Early research points to a gene called MYOF as a new cause of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, an inherited disease that can stop the heart without warning. In lab-grown heart cells from patients, fixing the faulty gene reversed the damage.
About 4 in 10 people with this disease never learn which gene caused it. MYOF helps close that gap, giving families something concrete to test for. And verapamil, a drug already used for heart conditions, calmed the arrhythmias in patient cells — a hint that a treatment may already exist, if larger studies agree.
✦ A new gene behind inherited heart disease — and an existing drug that may help.