Angiotensin-converting enzyme insertion/deletion polymorphism and cerebrovascular disease

There is evidence that an allelic variation in the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene may confer an increased risk of vascular disease. The roles of the ACE insertion/deletion polymorphism and circulating ACE levels are unknown in cerebrovascular disease. We studied an insertion/deletion polymorphism within intron 16 of the ACE gene by polymerase chain reaction and plasma ACE activity in 467 cases of stroke, the pathological type of which was established by cranial CT, and 231 control subjects. ACE genotype and activity were related to stroke type and mortality at 4 weeks and 3 months. No difference in genotype frequency was observed between all subjects with stroke and control subjects or between control subjects and subjects with cerebral infarction or cerebral hemorrhage. Plasma ACE activity was significantly lower in stroke patients at presentation (64.1 IU/L) than in control subjects (79.6 IU/L; P