AI Summary
An international team of scientists has identified genes that contribute to calcium buildup in coronary arteries, leading to coronary artery disease. By sharing datasets, they have discovered new genes that may help in preventing the disease. Calcium buildup in the arteries is linked to other age-related diseases.
An international team of scientists has identified nearly a dozen genes that contribute to calcium buildup in our coronary arteries that can lead to life-threatening coronary artery disease, a condition responsible for up to one in four deaths in the United States. Doctors may be able to target these genes with existing medications – or possibly even nutritional supplements – to slow or halt the disease’s progression.
By sharing valuable genotype and phenotype datasets collected over many years, our team was able to uncover new genes that may foreshadow clinical coronary artery disease. This is a critical first step in identifying the biological mechanisms to target for primary prevention of coronary artery disease.”
Clint L. Miller, PhD, Researcher, University of Virginia School of Medicine’s Center for Public Health Genomics
Coronary artery calcification
Even before people develop clinical atherosclerotic coronary artery disease, doctors can detect calcium buildup inside the walls of the coronary arteries using non-invasive computed tomography (CT) scans. This reliable measure of subclinical coronary atherosclerosis strongly predicts future cardiovascular events such as heart attacks or strokes, leading causes of death globally. This calcium accumulation is also linked to other age-related diseases, such as dementia, cancer, chronic kidney disease and even hip fractures.
Despite the known role of genetics in coronary calcium buildup, only a handful of contributing genes had been identified. So Miller and his collaborators were eager to identify new genetic factors that influence our risk for coronary calcium buildup.
They did this by analyzing