Gene gives faint hope

MELBOURNE scientists have uncovered the genetic trigger of a debilitating condition that makes it hard for sufferers to stand upright without fainting.

The syndrome made headlines when former Yellow Wiggle Greg Page was diagnosed and had to give up his career as a children’s entertainer.

Some sufferers of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) faint many times a day, placing significant restrictions on their lives.

Prof Sam El-Osta, from Monash University’s Central Clinical School, has found a chemical mark and protein on a gene implicated in POTS that silences it.

A drug approved for use in cancer could turn the gene back on.

The findings might also be applicable for hypertension and panic disorder and depressive illness.