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.