Come one, everybody WAKE UP ! Here's an anouncement and people expect them to announce eight (8) more tests in the next year:
Myriad to Launch First Genetic Test for High Blood Pressure
PR Newswire, Thursday, November 13, 1997 at 11:10
Test to Identify Patients Who May Benefit Most From a Salt-Restricted Diet And
Who are Likely to Progress to a More Severe Form of Hypertension
SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Myriad Genetics, Inc.
(NASDAQ:MYGN), plans to launch a test to identify patients with hypertension
(high blood pressure) who have a genetic variant that makes them particularly
sensitive to sodium (salt) consumption and who are prone to complications such
as heart disease, kidney failure and stroke, the company announced today. The
importance of the test, called CardiaRisk(TM), was further highlighted based
on data presented on Tuesday at the 70th Annual Meeting of the American Heart
Association by Dr. Steven Hunt, of the University of Utah's Cardiovascular
Genetics Research Clinic, working in collaboration with the National
Institutes of Health. Myriad Genetics performed the testing on all 1,509
study participants using its CardiaRisk(TM) genetic test.
The study, part of a large multi-center trial of hypertension prevention,
indicates that participants with the genetic variant had a 42 percent higher
incidence of hypertension over the three-year study period. Only the
participants with the genetic variant benefited from a low-salt diet. About
20 percent of the participants in the study carried the genetic defect.
By using the results of Myriad's test to detect this mutation, physicians
can identify those individuals likely to benefit significantly from a salt
restrictive diet and those for whom it may not be worth the inconvenience and
effort. About 50 million individuals have high blood pressure in the United
States.
Sodium restriction is a common lifestyle modification recommended by
physicians for all hypertensive patients along with weight loss, if indicated,
and increased exercise. Physicians have long known, however, that many
patients do not respond to salt reduction and that compliance is complicated
by the practical difficulty of preparing and eating low-salt foods, especially
since salt is common in most pre-packaged and processed foods.
Effective treatment of hypertension has the intent of preventing stroke,
heart disease, renal failure and premature death. Based on other studies,
CardiaRisk(TM) is also believed to identify those hypertensive patients who
have a greater risk for heart attacks (3.4-fold increased risk) and renal
failure (two-fold increased risk). Since the individuals with the genetic
variant are more likely to progress to a more severe form of hypertension,
physicians are likely to provide closer follow up, recommend low sodium diet
therapy and encourage earlier and more aggressive therapy to slow disease
progression.
"We expect the CardiaRisk(TM) test to have significant clinical utility in
the diagnosis, treatment, and management of hypertensive patients ," commented
Peter Meldrum, Myriad President and CEO. "We plan to make the test available
to physicians in early 1998 and will price it to encourage broad use. In
addition, the test should reduce medical expenditures by focusing resources on
the minority of patients at greater risk of heart attacks and kidney failure
related to hypertension."
Other studies have shown that individuals with the genetic variant at the
-6 position in the AGT promoter region (AA genotype) produced higher levels of
angiotensinogen than those with the GG genotype. Angiotensinogen through
several enzymatic cleavages is converted to angiotensin II, a peptide hormone
that regulates vascular resistance and sodium homeostasis, and thus is
important for determining blood pressure. Those individuals with the AA
genotype had a higher 3-year incidence of hypertension (44.6 percent) compared
to the GG genotype (31.5 percent).
Since mutations in the AGT gene have been associated with salt-sensitive
hypertension and a corresponding increase in blood pressure, the study also
analyzed the incidence of hypertension following low sodium diet therapy.
According to the study of borderline hypertensive patients, only the AA
genotype individuals experienced a statistically significant lowering of blood
pressure after reducing their salt intake for three years. Individuals with
the AA genotype experienced a net decrease in diastolic blood pressure of -
2.27 mm Hg as compared to individuals with the GG genotype, which actually saw
an average increase in diastolic blood pressure of +1.07 mm Hg compared to
controls with no dietary-salt intervention.
Myriad Genetics, Inc., based in Salt Lake City, is a genomics and genetic
testing company focused on the discovery and commercialization of genes
involved in major common disorders, including cancer, cardiovascular disease,
metabolic and respiratory diseases, and central nervous system disorders. The
Company is involved in strategic alliances with Schering-Plough, Novartis,
Bayer and Eli Lilly.
Myriad's news releases are available on the Company's web site at
www.myriad.com.
The discussion in this news release includes forward-looking statements
based upon management's current expectations. Factors that could cause future
results to differ materially from such expectations include: intense
competition related to the discovery of disease-related genes; the Company's
limited marketing and sales experience and the risk that CardiaRisk(TM) and
other tests which the Company may develop may not be marketed at acceptable
prices or receive commercial acceptance in the near future, if at all;
uncertainty as to whether there will exist adequate reimbursement for the
Company's service from the government, private healthcare insurers and third-
party payers; and uncertainties as to the extent of future government
regulation of the Company's business.
SOURCE Myriad Genetics, Inc.
-0- 11/13/97
/CONTACT: William A. Hockett, Director of Corporate Communications of
Myriad Genetics, Inc., 801-584-3600/ |
