Gene study to unlock causes of stroke Good ideas do not always get the funding they deserve, but an enterprising study of the problem of stroke prevention has been rewarded with an important grant. The results of the Adelaide University study could have enormous implications worldwide. Almost everyone can think of a friend or relative who has suffered a stroke. The sobering remark from Dr Simon Koblar underlies the urgency with which he is about to undertake a novel research project with fellow neurologist and PhD researcher Dr Jim Jannes. As a cause of mortality, stroke sits just behind heart disease, but in terms of disability, stroke is the international leader, costing billions of dollars every year and causing untold misery.
Stroke is a bit of a mystery, too.
But some who smoke heavily, have high cholesterol levels and eat huge quantities of fatty food don't succumb to stroke, while others who obey all the rules are struck down. Just as with heart problems and Alzheimer's disease, a few family studies have suggested a genetic link in strokes. That suggests to us that there are genetic factors that underlie stroke. If so, we want to know what they are. It is a prestigious research grant made to new Australian researchers in medicine, and to fund medical research in a new direction.