Summary
Platelet-activating factor (PAF) acetylhydrolase is an enzyme that inactivates PAF.
Deficiency of this enzyme is caused by a missense mutation in the gene. We previously
found a higher prevalence of this mutation in patients with ischemic stroke. This
fact suggests that the mutation might enhance the risk for stroke through its association
with hypertension. We have addressed this hypothesis by analyzing the prevalence of
the mutation in hypertension. We studied 138 patients with essential hypertension,
99 patients with brain hemorrhage, and 270 healthy controls. Genomic DNA was analyzed
for the mutant allele by the polymerase-chain reaction. The prevalence of the mutation
was 29.3% (27.4% heterozygotes and 1.9% homozygotes) in controls and 36.2% in hypertensives
and the difference was not significant. The prevalence in patients with brain hemorrhage
was significantly higher than the control: 32.6% heterozygotes and 6.1% homozygotes
(p <0.05). PAF acetylhydrolase deficiency may be a genetic risk factor for vascular
diseases.