Aldosterone Synthase Gene ( CYP11B2 ) −344C/T Polymorphism Contributes to the Risk of Recurrent Cerebral Ischemia

BACKGROUND: Accumulating evidence suggests that CYP11B2 rs1799998 (-344C/T) polymorphism is independently associated with an increased risk of stroke. Our aim was to determine whether -344C/T also predisposes to recurrent cerebral ischemia following in patients with symptomatic intracranial atherosclerosis disease (ICAD). METHODS: Genotypes of the CYP11B2 -344C/T polymorphism were determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. A total of 208 ICAD patients were enrolled and underwent a long-term clinical follow-up to detect the recurrent cerebral ischemia. RESULTS: During a median follow-up time of 35 months, 40 recurrent strokes (19.2%) were documented. Kaplan-Meier and multivariable Cox regression analyses adjusted for age, gender, and other cardiovascular risk factors identified that the presence of the TT genotype within the CYP11B2 -344C/T polymorphism was associated with an increased risk of 1.98-fold for recurrent cerebral ischemia (the hazard ratio 1.98, 95% confidence interval 1.16-3.41; p=0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the -344C/T polymorphism of the CYP11B2 gene confers an increased risk of recurrent cerebral ischemia.