Genetic variations can cause serious diseases in children, which may even lead to cardiovascular damage. Such disease is called the Kawasaki Disease. This discovery was made in a genome wide association study of the disease.
Kawasaki Disease is a most commonly found disease in children of Asian descent and also in Japanese children. The cause of this disease is presently not known yet. This is said to be a very rare form of ailment mainly affecting young children.
This study has apparently unveiled variations in about 31 genes, which may have the ability to make a child more prone to develop Kawasaki Disease. It is stated that few of the identified genes seem to be work in collaboration in order to control the signaling between the immune and the heart cells. It’s believed that a deeper analysis will be conducted in an attempt to understand the relation between these mutations and the development of the disease.
Study authors state that, “Sadly, all the hospitals in the UK frequently see children with Kawasaki Disease. A child whose coronary arteries are damaged in early childhood faces a lifetime of uncertainty and risk, and we desperately need better treatments to prevent long term heart problems in those affected. We hope our new study will help us to reach this goal.â€
It’s presumed that this disease may be caused by an unknown infection. The present treatment used against this disease, is pooled antibodies from healthy donors. This procedure of treatment supposedly reduces the disease affection time span, and ensures child recovery in about two to three weeks. It’s also stated that this treatment may reduce the risk of heart disease.
Apparently this disease has been uncovered around five decades back; however comparatively not much is known about it yet. These researchers are hoping to soon analyze Asian Kawasaki Disease affected people, in an attempt to see if they can achieve a different set of results in these people.
The researchers of the Imperial College London, the University of Western Australia, the Genome Institute of Singapore, Emma Childrens Hospital, Netherlands, and the University of San Diego California, hope that their study may aid in the future discovery of latest treatments for treating this disease in young children.
Their findings are published in the PLoS Genetics.