Dupuytren’s disease, known as “Viking disease”, could come from Neanderthal genes, according to a study.
- Variants of archaic genes can contribute to characteristics or diseases that are found primarily in certain populations.
- This is the case of Dupuytren’s disease, a condition of the hand.
- Nicknamed the disease of the Vikings, it would be partly of Neanderthal origin.
There are certain conditions where genetics plays a key role: this is the case of Dupuytren’s disease, which affects the hand. And this heritage would go back very far since two of the most important genetic risk factors for this disease would be of Neanderthal origin, according to a new article published in Molecular Biology and Evolution.
Dupuytren’s disease: why does it particularly affect northern Europe?
People who suffer from Dupuytren’s disease eventually see their hand permanently bend into a flexed position. Although the disease can affect any finger, it is the ring finger and the middle finger that are most often affected, recall the authors of the study.
She is nicknamed “viking disease“because it is much more common in northern Europeans than in people of African descent.
A study estimated that the prevalence of Dupuytren’s disease among Norwegians over 60 years of age was as high as 30%. It is this geographic prevalence that has prompted scientists to study its genetic origins.
Dupuytren’s disease: Neanderthal origins confirmed
Analyzing data from 7,871 cases and 645,880 controls to identify genetic risk variants for Dupuytren’s disease, they found 61 significant genome-wide variants associated with the disorder. Further analysis showed that three of these variants are of Neanderthal origin, including the second and third most strongly associated variants.
The fact that two of the most important genetic risk factors for Dupuytren’s disease are of Neanderthal origin leads scientists to conclude that Neanderthal ancestry is an important factor in explaining the prevalence of the disease in Europe today, perhaps -we read in EurekAlert!
Moreover, people of non-European origin with roots outside Africa inherited up to 2% of their genome from Neanderthals, the authors point out. “These are cases where the encounter with Neanderthals has affected people who suffer from the disease“said the lead author of the article, Hugo Zeberg.
