PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Al-Harbi, Khalid M.
AU  - Almuzaini, Ibrahim S.
AU  - Morsy, Mohamed M.
AU  - Abdelaziz, Nada A.
AU  - Al-Balawi, Alia M.
AU  - Abdallah, Atiyeh M.
TI  - Angiotensin-converting enzyme gene insertion/deletion polymorphism in Saudi patients with rheumatic heart disease
AID  - 10.15537/smj.2015.2.10267
DP  - 2015 Jan 01
TA  - Saudi Medical Journal
PG  - 176--180
VI  - 36
IP  - 2
4099  - http://smj.org.sa/content/36/2/176.short
4100  - http://smj.org.sa/content/36/2/176.full
SO  - Saudi Med J2015 Jan 01; 36
AB  - Objectives: To investigate the association between angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in Saudi patients.Methods: A case-control study was conducted in Saudi RHD patients. Genomic DNA was isolated from 99 RHD patients attending the Pediatric Cardiology Clinic at the Maternity and Children Hospital, Al-Madinah, Saudi Arabia from March 2013 to June 2014, and from 145 age- and gender-matched controls. Patient clinical records were reviewed to report major and minor modified Jones’ criteria for diagnosis. The diagnosis was confirmed by echocardiography. The ACE I/D polymorphism was identified by polymerase chain reaction.Results: A significant difference in ACE D allele carriage (DD+ID) distribution between RHD cases and controls was identified (p=0.02, odds ratio = 3.6, 95% confidence interval: 1.2-10.8). The D allele carriage was significantly associated with development of mitral valve lesions alone (p=0.03).Conclusion: The ACE I/D polymorphism is associated with an increased risk of RHD in the Saudi population. Further studies are needed to confirm our findings and to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying this association.