Genetics of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA)

Genetics of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA)

What are Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms (AAA)? 

AAA is when the wall of the aorta in the abdomen becomes weakened and bulges out like a balloon. This can be dangerous because the aorta carries alot of blood to the body. If the bulge pops, it can cause life-threatening bleeding. The exact cause of this condition is not known and sometimes symptoms do not show. But smoking, old age, and diabetes can be a risk. 

Symptoms of this condition includes: 

• Pain in the side of the belly
• Back pain
• Pulsing feeling near the belly button

This project wants to explore methods and tools that can find diseases such as AAA.  

How is the research done? 

The goal of the study is to create better tools to find diseases like AAA. This tool studies a person’s medical history and genes to see if they might be more likely to get a disease. The team uses BioVU resources to look at the genetic information of those with AAA. This will help test if the tools developed are accurate. The team will look to see if these tools can predict risk for other medical conditions.  The team will also study genes to find other medical conditions associated with AAA. 

What is the importance of this study? 

AAA is a disease that can be dangerous and sometimes people die from it. This study is important because it may help find more ways to find and treat AAA.