"Sudden death" is a taboo subject in most conversations between parents, you try to avoid naming it, as if by doing so you were to call their attention to your children. It is simply something you don't want to talk about, knowing that probability exists, but you simply refuse to accept it.
But they arrive Good news, and the mutated gene that causes sudden death has been discovered.
Hereditary Sudden Death
One of the most common causes of sudden congenital death is caused by a disease called Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy which causes cardiac arrest.
A study of genetic sequencing conducted by the Oviedo University He has found the gene responsible for the development of this disease and provides new clues about the molecular alterations that cause sudden death.
In recent years, the study of this disease has allowed to discover several genes whose mutations cause their development in approximately 50% of patients, although the causative genes in the rest of the patients with this disease are completely unknown.
"The genomic study has allowed us to conclude that mutations in the FLNC gene, coding for a protein called filamin C, cause hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in eight of the families studied," says Xose S. Puente.
The study has shown that these mutations cause the formation of aggregates of these proteins in the heart muscle that accumulate over time and prevent the proper functioning of the heart.
Although this type of sudden death is more common in young adults, the new keys and guidelines obtained from it are a step forward to understand the functioning of the mechanisms that trigger the process, as well as to be able to locate the patients carrying this gene to keep a constant watch on them and the development of the disease.
Perhaps in the future we can know all the causes that cause sudden death to trigger and we can prevent most cases, today we have taken a great step forward.
