Bulletin No. 1, 2013

56   Chinese University Bulletin No. 1, 2013 New Technology to Identify At-Risk Mitral Valve Prolapse Patients A research team led by Prof. Yu Cheuk-man (right), chairman, Department of Medicine and Therapeutic s; Prof. Lee Pui- wai A lex ( centre ) , as sis t ant p r o f e s s o r o f D i v i s i o n o f Cardiology; and Prof. Malcolm J. Underwood (left), head of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, pioneered the use of three - dimensional echocardiography to identify at-risk mitral valve prolapse patients. The research team was the first to discover that the saddle shape of the mitral annulus (ring) becomes flattened in patients with mitral valve prolapse, making the mitral valve more susceptible to wear and tear, and predisposing a patient to develop mitral valve leaflet deformation, valve tendon rupture, and eventually severe mitral regurgitation (in which blood flows back into the left atrium and lung). Symptoms of mitral regurgitation include troubled breathing, tiredness, weakness, swelling in the ankles, legs, or belly, even sudden death. The findings have been published in the international cardiovascular journal Circulation (19 February 2013, Volume 127, Issue 7). Genetic Predictor of Chinese Diabetic Patients Found In a collaborative study with Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, a research team led by Prof. Ma Ching-wan Ronald (left), Prof. Chan Chung-ngor Juliana (centre), and Dr. So Wing-yee (right), clinical associate professor ( hono ra r y ) , Depa r tment o f Medicine and Therapeutics, has discovered a genetic predictor of diabetes among Chinese patients. The findings have been published online in Diabetologia in March 2012. The study, conducted from 2008 to 2012, identified a genetic marker on chromosome 7 near the paired box gene 4 (PAX4) gene which was associated with diabetes as well as poorer insulin response. People with this genetic marker have approximately 18% higher risk of having diabetes and will develop diabetes at a younger age. research