Researchers from Japan’s RIKEN SNP Research Center, collaborating with a team at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), have discovered a new genetic variation that affects a child’s risk of getting Kawasaki disease (KD), an illness characterized by acute inflammation of the arteries throughout the body. The genetic variation influences immune activation and the response to standard treatment, as well as the risk of developing coronary artery aneurysms – a swelling of the artery that can result in blood clots and heart attack – as a complication of KD.
