Skip to main content

Site navigation

  • University of Technology Sydney home
  • Home

    Home
  • For students

  • For industry

  • Research

Explore

  • Courses
  • Events
  • News
  • Stories
  • People

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt
  • Study at UTS

    • arrow_right_alt Find a course
    • arrow_right_alt Course areas
    • arrow_right_alt Undergraduate students
    • arrow_right_alt Postgraduate students
    • arrow_right_alt Research Masters and PhD
    • arrow_right_alt Online study and short courses
  • Student information

    • arrow_right_alt Current students
    • arrow_right_alt New UTS students
    • arrow_right_alt Graduates (Alumni)
    • arrow_right_alt High school students
    • arrow_right_alt Indigenous students
    • arrow_right_alt International students
  • Admissions

    • arrow_right_alt How to apply
    • arrow_right_alt Entry pathways
    • arrow_right_alt Eligibility
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for students

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Apply for a coursearrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt
  • Scholarshipsarrow_right_alt
  • Featured industries

    • arrow_right_alt Agriculture and food
    • arrow_right_alt Defence and space
    • arrow_right_alt Energy and transport
    • arrow_right_alt Government and policy
    • arrow_right_alt Health and medical
    • arrow_right_alt Corporate training
  • Explore

    • arrow_right_alt Tech Central
    • arrow_right_alt Case studies
    • arrow_right_alt Research
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for industry

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Find a UTS expertarrow_right_alt
  • Partner with usarrow_right_alt
  • Explore

    • arrow_right_alt Explore our research
    • arrow_right_alt Research centres and institutes
    • arrow_right_alt Graduate research
    • arrow_right_alt Research partnerships
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for research

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Find a UTS expertarrow_right_alt
  • Research centres and institutesarrow_right_alt
  • University of Technology Sydney home
Explore the University of Technology Sydney
Category Filters:
University of Technology Sydney home University of Technology Sydney home
  1. home
  2. arrow_forward_ios ... Newsroom
  3. arrow_forward_ios ... 2022
  4. arrow_forward_ios 10
  5. arrow_forward_ios Study on stroke informs drug discovery and risk prediction

Study on stroke informs drug discovery and risk prediction

6 October 2022

A large international collaborative gathering over 200,000 stroke patients and over 2 million control individuals across five different ancestries identifies association signals for stroke and its subtypes.

Adult and children hands holding paper brain and heart

Stroke is the second leading cause of death worldwide, responsible for approximately 12% of total deaths, and a contributor to years of life lost or lived with disability. The incidence and severity of stroke is high in low- and middle-income countries, where 70% of total stroke deaths occur.

The results of the largest genomic study on stroke were recently published online in the world’s leading multidisciplinary science journal, Nature.

The study was based on DNA samples of more than 2.5 million participants of whom 200,000 had a stroke. Participants were of European, East-Asian, African, South-Asian, and Latin-American ancestry (a third of stroke patients were non-European). They were derived from numerous hospital-based and population-based cohorts and biobanks, as well as five clinical trials. 

The study was conducted by members of the GIGASTROKE consortium, involving several international consortia and networks, such as ISGC and CHARGE, and investigators from over 20 countries, including Professor Jane Maguire, Deputy Head of School (Research) in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at UTS.

“I never thought that my humble Australian stroke dataset, collected from generous stroke survivors in NSW for my PhD, would eventually contribute to knowledge generation at this global level,” said Professor Maguire.

“I am incredibly fortunate to be part of this worldwide effort. My colleagues, the international stroke genetics research community, continue to explore new approaches to stroke prevention and care for all populations, through better informed, targeted stroke management and treatments.”

It was co-led by two research centers at the University of Bordeaux (France) and LMU University in Munich (Germany), together with research departments at the University of Tokyo (Japan), the University of Tartu (Estonia), Ibadan University (Nigeria), the VA Boston Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School (USA). 

I never thought that my humble Australian stroke dataset, collected from generous stroke survivors in NSW for my PhD, would eventually contribute to knowledge generation at this global level.

Professor Jane Maguire
Deputy Head of School (Research)
UTS School of Nursing and Midwifery

The researchers found substantial shared genetic susceptibility to stroke across the different ancestry groups, and the effects of identified genomic regions were mostly of similar magnitude across ancestries. 

Characterized by a neurological deficit of sudden onset, stroke is predominantly caused by an ischemic stroke (where clotting of an artery occurs, and of which the main subtypes are related to atheroma, cardiac disease, and small-vessel disease) and, less often, by an intracerebral hemorrhage due to bleeding in the brain.

Most of the associations observed in this study were with any stroke or any ischemic stroke, while some were specific for ischemic stroke subtypes. 

By combining their results with existing data on gene expression in different tissues or brain cell types and protein levels in the blood, cerebrospinal fluid and brain, the researchers obtained preliminary insights into the specific genes involved and the biological mechanisms through which they may contribute to the occurrence of stroke. 

The researchers also aggregated all genetic risk factors for stroke from different ancestry groups into a polygenic score, which evaluates the effect of thousands of genetic variants, and found the score to be strongly associated with ischemic stroke risk in Europeans and, for the first time, in East Asians.

There were not enough participants to generate an African-specific stroke polygenic score, however the European score showed a significant, although weaker, association with ischemic stroke in African American and indigenous African participants. 

Leveraging data from 5 clinical trials in 52,600 patients, the researchers further showed that, in combination, the identified genetic risk factors for stroke predicted ischemic stroke independently of clinical risk factors (hypertension, smoking, etc.) and much more strongly than in previous work based on smaller genetic datasets. 

Share
Share this on Facebook Share this on Twitter Share this on LinkedIn
Back to News in Health

Related News

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation and the Boorooberongal People of the Dharug Nation upon whose ancestral lands our campuses now stand. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands. 

University of Technology Sydney

City Campus

15 Broadway, Ultimo, NSW 2007

Get in touch with UTS

Follow us

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Facebook

A member of

  • Australian Technology Network
Use arrow keys to navigate within each column of links. Press Tab to move between columns.

Study

  • Find a course
  • Undergraduate
  • Postgraduate
  • How to apply
  • Scholarships and prizes
  • International students
  • Campus maps
  • Accommodation

Engage

  • Find an expert
  • Industry
  • News
  • Events
  • Experience UTS
  • Research
  • Stories
  • Alumni

About

  • Who we are
  • Faculties
  • Learning and teaching
  • Sustainability
  • Initiatives
  • Equity, diversity and inclusion
  • Campus and locations
  • Awards and rankings
  • UTS governance

Staff and students

  • Current students
  • Help and support
  • Library
  • Policies
  • StaffConnect
  • Working at UTS
  • UTS Handbook
  • Contact us
  • Copyright © 2025
  • ABN: 77 257 686 961
  • CRICOS provider number: 00099F
  • TEQSA provider number: PRV12060
  • TEQSA category: Australian University
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • Disclaimer
  • Accessibility