Can Mendelian Randomization Shift into Reverse Gear?

Mendelian randomization is a genetic epidemiological approach that is made substantial inroads into our understanding of the causes and consequences of disease, but can that same technique be run in reverse? In the March 2019 issue of Clinical Chemistry, a paper investigated potential blood markers of early chronic kidney disease which are caused by loss of kidney function, using an innovative reverse Mendelian randomization approach. That same issue included an editorial that was authored by Dr. Michael Holmes from the University of Oxford and by Dr. George Davey Smith from the University of Bristol, both from the United Kingdom and both are our guests in this podcast.