DNA test shows heart attack risk
An Icelandic company announced the move after the publication of new research linking specific parts of the genetic code with heart attacks and cardiovascular disease
Researchers identified a short stretch of DNA containing "letters" of code more common in people who have suffered heart disease, or had a heart attack.
Two separate Canadian and European-led teams reported their findings in the journal Science.
The Reykjavik-based biotech company deCODE, whose scientists were at the forefront of the research, said it now intended to produce a genetic test for myocardial infarction (MI), or heart attack.
A statement from the company said: "DeCODE plans to bundle this discovery with other genetic variants it has linked to risk of heart attack into a DNA-based test for gauging inherited risk of MI. The company believes that such a test, particularly for those with other risk factors, may enable individuals and their doctors to adopt more informed and thus potentially more effective prevention regimes."
The research involving sifting through many thousands of DNA samples searching for chemical letters, arranged in pairs on the twin strands of the DNA molecule, that might be linked to heart conditions.
Both teams were drawn to the same region of DNA on chromosome 9, one of the bundles of DNA numbered one to 22 found in every cell.
A Canadian-led study found that people with matching copies of two particular letters at this spot were 30% to 40% more at risk of heart disease than those with no copies. DeCODE's scientists discovered that heart attack risk was increased by more than 60% in individuals with matching copies of another letter in the same locality. The scientists have not found a gene, only pieces of DNA that appear to influence susceptibility.
Genes are sequences of DNA which provide the coded instructions for making proteins. The DNA region in question hosts no known genes, but is next to two catalogued anti-cancer genes. Other DNA variants in the same general region have recently been shown to raise the risk of type 2 diabetes.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21670253-601,00.html
