In the United States, heart disease is the top leading causes of death in men and women. The most common type of heart disease is coronary artery disease (CAD). Coronary artery disease is due to build up in plaque in the arteries that supply blood to the cardiovascular system. There are many factors that can contribute to coronary artery disease, some factors can be change while others cannot. CAD can arise due to poor personal life styles such as diet and exercise. In addition, it can also be hereditary. People with a family history of heart disease have an increases the risk in developing heart disease later on.
There are different genes that play a role in heart disease, but new genes had been found that reduce the risks of CAD. Researchers at Cambridge, Massachusetts was able to discovered four rare gene mutations that lower the levels of triglycerides (type of fat in blood) and reduce a person's risk of coronary heart disease by 40 percent. All of the genes came from the same gene called APOC3. With this new finding, developing new drugs against heart disease are possible.
Sekar Kathiresan, director of preventive cardiology at Massachusetts General Hospital stated, "HDL and triglycerides are both correlated with heart attack, and have an inverse relationship with one another - the lower the HDL, the higher the triglycerides."
Since the new finding, it is believe that the true casual factor may not be HDL, but triglycerides. A genetic study led by Kathiresan found no association between HDL, also called "good cholesterol" and heart disease. It was also found that HDL failed to lower risk of heart disease and that APOC3 is one of the probable causes of heart disease.
Alex Reiner stated, "...we predict that lowering triglycerides specifically through inhibition of APOC3 would have a beneficial effect by lowering disease risk." It is possible that there will be some type of drug to help reduces the risk of individuals of developing coronary artery disease or heart disease. We still have to be aware that our lifestyles still play a major role in developing CAD. Simple solution such as maintaining a healthy diet and being more active can naturally reduces our risks.
Article:
http://www.broadinstitute.org/news/5823
People having been gorging on processed foods for quite a long time now. Looking at increased consumption and dependence on fast food by the majority of population, I think a gene like APOC3 is going to be of great help for the future generations. But as mentioned in the post, it would rather be great if individuals would try to adapt healthy living habits.
ReplyDelete