I have the PON1 "A-B allele" polymorphism...will I have a heart attack?

[Elite Engineer]

So, in class we gathered our own buccal cells, and extracted the DNA to see potential polymorphisms in our

 

PON1 gene sequence. As it turns out, I am heterozygous for the A-B allele. There has been some research relating both the

 

AB and BB polymorphism to increased risk of atherosclerosis. I know there are plenty of other elements to factor in..but has

 

anyone heard of current research or studies about this? I've checked a bit and only found 2 papers, both before 1998.

 

~EE

[Elite Engineer]

So, I decided to get deeper..ALOT deeper. I found one study for 2002, that said that PON1 AB and BB polymorphisms (or Glutamine-Arginine and Arginine-Arginine) only contribute to coronary artery disease in cases of high HDL cholesterol.

 

This seems really paradoxical and troubling.It's generally agreed that having high HDL cholesterol is a good preventive for heart disease. However, if you have the PON1 AB or BB polymorphism,having high HDL increases your chances of heart disease. I'm not feeling very good from this

 

Link to the paper (abstract only): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12204800

 

~EE

Edited December 10, 2015 by Elite Engineer

[Prometheus]

Wish i could shed some light on the matter but i can only sympathise with your plight. It highlights a current gap in medicine: we have the tools to measure for these associations, but when it comes to a particular individual no one wants to say anything (even doctors). There are some doctors starting to specialise in genetic medicine but (where i live at least) it feels like the field is moving faster than clinicians can keep pace with.

[Endy0816]

Might be an idea to look at family history to help assess your personal risk.

[Elite Engineer]

it feels like the field is moving faster than clinicians can keep pace with.

Is this necessarily a good thing?

Might be an idea to look at family history to help assess your personal risk.

Well, there's family history of heart disease on my mom's side. My dad had a heart attack in 2008 at 52, but he's doing better now. It flat out sucks. I'm in great shape and I eat well. I feel like it's all gone to waste.

[Prometheus]

Is this necessarily a good thing?

 

It's a thing. What's the solution? Clinicians already have a great breadth of things to learn, it's unrealistic to expect them to learn the requisite maths too. Some cross-disciplinary approach is required.

[Endy0816]

Well, there's family history of heart disease on my mom's side. My dad had a heart attack in 2008 at 52, but he's doing better now. It flat out sucks. I'm in great shape and I eat well. I feel like it's all gone to waste.

 

I would look at it as having pushed back or decreased your risk of having a heart attack than as being a waste.

 

Keeping in mind there also a number of additional benefits of exercise and eating well.