6 The Hampton Roads Messenger


Volume 7 Number 7


Researchers Find Gene Variant Linked to Aortic Valve Disease


NIH-funded consortium finds connection between lipoprotein(a) and valve calcification


March 2013


Most Approve of Ending Saturday Mail Delivery


Wide Racial Gap in Views of Postal Service Decision


Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe announces the end of Saturday mail delivery.


A majority of Americans (54%) A newly identified genetic variant


doubles the risk of calcium buildup in the heart’s aortic valve. Calcium buildup is the most common cause of aortic stenosis, a narrowing of the aortic valve that can lead to heart failure, stroke, and sudden cardiac death.


An international genomics team


called CHARGE (Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology) found the variant in the gene for lipoprotein(a), a cholesterol- rich particle that circulates in the blood. CHARGE oversees genomic studies of five large study populations in the United States and Europe, including the Framingham Heart Study (FHS), which is a part of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) at the National Institutes of Health.


The findings will be published in


the Feb. 7 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.


“No medications tested to date


have shown an ability to prevent or even slow progression of aortic stenosis, and treatments are limited beyond the major step of replacing the aortic valve,” said study co-author Christopher O’Donnell, M.D., M.P.H., senior director for genome research at the NHLBI and associate director of the FHS. “By identifying for the first time a common genetic link to aortic stenosis, we might be able to open up new therapeutic options.”


The CHARGE researchers conducted a genome-wide analysis


of 2.5 million known genetic variants in a group of nearly 7,000 white participants. The analysis identified a variant in the lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), gene that was highly correlated with calcification of the aortic valve, as measured by computed tomography (CT) scanning. Follow-up analysis in more than 6,000 additional participants, including Hispanics, African-Amer- icans, and Chinese-Americans, confirmed this correlation. The variant was present in about 7 percent of the study population and the people who carry it generally had higher amounts of Lp(a) circulating in their blood. The function of Lp(a) is unknown, but it is associated with an elevated risk of heart disease.


Another independent analysis


carried out by CHARGE followed participants in Sweden and Denmark, and found that people with the Lp(a) variant had higher risks of clinical heart valve disease and of needing valve replacement surgery.


“What makes these findings


provocative is that we linked the genetic variant with a physiological change in lipoprotein levels, disease precursor in the form of calcium buildup, and fully diagnosed aortic valve disease, across multiple ethnicities,” O’Donnell said. “The study suggests a causal relation between Lp(a) and aortic valve disease, but further work will be needed to see whether medications that lower Lp(a) levels can lower the risk or slow the development of valve disease.”


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approve of the U.S. Postal Service’s recent decision to halt Saturday delivery of letters, while 32% disapprove of the decision. The planned end of Saturday mail delivery is a rare government decision that garners bipartisan support – 58% of independents approve of the action, as do 57% of Republicans and 51% of Democrats.


Most Americans say they have


heard or read at least a little about the Postal Service’s announcement that they plan to stop Saturday delivery of letters to address budget shortfalls. Majorities of those who have heard a lot (67%) or a little (56%) about the action approve of it.


But those who have


heard nothing at all about the decision – 16% of the public – disapprove of stopping Saturday mail delivery by more than two-to-one (60% disapprove vs. 25% approve).


The national survey by


the Pew Research Center, conducted Feb. 7-10 among 1,004 adults, finds that blacks are the only major demographic group in which a majority (55%) opposes the Postal Service decision to halt Saturday delivery. Whites approve of the decision by more than two-to-one (61% to 26%).


whites have heard about the


Fewer blacks than Postal Service’s


announcement that it is stopping Saturday deliveries because of budget problems. Nearly three-in-ten blacks (29%) say they heard nothing at all about the announcement, compared with 12% of whites.


People younger than


30 are far less aware of the Postal Service announcement than older people – 42% of those 18-to-29 heard nothing at all about it, compared with just 10% of those 30 and older. Those under 30 also are the only age group in which a majority does not support the decision (38% approve).


EFFORTS TO INTENTIONALLY SABOTAGE THE PRINTING, DISTRIBUTION OR REPUTATION OF THIS PUBLICATION IS A VIOLATION OF THE US CONSTITUTION’S PROTECTION OF FREEDOM OF THE PRESS AND MAY CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF ANTITRUST LAWS. IF YOU KNOW OF ANYONE PARTICIPATING IN SUCH ACTIONS, PLEASE REPORT IT TO THE US JUSTICE DEPARTMENT.


Those who use the mail


infrequently, or don’t use it at all, are more supportive of the decision to end Saturday delivery than are those who send or receive letters on a weekly basis.


Among the third of Americans


(34%) who seldom or never use the mail for personal letters, 61% approve of the decision to end Saturday delivery and just 21% disapprove. Opinion is more evenly divided among the 40% who send or receive personal letters weekly or more: 50% approve of the decision while 44% disapprove.


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