How long do I have to live
Mitochondrial DNA analysis can predict death
Julia Kufman, Copper News
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University have concluded that the information stored in mitochondria is a new biomarker that can accurately predict the risk of sudden death from cardiac arrest in ten years or even more.
Scientists suggest that a test based on this information in the future will not only predict possible sudden death, but also help prevent it – for example, to start treatment with statins in advance to lower cholesterol, or to use other drugs to correct the cardiovascular system.
Two studies were devoted to this topic: the first was published in JAMA Cardiology, and the second in the European Heart Journal. These studies have shown that the number of copies of mitochondrial DNA predicts the risk of sudden cardiac arrest. Scientists have found that the smaller the number of copies, the higher the risk of death for this reason.
"We believe that the number of copies of mitochondrial DNA is a new marker of risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, in addition to known predictors such as low-density lipoprotein levels, total cholesterol and blood pressure. The number of copies of mitochondrial DNA may indicate an urgent need to start taking statins," said Dan Arking, a researcher at the McKusick–Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, a specialized division of Johns Hopkins University (in a press release Mitochondrial DNA Could Predict Risk for Sudden Cardiac Death, Heart Disease – VM).
To study the role of mitochondrial DNA copy number as an effective predictor of cardiovascular disease, Arking and his team collected genetic data from 21,870 patients. The number of copies of mitochondrial DNA was measured and compared with the number of nuclear DNA. These measurements have been added to the cardiology calculator, which is now considered the gold standard for predicting the risk of heart disease. It takes into account the total cholesterol level, blood pressure, family history, smoking experience, weight and other factors to predict the 10-year risk of cardiovascular diseases that threaten the patient's life.
The introduction of a new criterion has improved the predictive accuracy of the calculator. As a result of the study, Arking accurately predicted that six people who were not in the risk group according to standard calculations would have a life-threatening heart attack. And 139 people to whom the calculator prescribed preventive treatment, including statins, did not actually need it. Statins can cause liver disease, muscle pain, neurological complications and other side effects, and thanks to a new analysis, 139 people were able to safely refuse to take the drugs.
A second study conducted by the same group of scientists confirmed the conclusions of the first one: the number of copies of mitochondrial DNA is an excellent prognostic criterion for the risk of sudden death from cardiac arrest. In the second experiment, Arking and his team measured the number of copies of mitochondrial DNA in 11,093 patients who had been observed by cardiologists for more than 20 years. They found that over the course of 20 years, 361 people died from sudden cardiac arrest. After checking the correlation with other risk factors, the researchers determined that participants with a relatively low number of copies of mitochondrial DNA were at the greatest risk of sudden death from cardiac arrest.
"Counting copies of mitochondrial DNA is a good biomarker, so with this method we can create a clinical test that accurately identifies the groups at greatest risk of death from cardiac arrest. This is very important, because 2/3 of patients who died from sudden cardiac arrest do not show any symptoms that could warn of such a risk," explained Arking.
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