11 New Cardiovascular Risk Gene Variants Identified

Filed in archive Genomics, Proteomics and Bioinformatics on December 19, 2008

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In addition to 19 other variants previously reported, 11 new gene variants have been identified that are associated with three blood lipids measured to determine cardiovascular disease risk (low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and triglycerides). These findings were published in the Dec. 7, 2008 online publication of Nature Genetics.

The study is a meta-analysis of over 20,000 subjects in genome-wide association studies of humans in the United States and Europe with The Framingham Heart Study accounting for the largest number of samples. "Having identified a total of 30 gene variants is a landmark in lipid research," says Ordovas, also a professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition and Science Policy at Tufts and Tufts University School of Medicine "It suggests people can have multiple variant genes contributing to dyslipidemia, a combination of spiked LDL and triglyceride levels and extremely low HDL-cholesterol signaling cardiovascular disease risk.

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