New research discovers a set of genes that increases risk of developing meningitis.
Meningitis may have a genetic link, according to a new study. Scientists compared the DNA from 1,400 people with bacterial meningitis and 6,000 healthy individuals. They found differences in a family of genes involved in the immune response which seem to make people more or less susceptible to the infection, Nature Genetics reports.It’s hoped that the findings will lead to new vaccines being developed.“This exciting work has thrown new light on factors that play a part in determining why some people get meningococcal disease and others do not,” said Sue Davie, chief executive of the Meningitis Trust."Further work will be needed to establish just what the genetic differences are in the genes which actually cause this susceptibility to invasive infection, but this is a promising start."Although this isn’t the first study looking at a possible genetic link for meningitis, it’s the first time scientists have been able to arrive at a clear conclusion.
