This disheartening news was broken today on the concluding day of the two-day-long international medical conference, organised by Amritsar Medical College Alumni Association (AMCAA) jointly with Amritsar Medical and Dental Alumni Association of North America (AMDAANA) here.

The research paper, read by Dr Ritu Sharma from the Department of Bio-chemistry, Government Medical College, revealed that in a survey conducted on 522 coronary artery disease patients and 300 normal individuals, it was found that the low activity of the enzyme was leading to the hardening of the arteries.

“The enzyme’s shortage, due to genetic reasons, is responsible for the low anti-oxidant potential of HDL and more production of oxidised LDL, leading to hardening of arteries, the major reason for heart attacks,” said Dr Sharma, who was assisted in the research by her guide and Prof Mridula Mahajan, Dr Kavi Kant, CMO-cum-Medical Superintendent ESI Hospital and Dr Balwant Singh, Head Department of Molecular Biology, GNDU.