北京天兆家园房价:心脏健康关键在于基因

心脏的健康依赖于饮食和锻炼，但基因同样也非常重要。日前，科学家们对此进行的大量遗传学研究，鉴定了95个与胆固醇和甘油三酯密切相关的DNA区域， 这使得人们进一步了解了基因在心脏健康中的作用。

Of those regions, 59 had not previously been identified and may, with further research, lead to new treatment options.

这些区域中有59个区域是新鉴定的，在之后的研究中，这些新区域可能引导产生新的治疗方案。

"It's a goldmine of new discovery," said Dr. Daniel Rader, a geneticist at the University of Pennsylvania medical school and coauthor of two new studies on the research. Both were released online Wednesday in the journal Nature.

遗传学家Daniel Rader博士说：“这是一个发现新治疗靶点的宝库。” Daniel 博士是宾夕法尼亚大学医学院的遗传学家，他的两项新研究报告已经在线发表在周三出版的Nature杂志上。  

Because the findings were based on genetic information gathered from more than 100,000 people, researchers were able to identify subtle variations that could potentially affect heart health. Such variations hadn't been visible in previous, smaller studies.

这项发现是基于对超过100，000人遗传信息统计的基础上，故研究者们能够鉴定出对心脏健康有潜在影响的极微小变异。这些变异在过去小范围的研究中是看不到的。

Differences within these regions explain 25% to 30% of the inherited portion of cholesterol and triglyceride levels across many ethnicities, including people of European descent, African Americans and East and South Asians, researchers said.  

研究者表示，这些区域之间的差异说明胆固醇和甘油三酯水平可遗传部分的25%到30%是跨种族的，包括欧洲血统的人，非洲裔美国人和东南亚人。

"It's the first step toward a better understanding of cholesterol metabolism," said Dr. Alan Shuldiner, a geneticist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine who was not involved in the research.

Alan Shuldiner 博士评论：“这是深入了解胆固醇代谢的第一步。” 他是马里兰大学医学院的遗传学家，没有参加此研究。

In most cases, the specific genes that affect cholesterol and triglycerides have not been identified, simply the larger regions of DNA in which they're located. The next step is to find the actual genes and figure out how they work. In the long run, such research could lead to new ways to treat people for high cholesterol or detect who may be at risk for heart disease.

多数情况下，影响胆固醇和甘油三酯的特异性基因还没有被鉴定，仅是确定了较大DNA区域的位置。下一步的研究即寻找到实际工作的基因并了解其工作机制。长远来看，这项研究能够寻找到治疗高胆固醇的新方法，或者检测哪些人有罹患心脏病的风险。

The researchers, from a variety of institutions and universities, did identify four specific genes that could directly affect lipid levels. Highlighting the potential of further study, they found that one particular gene is involved in a previously unknown metabolic process that can lower bad cholesterol.

来自不同研究机构和大学的研究者们已经鉴定了四个特异性基因，这些基因能够直接影响脂类水平。 研究者们强调了深入研究的巨大潜力：他们发现其中一个基因参与一种未知的可降低有害胆固醇的代谢过程。

As for the broader regions identified in the new studies, they likely contain just a portion of the few hundred total genes that are probably involved in regulating cholesterol levels, said Harvard Medical School geneticist Dr. Sekar Kathiresan, who led the studies. The team is continuing to gather more research subjects to provide a larger pool for tracking down all the genes involved.

负责这项研究的哈佛医学院遗传学家Sekar Kathiresan博士说：“参与胆固醇水平调控的基因可能有几百种，而本研究中鉴定的区域似乎只包含其中部分基因。”这个研究小组仍在搜集更多研究对象，以期寻找到全部相关基因。

"My hypothesis is that, in three to five years, we will have a full tally of the genes," he said. "Then the question will be: What specific genes when targeted with drugs will actually help patients down the road? Having a full list of a few hundred, is that going to be like drinking from a fire hose?"

他说：“我的设想是再将来的三到五年中找到所有的基因。之后需要解决的问题是：哪些特异性基因最终可以作为药物靶标用于治疗？拥有几百种基因的完整列表，是否就像从消防软管喝水一样让人应接不暇？”

Cross-referencing the genes to find those that are also associated with coronary artery disease or heart attack could help narrow down the field, he said.

Kathiresan博士还表示，对这些基因进行相互对照研究找到那些同时与冠状动脉病或者心脏病相关的基因，就可以缩小研究领域。