PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Nichols, Emma Hitt ED - Kathiresan, Sekar TI - Mendelian Randomization as a Promising Approach to Define Which Biomarkers are Causal for Myocardial Infarction DP - 2013 Sep 01 TA - MD Conference Express PG - 6--8 VI - 13 IP - 13 4099 - http://mdc.sagepub.com/content/13/13/6.short 4100 - http://mdc.sagepub.com/content/13/13/6.full AB - Biomarkers are important diagnostic tools that help physicians determine a patient's risk for developing a disease and can guide clinical decisions. However, at times, it is critical to understand if a specific biomarker causes disease or is merely reflective of the disease process. This distinction is important mainly if the biomarker is intended to be a therapeutic target (ie, lowering a biomarker with a drug with the hopes of lowering risk for disease). In humans, randomized controlled clinical trials and human genetics are two approaches to understand causal factors. This article discusses a human genetics approach—Mendelian randomization—to distinguish causal from noncausal biomarkers.