Candidate gene polymorphisms do not differ between newborns with stroke and normal controls.
OBJECTIVE
Neonatal stroke is increasingly recognized with an estimated incidence of one in 4000 live births per year. Pathways involved in the pathophysiology of neonatal stroke are diverse and may include thrombosis and thrombolysis, vascular reactivity, and inflammation.


METHODS
We compared frequencies of polymorphisms in genes regulating thrombosis and thrombolysis, nitric oxide, cytokines, vascular tone, and cell adhesion in a hospital-based cohort of 59 newborns with stroke relative to a random sample of 437 California newborns.


RESULTS
Of the 31 polymorphisms evaluated, no variant allele was significantly more common than the reference allele in newborns with stroke than in the general population.


CONCLUSIONS
Using a series of polymorphisms in pathways implicated in the etiology of stroke, newborns with stroke were not distinguished from a normal control group. Further studies are needed to determine the interaction of genetic polymorphisms with environmental risk factors in the pathogenesis of neonatal stroke.
Miller
Steven P
SP
Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA. MillerSt@neuropeds.ucsf.edu
Wu
Yvonne W
YW
Lee
Janet
J
Lammer
Edward J
EJ
Iovannisci
David M
DM
Glidden
David V
DV
Bonifacio
Sonia L
SL
Collins
Abigail
A
Shaw
Gary M
GM
Barkovich
A James
AJ
Ferriero
Donna M
DM
D000293:Adolescent; D000483:Alleles; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D008040:Genetic Linkage / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D020521:Stroke / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*