The Change Mariner

Gene Tied to Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke

New York Times:

Decode Genetics, the Icelandic company that discovered genes for schizophrenia and osteoporosis, has found a variant gene that doubles the risk of heart attack and stroke among Icelanders who carry it, the company's researchers are reporting today.

The company says it is starting advanced clinical trials of a drug intended to counteract the variant gene's effects. The company's chief executive, Dr. Kari Stefansson, says the drug may help more patients beyond those who carry the variant gene. Last year, more than a million people in the United States died of heart disease and stroke.

But several experts on the genetics of heart disease said they were not fully persuaded by the company's evidence linking the variant gene to heart attacks.
Decode Genetics is a leader in the difficult art of identifying the genes involved in complex diseases, the name for the common diseases to which several variant genes contribute. The company uses DNA analysis and statistical genetics to find disease-causing genes in Icelanders, and has shown that many of its findings apply to other populations, too.

Posted by Bob King at February 9, 2004 09:21 AM | TrackBack
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