A regular gene mutation that affects certain people in their iron metabolism is almost three times more likely to induce stroke, a new study reports. Researchers say believe that this discovery will aid doctors in recognising and diagnosing patients who are most prone to stroke, allowing them to take precautionary procedures.
According to the study, nearly one in four Europeans carry one defective copy of this gene, called HFE. Borge Nordestgaard at Herlev University Hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark, elucidates that a minute alteration in the HFE gene, described as the H63D defect, appears to result in an excessive iron uptake into the cells from blood. This iron overload typically goes unobserved and some people may develop liver cirrhosis* late in life as a consequence.
Nordestgaard and colleagues collected DNA samples from 9000 people in Denmark and observed their health over the course of 24 years in an attempt to properly investigate whether the nervous system was being affected by this gene. Within the allocated time approximately 400 participants suffered an ischemic** stroke (a sudden loss of blood supply to a region of the brain.)
Of the 156 subjects with two copies of the defective HFE gene, 10 percent died from this type of stroke during the study. Only 4% of people with one or no mutated versions of HFE died from stroke. After adjusting for potential experimental factors such as age, gender and cholesterol levels, researchers determined that people with two mutated HFE genes had a 180% elevated risk of stroke than those without mutations in the gene.
* Cirrhosis is a liver disease in which scarring and damage of the liver cells occur along with an interruption of blood flow through the liver.
** Ischemic (from Ischemia) is the restriction of blood flow.
By Ronik Ghosh 41616794
References
Khamsi R, 2007. Common gene mutation linked to tripled stroke risk. Viewed 19 April 2009,
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn11469-common-gene-mutation-linked-to-tripled-stroke-risk-.html
University of Washington, 2009. CT Scan of Brain with Ischemic Tumor. Viewed 19 April 2009,
http://uwmedicine.washington.edu/NR/rdonlyres/BC938DFF-8E45-4E14-BC92-3D5E2C1C9DDA/0/CTIschemicNormal.jpg
