THURSDAY, April 27, 2006 (HealthDay News) -- A variation in a single gene may help boost the risk for brain aneurysms, British researchers report.
An aneurysm is a bulge in an artery that weakens the wall of the artery and can result in a potentially lethal rupture.
In the study, researchers analyzed the frequency of two variations of the interleukin-6 (IL-6) gene in 91 people with an unruptured brain aneurysm and in a comparison group of over 2,700 healthy people.
IL-6 plays a role in the inflammatory process of coronary artery disease and has been linked to stroke and an increased risk of dementia. It's also known that IL-6 can damage brain tissue.
Researchers at Charing Cross Hospital, London, found that a variation (-572G>C) of the IL-6 gene that boosts production of IL-6 was about 14 times more common among people with aneurysms than among those in the comparison group. Another variation (-174G>C), which suppresses production of IL-6, was 2.5 times more common among people in the healthy comparison group than among those with aneurysms.
It's not clear whether these gene variations play a role in the development, progression or rupture of brain aneurysms, the study authors wrote Thursday in the online edition of the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. However, there does appear to be a clear link between the IL-6 gene variations and brain aneurysms.
More information
The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more about brain aneurysm.
