Highlights
May 2003
Genetic Risk Factor Found for Lupus in African
American Women
Two variant forms of a gene that promotes the formation
of nitric oxide-a molecule involved in blood vessel dynamics and nerve
transmission-may be a risk factor for the rheumatic disease lupus in
African American women, according to research supported by the National
Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, a component
of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services.
A study conducted by the Medical University of South Carolina's
Gary Gilkeson, M.D., and his colleagues showed that the two different
gene forms occurred much more frequently among female African American
lupus patients than among controls matched for age, sex and race. These
same gene forms have been associated with improved outcomes in some
African patients with malaria, and the researchers chose to investigate
them based on a hypothesis that genetic traits that benefit those living
in Africa may have the opposite effect on North American residents.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), or lupus, is a chronic,
inflammatory, autoimmune disease that mainly affects women of child-bearing
age. Its symptoms range from unexplained fever, swollen joints, and
skin rashes to severe organ damage of the kidneys, lungs, or central
nervous system. Lupus is three times more common-and is frequently more
severe-in African American women than in Caucasian women.
Support for this research was also provided by the National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institute
of Environmental Health Sciences, the Veterans Administration and the
Medical University of South Carolina.
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Oates J, Levesque M, Hobbs M, Smith E, Molano I, Page
G, Hill B, Weinberg J, Cooper G, Gilkeson G. Nitric oxide synthase 2
promoter polymorphisms and systemic lupus erythymatosus in African-Americans.
J Rheumatology 2003;30(1):60-67.