Bid to screen heart attack gene

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) will announce next week whether it has approved an application to carry out tests for familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH).

The procedure is intended to detect a defective gene which can lead to a rare but very serious form of FH that often kills children before puberty, the Times reported.

Paul Serhal, of University College Hospital in London, wants permission to screen the embryos of a British couple who both have the milder form of the disorder, according to the paper.

They have a daughter, now five, who was born with the serious homozygous form of FH and they fear any other children they have could also be affected, it was reported.

Mr Serhal told the Times: "This obnoxious disease can cause cardiovascular accidents at a very early age.

"Ideally, we will find embryos with no FH genes, but it is possible we will not and it will be up to the patients to choose.

"Some people would think twice about using embryos that they know have a risky gene, and others would say you shouldn't screen out a condition that can be managed so people can live with it."

The mild - or heterozygous - form of FH affects about one in 400 people and can be controlled with cholesterol-lowering drugs like statins. But sufferers of homozygous FH, which develops in people who inherit two defective copies of the gene, can suffer angina by the age of six and many die in childhood.

An HFEA spokeswoman said a licence committee had discussed Mr Serhal's application but would not make its decision public until the minutes of its meeting are signed on Tuesday or Wednesday.