The Role of Genetic Factors in the Development of Individual Predisposition to Ischemic Stroke

Intensive development of DNA analysis technologies and large-scale genome-wide association studies have led to accumulation of a large array of data on the relationship between genetic factors and various phenotypic manifestations, including monogenic and polygenic hereditary diseases. This has greatly extended the capabilities of clinical diagnostics and predictive medicine in the field of socially significant diseases. For example, the role of a genetic component of the risk for such multifactorial and polyetiologic disease as stroke is now actively explored. Large-scale studies have revealed both general and specific genetic markers associated only with a certain type and subtype of stroke. This review analyzes the current state of the problem of using genetic markers for diagnosis of predisposition to stroke, complex issues associated with multiplicity of risk factors for stroke, and potential development in this area.