Genetics of Coronary Artery Disease
in Alaska Natives
GOCADAN is a study of the contribution of genetics and environment to heart and vascular disease in several villages on Norton Sound. The study is a working partnership with the Norton Sound Health Corporation (NSHC), the tribally-owned, nonprofit corporation that provides medical care to people living in the Bering Straits region; MedStar Research Institute, Washington, DC; Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY; and the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, San Antonio, TX. The study is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its associated factors are accelerating rapidly in Alaskan Eskimos as they change from a traditional diet and lifestyle. The aim of this project is to carefully document and analyze CVD and risk factors among 1,200 Alaskan Eskimos who are residents of Nome or of one of eight Norton Sound villages. Each participant is given a standardized interview to assess risk factors such as diet, physical activity, and medications. A physical exam, glucose tolerance test, electrocardiogram and carotid artery scan are done, and blood is drawn for standard clinical laboratory measurements. This extensive examination, along with a review of NSHC medical records, allows us to assess cardiovascular health status and report this information back to the participant and his or her physician.
For each of the 1,200 participants, we are determining genotypes at approximately 400 genetic loci distributed across all of the chromosomes. We are using this information to search for specific genes that relate to CVD. Native villages are quite isolated and there has been relatively limited outside genetic influence since the ancestors of Alaskan Eskimos crossed the Bering Sea land bridge some 10,000 years ago. The large families of village residents give us a powerful means to detect and map genes that contribute to CVD risk in Alaskan Eskimos. This is the first project to identify and map genes that contribute to risk of CVD in this understudied people who are, unfortunately, demonstrating increased disease burden as their environment undergoes rapid change.
We also have assayed stored serum specimens antedating this study (10-20 years ago). This allows us to compare current and past serologic responses to a representative infectious disease burden in relation to CVD, parameters of inflammation, and specific genetic variants reducing host immunity.
* Information provided by the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research |
