Understanding the genetics behind the condition, called dilated cardiomyopathy, may also advance treatment of non-inherited forms of the disease, according to the researchers. This impairs the heart's pumping and can lead to heart failure. Although the condition is most common in middle-age, it can strike at any age. In some cases, dilated cardiomyopathy is inherited.
Sarcomeres are the basic structure of muscle function.
According to the report, mutations in sarcomere protein genes may be particularly common among young people with signs of dilated cardiomyopathy. Dr. Mitsuhiro Kamisago of Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, led the study. Kamisago's team studied 21 unrelated people with familial dilated cardiomyopathy. They found that four had mutations in sarcomere protein genes. The investigators then looked at the patients' families and found that other family members with dilated cardiomyopathy also had the gene mutations.