An angiotensin-converting enzyme gene polymorphism suggests a genetic distinction between ischaemic stroke and carotid stenosis

Background Ischaemic cerebrovascular disease (ICVD) is a heterogeneous syndrome to which different genetic factors may contribute. We have investigated the distribution of alleles of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene, which has been suggested to be of possible importance in ischaemic stroke or cardiovascular disease, in groups of patients with ischaemic stroke and carotid artery stenosis (CS). Materials and methods One hundred and thirty patients with ischaemic stroke and 68 patients with more than 50% stenosis of the internal carotid artery were investigated and compared with age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects. Alleles of an insertion/deletion polymorphism of the ACE gene were determined by one-stage polymerase chain reaction and visualized on agarose gels. Results There was a significant difference (P<0.05) in the distribution of ACE alleles, homozygosity for the presumed susceptibility deletion allele being more common in patients with CS than in healthy control subjects. There was also a significant difference (P<0.05) in patients with CS in comparison with matched ICVD patients without CS, both in allelic frequencies and in homozygosity for the deletion allele. Conclusions Our results indicate that the ACE gene polymorphism may be a risk factor for the development of CS. The observed difference in ACE allele distribution may be seen as evidence for a genetic distinction between ICVD and CS, two clinically related conditions, which further supports the hypothesis that genetic factors are of importance for this group of diseases.