Using Mendelian randomization to determine causative factors in cardiovascular disease.
Summary of "Using Mendelian randomization to determine causative factors in cardiovascular disease."
Bilirubin is an endogenous metabolite of heme that possesses potent natural antioxidant effects [1]. Of interest, elevated serum bilirubin concentration is strongly associated with protection against many immune and inflammatory diseases including cancer [2], rheumatoid arthritis [3], non-alcoholic fatty liver disease [4] and diabetes mellitus [5], as well as ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and myocardial infarction (MI) [6, 7]. However, it remains unclear whether bilirubin directly mediates disease protection or is simply a biomarker for other risk factors or causal mechanisms. The distinction is important: if bilirubin is merely a correlated biomarker, it might only serve a limited prognostic or diagnostic role for IHD; whereas if it is mechanistically involved in IHD causation, it could serve as a target for new therapies. © 2012 The Association for the Publication of the Journal of Internal Medicine.
Affiliation
Departments of Biochemistry and Medicine, Robarts Research Institute, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, N6A 5K8, Canada.
Journal Details
This article was published in the following journal.
Name: Journal of internal medicine
ISSN: 1365-2796
Pages:
Links
- PubMed Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22928522
- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2796.2012.02586.x
Medical and Biotech [MESH] Definitions
Mendelian Randomization Analysis
The use of the GENETIC VARIATION of known functions or phenotypes to correlate the causal effects of those functions or phenotypes with a disease outcome.
Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular
The co-occurrence of pregnancy and a cardiovascular disease. The disease may precede or follow FERTILIZATION and it may or may not have a deleterious effect on the pregnant woman or FETUS.
Causality
The relating of causes to the effects they produce. Causes are termed necessary when they must always precede an effect and sufficient when they initiate or produce an effect. Any of several factors may be associated with the potential disease causation or outcome, including predisposing factors, enabling factors, precipitating factors, reinforcing factors, and risk factors.
Virulence Factors
Those components of an organism that determine its capacity to cause disease but are not required for its viability per se. Two classes have been characterized: TOXINS, BIOLOGICAL and surface adhesion molecules that effect the ability of the microorganism to invade and colonize a host. (From Davis et al., Microbiology, 4th ed. p486)
Cohort Studies
Studies in which subsets of a defined population are identified. These groups may or may not be exposed to factors hypothesized to influence the probability of the occurrence of a particular disease or other outcome. Cohorts are defined populations which, as a whole, are followed in an attempt to determine distinguishing subgroup characteristics.
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