Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the most prevalent type of primary myocardial disease, which is the third most common cause of heart failure and the most frequent reason for heart transplantation. Aggregating evidence demonstrates that genetic risk factors are involved in the pathogenesis of idiopathic DCM. Nevertheless, DCM is of remarkable genetic heterogeneity and the genetic defects underpi...

BACKGROUND Idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is characterized by ventricular chamber enlargement and systolic dysfunction. The pathogenesis of DCM remains uncertain, and the TNNT2 gene is potentially associated with DCM. To assess the role of TNNT2 in DCM, we examined 10 tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the patients. METHODS A total of 97 DCM patients and 189 control su...

Background—Anecdotal cases of familial clustering of peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) and familial occurrences of PPCM and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) together have been observed, suggesting that genetic factors play a role in the pathogenesis of PPCM. We hypothesized that some cases of PPCM are part of the spectrum of familial DCM, presenting in the peripartum period. Methods and R...

Background—Anecdotal cases of familial clustering of peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) and familial occurrences of PPCM and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) together have been observed, suggesting that genetic factors play a role in the pathogenesis of PPCM. We hypothesized that some cases of PPCM are part of the spectrum of familial DCM, presenting in the peripartum period. Methods and R...

BACKGROUND Anecdotal cases of familial clustering of peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) and familial occurrences of PPCM and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) together have been observed, suggesting that genetic factors play a role in the pathogenesis of PPCM. We hypothesized that some cases of PPCM are part of the spectrum of familial DCM, presenting in the peripartum period. METHODS AND...

Histone modifications play a critical role in the pathological processes of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). While the role and expression pattern of histone methyltransferases (HMTs), especially mixed lineage leukemia (MLL) families on DCM are unclear. To this end, twelve normal and fifteen DCM heart samples were included in the present study. A murine cardiac remodelling model was induced by tra...

BACKGROUND Non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the most common cardiomyopathy worldwide, with significant mortality. Correct evaluation of the patient's myocardial function has important clinical significance in the diagnosis, therapeutic effect assessment and prognosis in non-ischemic DCM patients. This study evaluated the feasibility of three-dimensional speckle tracking imaging (3D-...

BACKGROUND Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a rare disease of largely unknown origin. Previous studies have suggested an increased prevalence of celiac disease (CD) in patients with DCM. These studies, however, were based on a maximum of 5 patients with both CD and DCM. In the present large Swedish population-based cohort study, we examined the risk of idiopathic DCM in patients with CD determin...

BACKGROUND The 11C-acetate positron emission tomography can estimate myocardial oxidative metabolism, but previous studies have only evaluated small populations and the difference between ischemic (ICM) and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) has not been fully investigated. The present aims were to evaluate global and regional myocardial oxidative metabolism in a well-characterized, large ...

BACKGROUND The association between dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and low thyroid hormone (TH) levels has been previously described. In these patients abnormal thyroid function is significantly related to impaired left ventricular (LV) function and increased risk of death. Although TH was originally thought to be produced exclusively by the thyroid gland, we recently reported TH biosynthesis in t...