Ischaemic heart disease and ischaemic brain disease are among the most frequent causes of morbidity and mortality in all developed countries. The renin-angiotensin system activity is of great importance in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and its clinical manifestation. In our study, the frequency of genotypes of I/D polymorphism of the ACE gene was evaluated in patients after early ischaemic cerebrovascular disease (CVD) in comparison with the healthy Czech population. We studied a group of 71 patients after early ischaemic stroke, 55 of their siblings, 88 children of probands and 82 healthy controls. Genotypes were determined using the PCR method by amplification of specific fragments (7). PCR products were subsequently assessed by capillary electrophoresis with laser induced fluorescence detection. Frequencies of alleles finally found in groups of probands and controls were as follows: I/I 29.4% vs. 19.5%, I/D 44.1% vs. 57.3% and D/D 26.5% vs. 23% (c 2 = 2.69, p = 0.2603). We found no evidence of a statistically significant difference between distribution of the genotypes of I/D polymorphism in the groups of Czech probands with a history of ischaemic stroke, their siblings children of probands and healthy controls.

        Key words: ACE, polymorphism, PCR, stroke, CVD, capillary electrophoresis.