Repeated blood pressure measurements in a sample of Swedish twins: heritabilities and associations with polymorphisms in the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system Iliadou, Anastasia, Lichtenstein, Paul, Morgenstern, Ralf, Forsberg, Lena, Svensson, Richard, de Faire, Ulf, Martin, Nicholas, Pedersen, Nancy

Background Twin and family studies have shown that genetic effects explain a relatively high amount of the phenotypic variation in blood pressure. However, many studies have not been able to replicate findings of association between specific polymorphisms and diastolic and systolic blood pressure. Methods In a structural equation-modelling framework the authors investigated longitudinal changes in repeated measures of blood pressures in a sample of 298 like-sexed twin pairs from the population-based Swedish Twin Registry. Also examined was the association between blood pressure and polymorphisms in the angiotensin-I converting enzyme and the angiotensin 11 receptor type 1 with the 'Fulker' test Both linkage and association were tested simultaneously revealing whether the polymorphism is a Quantitative Trait Locus (QTL) or in linkage disequilibrium with the QTL. Results Genetic influences explained up to 46% of the phenotypic variance in diastolic and 63% of the phenotypic variance in systolic blood pressure. Genetic influences were stable over time and contributed up to 78% of the phenotypic correlation in both diastolic and systolic blood pressure. Non-shared environmental effects were characterised by time specific influences and little transmission from one time point to the next. There was no significant linkage and association between the polymorphisms and blood pressure. Conclusions There is a considerable genetic stability in both diastolic and systolic blood pressure for a 6-year period of time in adult life. Non-shared environmental influences have a small long-term effect Although associations with the polymorphisms could not be replicated, results should be interpreted with caution due to power considerations. (C) 2002 Lippincott Williams Wilkins.

Planning for institutional capacity building in war-torn areas: the case of Jaffna, Sri Lanka

This paper examines an attempt to build capacity and empower local institutions in war-torn Jaffna,, on the northern tip of Sri Lanka. A participatory approach that is aimed at social empowerment is seen to be possible even under the most restrictive of political environments. However, whether or not the development intervention provides a foundation for longer-term improvement depends on the extent to which institutional capacity is built. Through an examination of the Jaffna Reconstruction Project, it is argued that if any of the ingredients of this institutional capacity are missing, not only will the 'islands of participation and empowerment' that are built by the development initiative be short-lived, but there may also be a negligible contribution to building a foundation for longer-term improvement in quality of life. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.