The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 276 No 7390 p256
4 March 2006

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GTN metabolism examined

Some Chinese individuals do not respond well to glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) because of a gene mutation present in 30 to 50 per cent of this population. The affected gene gives rise to a faulty version of the enzyme mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase-2, which is responsible for converting GTN to its active form, nitric oxide (Journal of Clinical Investigation 2006;116:506).