Forum for Science, Industry and Business
Sponsored by:     Siemens  n-tv 
Search our Site:

Topic (optional):

 

Home Reports Life Sciences Content

Researchers identify marker of heart disease in low-birthweight babies

next article
20.04.2005

 


Some low birth weight infants have large particles rich in apolipoprotein C-1, a blood protein that could put them at risk for heart disease later in life, according to a national study led by Johns Hopkins Children’s Center researchers.

For the study, Peter O. Kwiterovich, Jr., M.D., professor of pediatrics and director of the Lipid Clinic at Johns Hopkins, and colleagues analyzed the umbilical cord blood of 163 infants born at 28 or more weeks of gestational age at Johns Hopkins Hospital between January 3 and September 27, 2000. Nineteen percent of the babies were found to have enriched levels of apolipoprotein C-1 bound up in the high density lipoproteins (HDL) circulating in their blood. These infants were born on average 1.3 pounds less and three weeks earlier than those who had normal HDL levels of the suspect particles.


Results are published in the April 20 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

In adults, HDL enriched with apolipoprotein C-1 may be dysfunctional and cause the death of smooth muscle cells that normally are an important part of the protective cap on top of cholesterol plaque in the blood vessels in the heart, Kwiterovich said. If the cap is weakened, the plaque can rupture, causing a heart attack.

"Our hypothesis is that infants with elevated apo C-1 levels at birth will have higher apo C-1 levels in childhood and adulthood" Kwiterovich said. "Many people associate HDL as being the ’good’ cholesterol, and indeed, higher levels of HDL in general are, in adults, good. It is the higher apo C-1 levels in these infants that we find worth watching as an early predictor of heart disease. A low-fat diet is particularly important for these children to reduce their risk of heart disease."

Staci Vernick Goldberg | Source: EurekAlert!
Further information: www.jhmi.edu

next article

More articles from Life Sciences:

nachricht First reconstitution of an epidermis from human embryonic stem cells
23.11.2009 | INSERM (Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale)

nachricht Causative gene of a rare disorder discovered by sequencing only protein-coding regions of genome
23.11.2009 | University of Washington

All articles from Life Sciences >>>

B2B Search

Product / Service
Company / Organisation

Latest News

UCSB physicists move 1 step closer to quantum computing

23.11.2009 | Physics and Astronomy

Fat around the middle increases the risk of dementia

23.11.2009 | Studies and Analyses

New discovery about the formation of new brain cells

23.11.2009 | Health and Medicine

VideoLinks

Event News

Multidisciplinary meeting on Urological Cancers aims to benefit cancer patients

20.11.2009 | Event News

'Golden Age' for clinical psychology in Northern Ireland

20.11.2009 | Event News

New Perspectives in Marine Anti-Fouling Research

11.11.2009 | Event News