NEW HAVEN, Conn., April 10 -- A panel of 85 variants in 70 genes singled out as key predictors of heart disease risk factors failed to tell the tale, researchers reported here.A case-control study of 1,461 participants did not verify findings from smaller studies that the 85 gene variations represent risk factors for acute coronary syndromes, said Thomas M. Morgan, M.D., of Yale, now at Washington University in St. Louis, and colleagues.
Of the variants tested, only one putative risk genotype was nominally statistically significant in a primary analysis, and only four additional genes were positive in a secondary analysis, the researchers reported in the April 11 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Neither number of associations was more frequent than expected by chance, given the number of comparisons, they said.
Until now, numerous candidate genes have been implicated as potential cardiovascular risk factors, but few, if any, have been "replicated en masse in large, well-characterized patient populations," Dr. Morgan said. Thus, he added, before use in clinical care, there has been a need for a comprehensive validation of these 85 susceptibility genotypes.
These findings, the investigators said, come at a critical juncture in complex disease genetics. Some cardiovascular gene variants included in this study can already be ordered clinically, for indications that explicitly include possible acute coronary syndrome risk.
"However," Dr. Morgan and colleagues wrote, "our findings suggest that such clinical genetic testing is premature and underscore the importance of robust replication studies of reported associations prior to their application to clinical care."
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/AcuteCoronarySyndrome/tb1/5415
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