Key points from article :
Scientists have linked dozens of new genome sites to coronary artery disease (CAD) risk and pioneered a powerful method for illuminating the biological roots of common disease.
This study of over a million individuals, including over 200,000 with CAD, provides a more complete picture of the genetic roots of CAD.
Also demonstrates an analytical framework for identifying causal genes that can be used to enhance research on other diseases involving genome-wide association studies (GWAS).
They discovered 68 new genome regions, or loci, associated with increased risk for CAD, bringing the total of known loci to more than 250.
They also generated a new polygenic risk score that incorporates more than 2 million genomic variants.
Jemma C Hopewell, co-author said ‘This study provides another landmark in our understanding of CAD ... patient lives.’
The research was carried out at the international CARDIoGRAMplusC4D Consortium and was published in Nature Genetics
