XML Feed for RxPG News   Add RxPG News Headlines to My Yahoo!   Javascript Syndication for RxPG News

Research Health World General
 
  Home
 
 Latest Research
 Cancer
 Psychiatry
 Genetics
 Surgery
 Aging
 Ophthalmology
 Gynaecology
 Neurosciences
 Pharmacology
 Cardiology
 Obstetrics
 Infectious Diseases
 Respiratory Medicine
 Pathology
 Endocrinology
 Immunology
 Nephrology
 Gastroenterology
 Biotechnology
 Radiology
 Dermatology
 Microbiology
 Haematology
 Dental
 ENT
 Environment
 Embryology
 Orthopedics
 Metabolism
 Anaethesia
 Paediatrics
  Neonatology
 Public Health
 Urology
 Musculoskeletal
 Clinical Trials
 Physiology
 Biochemistry
 Cytology
 Traumatology
 Rheumatology
 
 Medical News
 Health
 Opinion
 Healthcare
 Professionals
 Launch
 Awards & Prizes
 
 Careers
 Medical
 Nursing
 Dental
 
 Special Topics
 Euthanasia
 Ethics
 Evolution
 Odd Medical News
 Feature
 
 World News
 Tsunami
 Epidemics
 Climate
 Business
 
 India
Search

Last Updated: Nov 18, 2006 - 12:32:53 PM

Paediatrics Channel
subscribe to Paediatrics newsletter

Latest Research : Paediatrics

   DISCUSS   |   EMAIL   |   PRINT
Cardiac genes linked to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
May 19, 2006 - 7:30:00 PM, Reviewed by: Dr. Priya Saxena

"Combined with our previous discoveries, we now estimate that defects in genes that provide the blueprints for the critical controllers of the heart's electrical system might have played a key role in more than 300 of those tragedies."

 
Recent discoveries at Mayo Clinic added two more cardiac genes to the list of potential links to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), increasing the possibility that genetic defects of the heart may cause up to 15 percent of SIDS cases. This research will be presented Friday at Heart Rhythm 2006, the 27th Annual Scientific Sessions of the Heart Rhythm Society in Boston.

In the two recent separate studies, researchers examined caveolin-3 (CAV3) and the cardiac ryanodine receptor (RyR2) and found molecular and functional evidence in both to implicate them as SIDS-susceptibility genes. Researchers examined the tissue of 135 unrelated cases of SIDS -- in infants with an average age of 3 months old -- that had been referred to Mayo Clinic's Sudden Death Genomics Laboratory for molecular autopsy. In each study, two of the 135 cases possessed mutations in either CAV3 or RyR2.

SIDS -- the sudden, unexplained death of an infant under 1 year old -- is estimated to cause 2,500 infant deaths each year. "Combined with our previous discoveries, we now estimate that defects in genes that provide the blueprints for the critical controllers of the heart's electrical system might have played a key role in more than 300 of those tragedies," says Michael J. Ackerman, M.D., Ph.D., principal investigator of both studies and director of Mayo Clinic's Long QT Syndrome Clinic and Sudden Death Genomics Laboratory. "We are continuing to expose the causes of SIDS. So far, we have now added six genes to the SIDS most-wanted list."

In 2001, a team of investigators led by Dr. Ackerman identified the first cardiac gene, SCN5A, linked to SIDS. In 2005, a comprehensive search of the five channel genes that cause a potentially lethal heart rhythm syndrome known as long QT syndrome (LQTS) was found in 5 percent to 10 percent of SIDS cases.

In collaboration with Baylor College of Medicine, Mayo's sudden death investigators chose to examine CAV3 following our recent discovery of CAV3 as a novel LQTS-causing gene. RyR2 was targeted because of its involvement in a distinct genetic heart rhythm disease known as catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT).

"For a parent whose infant died suddenly and mysteriously even five years ago, we were essentially unable to provide them with a cause and would often have to tell them, 'We have no idea why your apparently healthy infant did not wake up this morning,' " Dr. Ackerman says. "Although so much of SIDS remains unexplained, these findings that point to the heart for 10 percent to 15 percent of SIDS provide one place to search for a possible explanation. For families that have lost an infant to SIDS, it would be reasonable for parents to talk with their physician to make sure there is no family history of other unexplained deaths, unexplained fainting episodes, unexplained seizures that might provide clues and prevent more deaths."

Other researchers involved in the CAV3 study were from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston. Researchers involved in the RyR2 study were from Columbia University, New York.
 

- This research will be presented Friday at Heart Rhythm 2006, the 27th Annual Scientific Sessions of the Heart Rhythm Society in Boston.
 

http://www.mayoclinic.org/

 
Subscribe to Paediatrics Newsletter
E-mail Address:

 

To obtain the latest news releases from Mayo Clinic, go to www.mayoclinic.org/news. MayoClinic.com (www.mayoclinic.com) is available as a resource for your health stories. For more on Mayo Clinic research, go to www.mayo.edu.

Related Paediatrics News

Cot death could be linked to brain defect
Childhood obesity linked with maternal feeding behaviors
Under 16s, should be banned from ATVs
Parents need spiritual support when facing death of their child
Overweight toddlers grow up as obese adolescents
So...how would you design your baby?
TV effective 'painkiller' for kids
Twenty-two-year study shows that young kids are now more likely to be overweight
Longer needles best for infant immunization
Effects of psychosocial stimulation on psychosocial functioning


For any corrections of factual information, to contact the editors or to send any medical news or health news press releases, use feedback form

Top of Page

 

© Copyright 2004 onwards by RxPG Medical Solutions Private Limited
Contact Us