[Susceptibility gene to infarct: a review of the literature]. / I geni di suscettibilità all'infarto: una revisione della letteratura.

The investigation on the susceptibility genes of myocardial infarction has initiated substantially in the last 20 years. Most efforts have been mainly addressed to identify and evaluate genes involved in those systems already suspected to be implicated in the pathogenesis of coronary heart disease. Principal examples are lipid metabolism, coagulation and fibrinolytic systems, membrane receptors of platelets, levels of plasma homocysteine and vascular tone. Therefore up to now, the identification of the genetic factors of myocardial infarction has been carried out through case-control association studies employing a "candidate gene" approach. This method has often led to controversial results, usually difficult to compare. This is an attempt to provide a progress report on the principal susceptibility genes of coronary heart disease.

[PROCARDIS: A current approach to the study of the genetics of myocardial infarct]. / Il PROCARDIS: un approccio attuale allo studio della genetica dell'infarto miocardico.

Coronary artery disease is a complex and multifactorial pathology. Although the environmental component of coronary artery disease has been thoroughly investigated and is hence well known, knowledge about the genetic factors implicated in this disease is still scarce. Technological advances and the fact that the Human Genome Project has almost been completed allow the application of approaches that were not feasible few years ago to the genetic investigation of complex diseases. The aim of the PROCARDIS study is to identify new susceptibility genes of precocious coronary artery disease, through a genome-wide screen applying statistical methods of linkage analysis followed by a family-based association study. The originality of PROCARDIS lies in the fact that it is an international multicenter study. This allows recruitment of a very large number of individuals so that the population size, considered up to now unachievable, is adequate for the aims of the study.