Gene fault linked to stroke risk A “single genetic mutation can
double your risk of stroke”, the Daily Mail has reported. The
newspaper added that scientists hope the discovery could lead to
tailored treatments for the condition. The news is based on
research which looked for genetic variations that were more
common in people who had had an ischaemic stroke than in people
who had not had one. Ischaemic strokes occur when the blood flow
to a part of the brain is blocked. They account for 80% of
stroke cases. By testing the DNA of several thousand
participants, the researchers identified a new genetic variant
that was associated with increased risk of a type of ischaemic
stroke called a “large vessel stroke”. In large vessel strokes,
one or more of the arteries supplying blood to the brain become
blocked. People can carry up to two copies of the variant, and
the study’s authors estimated that each copy of the variant a
person carried was associated with about a 42% increase in the
odds of a large vessel stroke.