[Analysis of Musculoskeletal Systems and Their Diseases. Genomic medicine of bone and joint diseases : present and future].

Susceptibility genes for various kinds of common diseases have been identified by the genome-wide association study (GWAS) and the outcome is changing the clinical medicine significantly. Musculoskeletal disease is no exception. In this paper, I review the current status and prospect of GWAS in musculoskeletal diseases in Japan by focusing on representative common musculoskeletal diseases : disc herniation, adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament of the spine.