July 2, 2014

New genes for regulating the heart rhythm discovered



Results of EURAC collaboration published in “Nature Genetics”

Cardiac arrhythmia is a frequent occurrence: according to the WHO, 33.5 million people all over the world are affected by atrial fibrillation   this being just one of many different kinds of arrhythmia. A global research consortium, of which the EURAC Center for Biomedicine in Bozen-Bolzano is a member, has now identified 23 new genes which control both the heart rhythm and the length of the so-called QT interval. The study was further enhanced by data provided by participants from South Tyrol. The results, which open up new pathways for early diagnosis and treatment, have just been published in the medical journal “Nature Genetics”.