Scientists are identifying new genetic cues to treat a “silent” stroke

Scientists have identified new genetic predispositions in people who have had minor and frequent silent strokes that appear to be difficult to treat and the main cause of viral depression, according to a study funded by the British Heart Foundation ( BHF) and published in Neurology Lancet.

Researchers found changes in 12 genetic segments in the DNA of people who have had a lacunar stroke – a type of stroke caused by the weakening of the small deep blood vessels in the brain. Over time, damage to the blood vessels and subsequent disruption of blood flow can lead to long-term disability, causing difficulty with thinking, memory, walking, and eventually depression.

There are few proven drugs to prevent or treat lacunar strokes. The affected blood vessels are less than a millimeter wide and a lacunar stroke can strike without the person knowing. It’s not usually until someone has had those strokes and starts seeing depressive symptoms that they realize something is wrong.

To date, only one genetic defect has been associated with lacunar strokes. However, after more than a decade of study, Professor Hugh Markus and his team at Cambridge University working with researchers from around the world now believe that the genetic breakdown is are a key means of finding much-needed cures for lacunar stroke and viral depression.

Researchers analyzed and compared the genetic code of 7,338 patients who had a lacunar stroke with 254,798 who did not. Participants were recruited from across Europe, the United States, South America and Australia after being admitted to hospital and having an MRI or CT brain scan.

They found that many of the 12 genetic regions associated with lacunar strokes were involved in maintaining the neurovascular unit – the part of the brain that separates the blood vessels from the brain and ensures nerves are working normally.

These genetic changes are thought to make the small blood vessels ‘more leaking’, cause toxic substances to enter the brain, and cause traveling messages. around the brain slowing down or not reaching at all.

The team now plans to test whether new treatments can correct these routines on brain cells in the laboratory. They hope to begin human clinical trials in the next decade.

The study also identified that high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and a history of smoking are associated with an increased risk of lacunar stroke, indicating things we can address immediately.

Professor Hugh Markus, BHF-funded researcher, study director, and neurologist at Cambridge University, said:

“These small and often silent lacunar strokes have been under the radar for a long time, so we have not been able to treat patients as well as we would like. Although they are small, their impact can patients cause very large.They cause.a quarter of all strokes and they are the type of stroke that are likely to lead to vascular dementia.

“We now plan to use this new genetic blue plan as a springboard to develop much-needed treatments to prevent lacunar strokes in the first place and to stop depression.”

Genetics offers one of the few ways in which we can discover completely new perspectives on the causes of disease such as lacunar stroke. Only with a better understanding of the causes of the disease can we develop better treatments. “

Dr. Matthew Traylor, First Study Author, Queen Mary University London

Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation and cardiologist, said:

“This is the most comprehensive genetic study to date that really addresses the causes of lacunar strokes. These findings are a huge leap forward and we have a much greater understanding of now on the genetics and biology behind what causes the small blood vessels deep in the brain to be sick.

“Lacunar strokes affect around 35,000 people in the UK each year. This research gives us real hope that we can prevent and treat this devastating type of stroke much better in the future.”