Identification of susceptibility genes for complex metabolic diseases.

There are few successful attempts to identify genes for common, non-Mendelian diseases such as diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, etc. Such common disorders are typically both metabolically and genetically complex and the genetic technologies to identify their underlying susceptibility genes are still in their infancy. Nonetheless, genetic strategies have emerged that, when the technologies are fully developed, should allow similar success rates as for Mendelian diseases.