A blood clot in the brain does not affect only older adults. Damage to the wall of the carotid artery can also cause a stroke in younger adults.
The condition often develops without a clear cause, although minor neck injuries or inherited disorders may play a role in some cases, according to UVA Health.
For researchers, understanding why these injuries occur is important because they can have long-lasting consequences for people who are otherwise healthy and of working age.
Researchers examined the patients
A study published in the journal Neurology Genetics examined 37 patients with carotid artery injuries and compared them with healthy individuals.
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The researchers wanted to determine whether the patients shared a specific genetic pattern that could explain the condition.
The study found that shortly after the injury, the patients showed altered activity in 11 genes. The pattern changed again at a later stage.
Several of these genes are linked to hemoglobin, which carries oxygen throughout the body and plays an important role in the blood's ability to clot.
May help in the future
The researchers emphasize that the findings are still preliminary and need to be confirmed in larger studies.
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As a result, it is still too early to say how this new knowledge could be applied in treatment. Nevertheless, the discovery could prove significant.
According to UVA Health, around one in five strokes in people under the age of 55 is caused by damage to the carotid artery.
In the long term, the new research may make it easier to identify people at increased risk and potentially help prevent some of these strokes.
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