(Press-News.org) When it comes to heart disease, Dr. Ross Feldman says women are often in the dark. Historically, it was thought that heart disease was a men's-only disease, however, data has shown that post-menopausal women are just as likely as men to get heart disease and are less likely to be adequately diagnosed and treated. New research from Western University published online this week in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology brings to light a genetic basis for heart disease in women and helps to identify which women are more prone to heart disease.
The study, led by Dr. Feldman, a clinical pharmacologist at London Health Sciences Centre and a researcher at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry's Robarts Research Institute, identifies a common gene variant in women for the G-protein coupled estrogen receptor 30 (GPER) that makes them significantly more likely to have high blood pressure, the single biggest risk factor for heart attack and stroke.
GPER, when functioning normally, is activated in part by the hormone estrogen and has been previously shown to relax the blood vessels, and in turn, lower blood pressure. This new study demonstrates that many women have a less functional form of GPER, increasing their risk of developing high blood pressure.
The research looked at the effect of expression of the GPER gene variant versus the normal GPER gene in the vascular smooth muscle cells as well as its association with blood pressure in humans. It also looked at the frequency of the gene variant in a group of women referred a tertiary care clinic at London Health Sciences Centre. The study found that women, but not men, carrying the GPER gene variant had higher blood pressure, and almost half of women who attended a hard-to-treat blood pressure clinic, where Dr. Feldman is a physician, expressed the variant. Twice as many women than men with hard to treat hypertension carried the gene.
"This is one step in understanding the effects of estrogen on heart disease, and understanding why some women are more prone to heart attack and stroke than others," Dr. Feldman said. "Our work is a step forward in developing approaches to treating heart disease in this under-appreciated group of patients." Video of Dr. Feldman discussing the research can be found at http://youtu.be/uK2-t7D1JMc
INFORMATION:
This research, conducted in collaboration with Robert Gros, Quingming Ding, Yasin Husssain, Matthew Ban, Adam McIntyre and Dr. Rob Hegele, was supported through a grant from Heart and Stroke Foundation.
Media Contact: Crystal Mackay, Media Relations Officer, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University t. 519.661.2111 ext. 80387, c. 519.777.1573, crystal.mackay@schulich.uwo.ca
About Western University and Schulich Medicine & Dentistry
Western delivers an academic experience second to none. Since 1878, The Western Experience has combined academic excellence with life-long opportunities for intellectual, social and cultural growth in order to better serve our communities.
The Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University is one of Canada's preeminent medical and dental schools. Established in 1881, it was one of the founding schools of Western University and is known for being the birthplace of family medicine in Canada. For more than 130 years, the School has demonstrated a commitment to academic excellence and a passion for scientific discovery.
Follow Western Media Relations online:
Website: http://communications.uwo.ca/media/
RSS: http://feeds.feedburner.com/MediaWesternU
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mediawesternu
Gene variant identified as a heart disease risk factor for women
2014-07-22
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Researchers create vaccine for dust-mite allergies
2014-07-22
If you're allergic to dust mites (and chances are you are), help may be on the way.
Researchers at the University of Iowa have developed a vaccine that can combat dust-mite allergies by naturally switching the body's immune response. In animal tests, the nano-sized vaccine package lowered lung inflammation by 83 percent despite repeated exposure to the allergens, according to the paper, published in the AAPS (American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists) Journal. One big reason why it works, the researchers contend, is because the vaccine package contains a booster ...
Activity level may predict orthopedic outcomes
2014-07-22
According to a literature review in the July issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS), patients' activity level is a strong predictor for how well they will do with certain treatments and how well they recover from injuries after treatment. Patients are encouraged to ask their orthopaedic surgeon if activity level is an important factor in their treatment decision. For example, more active patients are at a higher risk of re-injury after an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, and activity level should be considered when deciding ...
UI study finds potential genetic link between epilepsy and neurodegenerative disorders
2014-07-22
A recent scientific discovery showed that mutations in prickle genes cause epilepsy, which in humans is a brain disorder characterized by repeated seizures over time. However, the mechanism responsible for generating prickle-associated seizures was unknown.
A new University of Iowa study, published online July 14 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveals a novel pathway in the pathophysiology of epilepsy. UI researchers have identified the basic cellular mechanism that goes awry in prickle mutant flies, leading to the epilepsy-like seizures.
"This ...
Death of a parent during childhood is associated with greater mortality in early adulthood
2014-07-22
Experiencing the loss of a parent during childhood or adolescence is associated with a greater risk of mortality, according to a study published in this week's PLOS Medicine. The study, conducted by Jiong Li and colleagues from Aarhus University in Denmark, finds that individuals who lost either a mother or a father during childhood had a greater risk of mortality in the years following the parent's death compared with people unaffected by parental death during childhood.
The researchers reached these conclusions combining data from national registries from all children ...
Distinctive developmental origin for a drainage tube in the eye
2014-07-22
A Jackson Laboratory based research team has conducted a comprehensive exploration of an eye structure known as Schlemm's canal: a key gatekeeper for the proper flow of eye fluid, presenting a number of insights relevant to glaucoma and other diseases.
For the study publishing July 22 in the Open Access journal PLOS Biology, the researchers at JAX and Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston developed a new, "whole-mount," three-dimensional approach to analyse mouse models that have been engineered to host fluorescent proteins, to determine how Schlemm's canal forms ...
New research finds pathogenic connection between autoimmune disorders and cancer
2014-07-22
WASHINGTON -- Autoimmune disorders may share certain pathogenic mechanisms with cancer, according to a new report by George Washington University (GW) researcher Linda Kusner, Ph.D., published in PLOS ONE on July 22.
This paradigm shifting work shows that the very same inhibitors of apoptosis, or cell destruction, in tumors are also expressed in cells that produce autoimmune diseases. Henry Kaminski, M.D., chair of the Department of Neurology at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS), as well as colleagues from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, collaborated ...
NASA provides double vision on Typhoon Matmo
2014-07-22
Two instruments aboard NASA's Aqua satellite provided different views of Typhoon Matmo on its approach to Taiwan today, July 22.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument snapped a visible picture of Typhoon Matmo's clouds on July 22 at 1:10 a.m. EDT. The MODIS image showed a center obscured by clouds. Bands of thunderstorms wrapped tightly into the center of circulation, creating the signature comma shape of a mature tropical cyclone. At the time of the image, the center was southeast of the southeastern tip of Taiwan. The image also showed ...
Carlton Fire Complex, Washington -- July 22, 2014
2014-07-22
The Carlton Complex fires started on July 14, 2014, by lightning from a weather system that moved through the Methow Valley. The Carlton Complex consists of four fires: Stokes Fire, Gold Hikes Fire, French Creek Fire and the Cougar Flat. The Stokes and Gold Hikes fires are now one larger fire. The fires are burning in timber and grass and the area burning is currently over 243,000 acres in size. The present fire situation continues to rapidly change due to the high fire danger. Public and firefighter safety is the priority on the Carlton Complex fires. Thirty-five primary ...
African elephant genome suggests they are superior smellers
2014-07-22
July 22, 2014 – Sense of smell is critical for survival in many mammals. The ability to distinguish different odors, which is important for sniffing out food, avoiding predators, and finding mates, depends on the number and type olfactory receptors found in an organism's genome. In a study published today in Genome Research, researchers examined the olfactory receptor (OR) repertoire encoded in 13 mammalian species and found that African elephants have the largest number of OR genes ever characterized; more than twice that found in dogs, and five times more than in humans.
To ...
High-salt diet doubles threat of cardiovascular disease in people with diabetes
2014-07-22
Washington, DC -- People with Type 2 diabetes who eat a diet high in salt face twice the risk of developing cardiovascular disease as those who consume less sodium, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Diabetes occurs when there is too much sugar in the bloodstream. People develop Type 2 diabetes when their bodies become resistant to the hormone insulin, which carries sugar from the blood to cells.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 29.1 million Americans ...