Medknow Publications on behalf of the Neurological Society of India
Abstract
Stroke or "brain attack" is a complex disease caused by a combination
of multiple risk factors. It has major social and economic
consequences. Various epidemiological studies in families and twins
have revealed that there is a genetic component to stroke risk. Stroke
may be the outcome of single gene disorders or more commonly, a
polygenic multifactorial disease. Mutations in several candidate genes
have been found to be associated with stroke. However, association
studies in population-based samples have failed to identify reliable
disease markers. The publication of the "Human Genome Project" has
indeed improved our knowledge about the potential role of genetics in
complex disorders including stroke. Rapidly expanding field of genetics
is in a state of transforming medicine into a new kind in future, the
individualized medicine, using tailor made drugs according to the
genetic makeup of the individuals. However, this involves integrating
genome wide genetic information with medical information. The first
genome wide association study on ischemic stroke has been published
recently. Further studies will hopefully tell us how far the genetic
information will assist us to tailor clinical and therapeutic decisions
to an individual′s genotype
