ANGIOTENSIN-CONVERTING ENZYME GENE POLYMORPHISMS AND RENAL-DISEASE

In the past year there has been a profusion of reports identifying a p ossible association between the insertion/deletion polymorphism of the angiotensin converting enzyme and renal diseases. Rather than clarify ing the situation, it has become more difficult to interpret its signi ficance owing to small sample sizes and concerns over methodology; hen ce, studies are frequently contradictory. Despite these concerns there is evidence for a role of this polymorphism in progressive renal dise ase. This review summarizes the major studies in this field and sugges ts future strategies that might be employed to identify useful genetic markers in nephrology, for which the angiotensin converting enzyme po lymorphism has acted as an important paradigm. (C) 1998 Rapid Science Ltd.