|
 |
|||||
| home : pages : what's new in medicine vol. 6 : stroke gene identified : | |||||
|
|
 |
STROKE GENE IDENTIFIEDScientists in Iceland have identified a gene associated with increased risk for stroke, which 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. The discovery will not lead to immediate treatments, researchers cautioned. But the gene, PDE4D, produces an enzyme that can be targeted with drugs, suggesting future therapies are possible. Swiss pharmaceutical company F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. is already testing such drugs on rats to determine whether they could be used to prevent strokes in humans. The class of drugs is already in use in humans, but for different purposes. The best known of the class is Viagra. deCODE signed a deal worth up to $200 million with La Roche in 1998 to look for genes that cause 12 common diseases, including stroke. --> return to menu / back ... (click) --> return to top of the page (click) |
|||
 |
| (T) 212.439.1958 | 14 East 69th St, New York, NY 10021 | (F) 212.439.6718 |
| 2000-2008 © Mary Wilson M.D., P.C. All rights reserved. | ||
| Site Designed & Maintained by Delamain IT Web Design & SEO. |