eileanach – a tha eadar-dhealaichte bhon chòrr de dh’Alba a rèir rannsachadh a rinneadh roimhe – cothrom do luchd-rannsachaidh gus sgrùdadh a dhèanamh air mar a tha eadar-dhealachaidhean ann an DNA Innse Gall a’ toirt buaidh air slàinte muinntir an àite.
Cha bhi sgrùdadh Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann - a tha ag amas air 2,000 daoine a lorg - cuingealaichte ri daoine a tha a’ fuireach anns na h-Eileanan A-staigh no A-muigh oir bidh e cuideachd a’ gabhail a-steach daoine le sean-phàrantan à Innse Gall a tha a’ fuireach an àite sam bith san t-saoghal.
Thèid iarraidh air com-pàirtichean ceisteachan air-loidhne a lìonadh a thaobh an slàinte agus an dòigh-beatha agus thèid iarraidh orra sampall smugaid a chur air ais tron phost, a chleachdas luchd-rannsachaidh gus mion-sgrùdadh ginteil a dhèanamh.
Faodaidh saor-thoilich a tha a’ fuireach san RA taghadh fiosrachadh ginteil sònraichte fhaighinn bhon t-sampall smugaid aca. Dh’fhaodadh am fiosrachadh seo, a nithear ann an co-obrachadh leis an NHS, cuideachadh gus casg a chur air galaran san àm ri teachd.
Tha an rannsachadh a tha maoinichte leis an MRC a’ togail air obair an sgrùdaidh Viking Genes, a tha stèidhichte air còrr is 8,000 saor-thoilich fhastadh le sinnsearachd à Arcaibh no Sealtainn.
Tha an sgrùdadh cuideachd a’ gabhail a-steach Oilthigh Obar Dheathain agus dotairean Gintinneachd Clionaigeach NHS Roinn a’ Mhonaidh, an t-Ollamh Zosia Miedzybrodzka agus an Dr John Dean.
Faodaidh daoine a tha airson pàirt a ghabhail an ùidh a chlàradh le bhith a’ tadhal air làrach-lìn an sgrùdaidh: www.ed.ac.uk/viking.