A team of researchers at the University of Parma have discovered a gene which appears to be linked to heart disease. The genetic abnormality, which is found chromosome 9, has been identified as rs1333040. For the past 20 years, this study has followed 1500 people who have suffered heart attacks and investigated similarities in their genomes. Initially there were five genetic variants which were suspected to be associated with early-onset myocardial infarction. However, Diego Ardissino, lead author of the study, has recently presented a paper which focuses on a single gene that has shown a strong association with the probability of a person developing ischemic heart disease as well as the pathway it takes once diagnosis has been made.
The main medical breakthrough of this study is this potential to select appropriate treatment after a heart attack, based on the rs1333040 gene. Dr Ardissino discusses the specific relationship between the gene and treatment of heart disease, stating that, “Surprisingly, we showed that there was a strong influence of this genetic variant on the progression of coronary atherosclerosis, which translated into the probability of these patients undergoing new percutaneous coronary intervention or bypass surgery”.
References:
http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=21130
http://media.photobucket.com/image/heart%20attack/craz46/heart_attack1.jpg
Clare
41617335
