The recruitment for MaGiCAD was completed in December 2005 (just over four years after starting), and the study now has consists of samples and data from 1,334 individuals. We would like to take this opportunity to once again thank everyone who agreed to participate, as well as the many people who turned this study into a reality. Please see this message from the Chairman of the Management Committee. The completion of recruitment, however, is really only the start of the vision. MaGiCAD is a unique resource because the samples from these individuals have been analysed so intensively. To date, there are more than 2,500 datapoints captured from each individual.

What makes MaGiCAD special is the application of a range of cutting-edge profiling techniques to the samples. For every individual, we are accumulating metabolic profiles (that is, a list of all the sugars, fats, amino acids and similar molecules in the blood) as well as immunological profiles (which describe the status of the immune system). These profiles are termed “intermediate phenotypes” by many scientists.

Increasingly, the scientific community is identifying genetic and environmental risk factors for heart disease, using powerful new technologies such as genome-wide scanning (made possible by the completion of the human genome sequence, and subsequent linkage mapping efforts). The problem is understanding how these risk factors increase the risk of heart disease.

One solution is to use a “intermediate phenotypes”. If a genetic variant is associated with certain biochemical changes this can provide a first precious insight into the likely mechanism linking the genetic risk factor with development of heart disease. This is often the first step towards new treatments.

The purpose of the website is to provide up-to-date information about the study, and the results we are generating, accessible to those who participated, as well as the wider community.

There are, however, two other sections to the website. The Research section is available for other scientific and medical professionals who would like some more in-depth information on the MaGiCAD study. If you access this part of the web-site from within the NHS or a UK University access should be granted automatically. If not please fill in the form and apply for a password. Importantly, we encourage other research professionals to access to the MaGiCAD resource for their own studies. Click here for details.

The intranet is for the people directly involved in the MaGiCAD trial. It is accessible from Papworth Hospital or by password. Access to this part of the web-site will not be given to those not directly involved in the MaGiCAD trial.

Please note that recruitment to MaGiCAD is now closed, and it is not possible to volunteer for participation. A further extension, with a similar study design, is now running at several hospitals across the UK, called PUMA. Together, MaGiCAD and PUMA represent a unique resource for evaluating new diagnostic tests for heart disease and we hope to report our exciting findings shortly.