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Gene associated with increased stroke risk identified
Los Angeles, Sept 23: Researchers in Iceland have identified a gene associated with increased risk for stroke, the third leading cause of death in developed countries that kills 160,000 people each year in the United States alone.
Los Angeles, Sept 23: Researchers in Iceland have identified a gene associated with increased risk for stroke, the third leading cause of death in developed countries that kills 160,000 people each year in the United States alone.
Those who have the stroke-susceptibility gene have a three to five times greater risk of ischemic stroke, researchers at Reykjavik-based decode genetics said. In ischemic strokes, the flow of blood to the brain is choked, causing cerebral tissue to die.
Details appeared yesterday in the journal nature genetics.
The discovery will not lead to immediate treatments, researchers cautioned. However, the gene, pde4d, produces an enzyme that can be targetted with drugs, suggesting future therapies are possible.
The study is the first convincing publication of a genetic risk factor for common forms of stroke, said stroke neurologist Dr Jonathan Rosand of Massachusetts General Hospital.
It's an important clue that could help scientists develop treatments to prevent and treat strokes, Rosand said yesterday. "We're in desperate need of better treatments”, he said.
But he cautioned that such potential payoffs are years away. And he noted that since the result comes from a single study in a single population, "we cannot accept this as proven by any means until we see replication of this result by other investigators in other populations”.
Bureau Report
Details appeared yesterday in the journal nature genetics.
The discovery will not lead to immediate treatments, researchers cautioned. However, the gene, pde4d, produces an enzyme that can be targetted with drugs, suggesting future therapies are possible.
The study is the first convincing publication of a genetic risk factor for common forms of stroke, said stroke neurologist Dr Jonathan Rosand of Massachusetts General Hospital.
It's an important clue that could help scientists develop treatments to prevent and treat strokes, Rosand said yesterday. "We're in desperate need of better treatments”, he said.
But he cautioned that such potential payoffs are years away. And he noted that since the result comes from a single study in a single population, "we cannot accept this as proven by any means until we see replication of this result by other investigators in other populations”.
Bureau Report