Genetic data from area residents could lead to new drugs to prevent heart disease. Geisinger’s MyCode program, which contains DNA and medical records from patients, provided the data for a major new study.

 

Researchers found that people with mutations in a certain gene are up to 41 percent less likely to develop blockages in heart arteries.

 

Then, they found that an experimental drug that mimics the gene, also reduces the development of clogged arteries.

 

“This research was possible only because of the thousands of Geisinger patients who volunteered to participate in the MyCode Community Health Initiative,” said David J. Carey, Ph.D., a co-author on the paper and chair of the Department of Molecular and Functional Genomics at Geisinger.  

 

Researchers say they’ll continue to develop the investigational drug, which would be used to treat severely high cholesterol..

 

Results of the study are in the New England Journal of Medicine.