Epigenetics and cerebrovascular diseases

© 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Cerebrovascular diseases, and specifically stroke, are heterogeneous multifactorial diseases and are among the leading causes of mortality and long-term disability in the world. Epidemiological data provides evidence for a genetic component to the diseases; however, the epigenetic contribution to stroke is still largely unknown. A lack of heritability has been described in stroke that might be explained by the effect of epigenetic mechanisms that are sequence-independent and might be environmentally induced. In order to better understand the pathogenicity of this complex disease, the influence of environmental factors, and polygenic susceptibility must be determined. This chapter focuses on stroke-related epigenetic mechanisms described to date, especially DNA methylation, and cardiovascular risk factors that modulate the risk of stroke.