Gene trigger for heart attacks?
A team of British researchers has identified a common genetic variation that can increase the risk of high cholesterol. The study, published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, may help to explain why the same gene has previously been linked with increased chance of heart disease, the UK's biggest killer.
'People knew this genetic marker was associated with a higher risk of heart disease, and the new findings show why - it is associated with high cholesterol', said Professor Patricia Munroe, study leader and geneticist at the London School of Medicine and Dentistry.
The researchers performed a bank of 25 tests commonly used to assess heart disease risk - including cholesterol, sodium and glucose, or blood sugar, levels - on blood and urine samples from 2,000 men and women with high blood pressure. They then scanned the genetic make-up of the group to see which gene variations were linked to a high risk of heart disease, leading them to discover a single gene change.
'People knew this genetic marker was associated with a higher risk of heart disease, and the new findings show why - it is associated with high cholesterol', said Professor Patricia Munroe, study leader and geneticist at the London School of Medicine and Dentistry.
The researchers performed a bank of 25 tests commonly used to assess heart disease risk - including cholesterol, sodium and glucose, or blood sugar, levels - on blood and urine samples from 2,000 men and women with high blood pressure. They then scanned the genetic make-up of the group to see which gene variations were linked to a high risk of heart disease, leading them to discover a single gene change.
The researchers then scaled up the study, looking for the same gene change in a further 3,000 people with high blood pressure, and found that it was associated with high cholesterol in this group.
Professor Jeremy Pearson of the British Heart Foundation said: ‘This finding has the potential to lead to the development of new drugs to help lower cholesterol levels which in turn could help thousands of heart patients across the UK’.
Professor Jeremy Pearson of the British Heart Foundation said: ‘This finding has the potential to lead to the development of new drugs to help lower cholesterol levels which in turn could help thousands of heart patients across the UK’.
Sources:
Genome-wide Association Study Identifies Genes for Biomarkers of Cardiovascular Disease: Serum Urate and Dyslipidemia
American Journal of Human Genetics
82, Issue 1, 139-149 (2008)
http://www.ajhg.org/AJHG/abstract/S0002-9297(07)00026-2
American Journal of Human Genetics
82, Issue 1, 139-149 (2008)
http://www.ajhg.org/AJHG/abstract/S0002-9297(07)00026-2
Bad cholesterol genes discovered
BBC News Online
12 /1/08
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7181111.stm
BBC News Online
12 /1/08
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7181111.stm