• Property for Sale
  • To Rent
  • Holidays
  • Directory
  • Articles
  • Jobs
    • € EUR
    • Professionals/Advertiser Login
    • Advertise your Property on thinkSPAIN
    • Sell your property with an estate agent
    • Add your Business to the Directory
    • Advertising with thinkSPAIN
    • List a job vacancy on thinkSPAIN
    • By Signing up you are agreeing with our Terms and Privacy Policy.

      Looking for the Professionals/Advertiser Login?
      or

      Don't have an account?  

      • Follow us:

By Signing up you are agreeing with our Terms and Privacy Policy.

Looking for the Professionals/Advertiser Login?
or

Don't have an account?  

Sign up

By Signing up you are agreeing with our Terms and Privacy Policy.
or

Already have a thinkSPAIN account?

Sign in/Register

By Signing up you are agreeing with our Terms and Privacy Policy.
or

Don't have an account?

Forgot your password?

thinkSPAIN Logo

Valencia researchers discover ‘sudden death’ heart failure gene

 

Valencia researchers discover ‘sudden death’ heart failure gene

thinkSPAIN Team 22/03/2019

Valencia researchers discover ‘sudden death’ heart failure gene
RESEARCHERS at Valencia’s La Fe Hospital have discovered the gene behind the most common hereditary heart condition – one which causes ‘sudden death’ and often affects children and teenagers as they are playing sports.

After sequencing the DNA of 7,000 individuals and selecting a number of families with a history of hypertrophic myocardiopathy via 40 different hospitals, and tracking them over a three-year period, the Institute of Health Research (IIS) at La Fe pinpointed a link between the gene FH0D3 and the condition.

Published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC), the report details how patients with a family history of hypertrophic myocardiopathy were able to benefit from more accurate diagnoses allowing them to manage and monitor their conditions.

The discovery of the link between the disorder and gene FH0D3 also opens the door to potential new treatments which could suppress the action of the gene in question.

Hypertrophic myocardiopathy is the most frequent inherited heart condition, affecting one in 500 people, and is associated with a greater risk of ‘sudden death’ and chronic heart failure, as well as a reduction in quality of life for patients because of the symptoms it generates, says the Family Cardiopathies Research Group (CaFaMuSMe) of the IIS.

It occurs when mutations – or changes in DNA levels – in the genes responsible for developing heart muscle are present, meaning the heart becomes enlarged, a condition known as left ventricular hypertrophy.

The genetic cause of this has never, until now, been discovered in more than half of those affected.

Before the research at La Fe was completed, the causal link between gene FH0D3 and the development of hypertrophic myocardiopathy had never been proven, but the study reveals it is a factor in a significant percentage of cases, explains professor Valentín Fuster, editor of the JACC.

The research started out by focusing on a large extended family in the Region of Murcia, whose case gave rise to the initial hypothesis of a causal link between the condition and gene FH0D3.

Another family who had already joined the study some time earlier, following a detailed post-mortem of one of its members who had suffered from ‘sudden death’, came under focus.

Initially, the autopsy failed to find a genetic link, but ongoing research by a team of cardiologists, geneticists, pathologists, molecular biologists, technicians and admin staff, all led by Dr Esther Zorio, over more than three years led to this view changing.

Now, anyone with a family history can undergo genetic screening to see whether they are at risk before clinical symptoms of the condition start to emerge.

 

 

Related Topics

  • Tech & Science

You may also be interested in ...

  • Property for sale in Valencia
  • Property for rent in Valencia
  • Businesses & Services in Valencia

Advertisement

Advertisement

More News & Information

CSIC clears up most-common food myths
Food & Drink 19/11/2024
CSIC clears up most-common food myths

SPAIN'S National Research Council (CSIC) has announced a new book series seeking to debunk widely-held myths through scientific answers – including whether bread really makes you put on weight.

View
Anti-phone scam and cold-call laws announced
Legal & Finance 24/10/2024
Anti-phone scam and cold-call laws announced

NEW legislation aiming to protect the public from telephone scams and cold-calling is under construction, and will attempt to attack it at source by tightening up on commercial use of customers' personal data.

View
Extra-terrestrial treasure: Prehistoric links to outer space found in Alicante province
Culture 29/02/2024
Extra-terrestrial treasure: Prehistoric links to outer space found in Alicante province

OUTER space and the Bronze Age do not sit well in the same sentence – they may both have existed at the same time, but anyone based on Earth back then would not have known much, or anything, about what lies beyond.

View
What's new at Barcelona Mobile World Congress 2024?
Tech & Science 28/02/2024
What's new at Barcelona Mobile World Congress 2024?

A FIRM annual fixture for fans of the latest technology, the Barcelona-based Mobile World Congress (MWC) never fails to blow visitors' minds with creations they didn't know they needed. And these cutting-edge...

View

Advertisement

  1. Spain
  2. Valencia region
  3. Valencia province
  4. Costa Valencia
  5. Valencia city
  6. Valencia researchers discover ‘sudden death’ heart failure gene