GENETICS OF BLOOD CLOTTING FACTORS (pp 83, 101)
People with a family history of coronary heart disease are thought more likely to develop the disease themselves, because of a combination of genetic and shared environmental factors. Researchers use twin or adoption studies to establish whether genetic or environmental factors are more important in the development of a particular disease. There are complex protein molecules in the blood known as blood clotting or haemostatic factors which are thought to be increased in people who are likely to develop heart disease. In this week’s Lancet, Marlies de Lange and colleagues from the Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology Unit, St Thomas’ Hospital, London, UK and the Academic Unit o