Mutation linked to sinus infections.People who have frequent sinus infections are more likely than average to have a copy of a gene mutation Noun 1. gene mutation - (genetics) a mutation due to an intramolecular reorganization of a gene point mutation genetic science, genetics - the branch of biology that studies heredity and variation in organisms associated with the respiratory disorder cystic fibrosis cystic fibrosis (sĭs`tĭk fībrō`sĭs), inherited disorder of the exocrine glands (see gland), affecting children and young people; median survival is 25 years in females and 30 years in males. , says Garry R. Cutting of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore. The report appears in the Oct. 11 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association is an international peer-reviewed general medical journal, published 48 times per year by the American Medical Association. JAMA is the most widely circulated medical journal in the world. . About 3.6 percent of people carry a bad copy of the gene, which is called CFTR. These people don't have cystic fibrosis, which requires two copies of the mutation. But of 146 sinus sufferers tested, 10 showed a single bad copy of CFTR, while only 2 of 123 people without sinus problems did. The CFTR protein helps cells lining the sinuses to clear away foreign microbes that attach to mucus there. Missing some of this protein may predispose pre·dis·pose v. To make susceptible, as to a disease. people to sinus problems. Cutting cautions, however, that these infections could also stem from other environmental and genetic factors. --N.S. |
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