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CompletedNCT00005526Updated May 13, 2016

Genetic Basis of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

An observational study in Cardiovascular Diseases, Heart Diseases and Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal, sponsored by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Completed. Open to male participants aged Up to 100 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2016-05-13.

Sponsored by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) · Observational

Study type
Observational
Ages
Up to 100 Years
Sex
Male
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Study summary

To identify the genetic (major genes) and environmental factors responsible for the significant aggregation of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) among relatives of affected individuals.

Read the detailed description

BACKGROUND:

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a dilatation of the abdominal aorta which can, if undetected, lead to rupture. The mortality associated with ruptured AAA is estimated to be 90 percent, while elective repair has a mortality risk of approximately 6 percent. Ruptured AAA is a leading cause of death among older Americans. The identification of markers of AAA risk could lead to preventive intervention. AAA aggregates in families, and segregation analysis shows that familial risk of AAA is best explained by the segregation of a major gene with an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance.

DESIGN NARRATIVE:

Affected relative pairs (primarily sibling pairs) with AAA and no evidence of a family history of a connective tissue disorder were genotyped for 150 highly informative microsatellite polymorphisms marking the autosomal genome at a resolution of 20 cM. The linkage between AAA and these loci was tested using robust affected pedigree member methods to identify genomic regions which might contain genes that predisposed individuals to develop AAA. The existence of predisposing gene(s) were confirmed and their location refined using a defined search strategy, genotyping at increasing levels of resolution, and re-analysis of family data. The predisposing gene(s) were identified by a combination of saturation mapping and molecular analysis of candidate loci. The association of AAA with environmental measures was investigated to determine an equation for estimating risk for relatives of AAA patients based upon environmental measures and genotype. Power calculations based upon the number and structure of families already collected demonstrated the feasibility of identifying genes that predisposed to AAA using this strategy, even in the presence of significant heterogeneity with respect to the loci involved. In addition to identifying genes that were necessary for AAA by linkage analysis, a series of analyses of association were undertaken to identify true susceptibility genes that were neither necessary nor sufficient to cause disease, but which modified an individual's risk of developing AAA.

The study completion date listed in this record was obtained from the "End Date" entered in the Protocol Registration and Results System (PRS) record.

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Conditions studied

  • Cardiovascular Diseases
  • Heart Diseases
  • Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal
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In context

Cardiovascular Diseases

4,904 studies on the registry are indexed under Cardiovascular Diseases; 919 are open to participants now.

Browse Cardiovascular Diseases studies →

Lead sponsor

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) is the lead sponsor of 1,117 studies on the registry; 71 are open to participants now.

Of its 57 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 49 (86%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
Up to 100 Years
Sexes eligible
Male
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Eligibility criteria

No eligibility criteria

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Study design

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Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

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References and documents

Publications

  • Peters DG, Kassam A, St Jean PL, Yonas H, Ferrell RE. Functional polymorphism in the matrix metalloproteinase-9 promoter as a potential risk factor for intracranial aneurysm. Stroke. 1999 Dec;30(12):2612-6. doi: 10.1161/01.str.30.12.2612. PubMed 10582986 ↗
  • Peters DG, Kassam AB, Yonas H, O'Hare EH, Ferrell RE, Brufsky AM. Comprehensive transcript analysis in small quantities of mRNA by SAGE-lite. Nucleic Acids Res. 1999 Dec 15;27(24):e39. doi: 10.1093/nar/27.24.e39. PubMed 10572191 ↗
  • Vorp DA, Peters DG, Webster MW. Gene expression is altered in perfused arterial segments exposed to cyclic flexure ex vivo. Ann Biomed Eng. 1999 May-Jun;27(3):366-71. doi: 10.1114/1.158. PubMed 10374728 ↗
  • St Jean P, Hart B, Webster M, Steed D, Adamson J, Powell J, Ferrell R. Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency in aneurysmal disease. Hum Hered. 1996 Mar-Apr;46(2):92-7. doi: 10.1159/000154333. PubMed 8666418 ↗
  • St Jean PL, Zhang XC, Hart BK, Lamlum H, Webster MW, Steed DL, Henney AM, Ferrell RE. Characterization of a dinucleotide repeat in the 92 kDa type IV collagenase gene (CLG4B), localization of CLG4B to chromosome 20 and the role of CLG4B in aortic aneurysmal disease. Ann Hum Genet. 1995 Jan;59(1):17-24. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-1809.1995.tb01602.x. PubMed 7762981 ↗
  • St Jean PL, Zhang XC, Hart BK, Ferrell RE. Dinucleotide repeat polymorphism at the HPR locus. Hum Mol Genet. 1994 Nov;3(11):2081. No abstract available. PubMed 7874138 ↗
  • Foster K, Ferrell R, King-Underwood L, Povey S, Attwood J, Rennick R, Humphries SE, Henney AM. Description of a dinucleotide repeat polymorphism in the human elastin gene and its use to confirm assignment of the gene to chromosome 7. Ann Hum Genet. 1993 May;57(2):87-96. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-1809.1993.tb00890.x. PubMed 8368807 ↗
  • Peters DG, Kassam AB, Feingold E, Heidrich-O'Hare E, Yonas H, Ferrell RE, Brufsky A. Molecular anatomy of an intracranial aneurysm: coordinated expression of genes involved in wound healing and tissue remodeling. Stroke. 2001 Apr;32(4):1036-42. doi: 10.1161/01.str.32.4.1036. PubMed 11283408 ↗
  • Peters DG, Zhang XC, Benos PV, Heidrich-O'Hare E, Ferrell RE. Genomic analysis of immediate/early response to shear stress in human coronary artery endothelial cells. Physiol Genomics. 2002 Dec 26;12(1):25-33. doi: 10.1152/physiolgenomics.00016.2002. Epub 2002 Dec 26. PubMed 12407183 ↗
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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 13, 2016, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT00005526
Lead sponsor
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
First posted
May 26, 2000
Start date
Aug 1991
Completion
Nov 2001
Last update
May 13, 2016

Study contacts

Robert Ferrell
University of Pittsburgh
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Aug 2004. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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