How Genes of 'Super' Athletes Could Be Used to Help the Rest of Us
Scientists want to sequence the genes of elite athletes.
— -- "Super" athletes may hold the key to better health for the rest of us, according to a Stanford scientist.
Dr. Euan Ashley, an associate professor of medicine and genetics at Stanford University, is working on a project to sequence genes from hundreds of elite athletes.
By looking at elite athletes, doctors may be able to better learn how to help patients with weaker cardiovascular systems or even make improvements for those who are just normal, Ashley said, noting he and his team are sequencing the genomes of elite athletes to better understand what makes them "fitter, faster, stronger."
"We're absolutely fascinated by extremes of human condition," said Ashley. "There’s nothing more extreme than these athletes."
To find qualified participants, Ashley said researchers measure the elite athletes' ability to process oxygen when they are under full stress -- a quantity known as VO2max, or the maximum volume of oxygen that the body can use during a given amount of time. Only those reaching above a certain level are considered for the study, meaning even some Olympic gold medalists wouldn't qualify.
By finding new genetic pathways, scientists may be able to find out what, on a genetic level, makes someone an almost superhuman athlete, Ashley said. In the future, scientists may be able to replicate these pathways in order to help the regular population become fitter and healthier, even if it's unlikely anyone will end up qualifying for the Olympics.
"If there are genetic determinants, I think we'll be able to discover some of them. And I hope we'll be able to help people," Ashley told ABC's San Francisco station KGO-TV.
One elite athlete has already changed the way doctors treat certain patients with low red blood cell count, Ashley said.
Eero Mantyranta, a cross country skier famous in the 1970's, was initially banned from the sport for illegal doping. However after many protests, Ashley said that Mantyranta and his family were able to prove that a genetic mutation made the athlete create more blood cells on his own.
"He had a mutated receptor for that hormone. He essentially had high levels of the hormone and was making more red blood cells than he should have," explained Ashley.
According to a website for the Olympics, Mantyranta had a 20 percent higher red blood cell count than normal. As a result of looking at Mantyranta and his family, researchers now give out a similar hormone to help people today when they have low red blood cells counts, Ashley said.
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