Three genes that could shed light on the genetic causes of blood-clotting disorders such as thrombosis and some types of stroke have been discovered by researchers at the University of Edinburgh.
The boffins discovered that the three genes make a substantial contribution to how long it takes blood to clot.The team thinks that identifying these genes that control the way blood clots could help further our understanding of conditions such as deep vein thrombosis, heart attacks, some types of stroke, and bleeding disorders.
The study was carried out at the Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology (CCACE), part of the cross council Lifelong Health and Wellbeing Initiative.
The study looked for associations between half a million genetic markers and time taken for blood to clot, measured by a test called activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT).
The findings show three genes - called F12, HRG and KNG1 - are responsible for a substantial amount of the variation in speed of blood clotting in different healthy people.
The team will now try to encourage research teams working on relevant medical disorders to study these genes.
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The results are published in the American Journal of Human Genetics.
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RAS