We are pleased to introduce a new thematic series dealing with cardiac fibrosis and its association with cardiovascular diseases. A wide variety of cardiovascular diseases are associated with cardiac fibrosis, which is now widely recognized to be not a secondary, but rather a primary contributor to cardiac dysfunction. The purpose of the current series of papers and reviews is to provide the re...

background and aims. preventing oral disease is the most desirable way of ensuring good dental health for children with heart disease. dental and gingival infections in patients with cardiac problems may lead to infective endocarditis. the aim of this study was to evaluate oral and dental health status in children with heart disease referred to a cardiac center compared with the control group. ...

Most cardiac diseases caused by inflammation are associated with fibrosis in the heart. Fibrosis is characterized by the accumulation of fibroblasts and excess deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM), which results in the distorted organ architecture and function. Recent studies revealed that cardiac fibroblasts are heterogeneous with multiple origins. Endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EndMT...

Background Muscular dystrophies comprise a heterogeneous group of inherited diseases that are characterized by progressive muscle weakness and degeneration. Severe forms, e.g. Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), which is caused by a mutation in the dystrophin gene, lead to loss of ambulation, respiratory failure, and premature death. In many types of the muscular dystrophies the cardiac muscle i...

OBJECTIVE Although there has been an increasing interest in diagnosing cardiac and pericardial diseases using electrocardiogram-gated cardiac computed tomography (CT), radiologists tend to neglect or overlook many incidentally detected abnormalities on conventional, nongated chest CT. The objective of this study is to describe the imaging appearance and clinical significance of such cardiac or ...

Abstract Cardiac sympathetic activity plays a key role in supporting cardiac function both health and disease conditions, nuclear imaging has always represented the only way for non-invasive evaluation of functional integrity terminals, mainly through use radiopharmaceuticals that are analogues norepinephrine and, particular, with 123I-mIBG imaging. This technique demonstrates presence dysfunct...