New cause of heart arrhythmia found

"Scientists have long believed that atrial fibrillation, the most common form of sustained heart arrhythmia, is an electrical problem of the heart. However, a new study has uncovered a surprising genetic cause for the rare and particularly severe form of heart disease. A team of researchers at the Cleveland Clinic has found that defects in a gene known as NUP155, a key component of the nuclear pore complex that is involved in shuttling molecules in and out of the cell nucleus, also leads to arrhythmia in patients with two abnormal copies of the gene. 'It's unexpected,' the Cleveland Clinic's Qing Kenneth Wang was quoted as saying. 'We never thought a gene like this could lead to atrial fibrillation.'" - redOrbit