Scientists claim to have identified a gene that raises one’s risk of contracting Kawasaki disease, a rare condition which involves inflammation of the blood vessels and affects mostly children.
A team at Infectious Diseases department of the Genome Institute of Singapore has discovered that the FCGR2A gene is associated with an increased risk of contracting the disease, the Nature Genetics journal reported. In their research, the scientists examined the genetic profiles of 405 children with Kawasaki disease and contrasted them with 6,252 healthy controls in Europe, the US and Australia.
Genetic markers showing potential association with the disease were re-assessed and validated in further 740 affected families, as well as a further 1,028 affected children and 1,512 healthy controls from Asian countries. In their research, the scientists noted very strong evidence of increased risk of the disease at a gene encoding a protein called FCGR2A. — PTI