OBJECTIVE Autoimmune mechanisms are often involved in the pathogenesis of Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) and Th1 immune response against cardiac antigens plays a pivotal role in disease development. METHODS IL-2 receptor (CD4+/CD25+) and cytokines IL-2, IFN-γ, IL-10 were studied in 42 patients (17 with DCM - DCM group, 10 patients with hypertrophic cardiac disease - HCD group, and 15 healthy vo...

Introduction Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a major cause of heart failure and sudden cardiac death. About one third of DCM is familial. Several DCM disease genes have been identified, many of them limited to only single individuals or families. A/C gene (LMNA) is sofar the most significant disease gene of DCM. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) plays an important role in characterizatio...

AIMS Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a severe disorder defined by ventricular dilation and contractile dysfunction. Abnormal Ca(2+) handling is hypothesized to play a critical pathological role in DCM progression. The transient receptor potential vanilloid 2 (TRPV2) has been previously suggested as a candidate pathway for enhanced Ca(2+) entry. Here, we examined the sarcolemmal accumulation of ...

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in diabetic patients. Recent studies have demonstrated an increased level of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) in the plasma of DCM patients, and FGF21 has been proven to be a cardiovascular protector of the heart. The present study aimed to further investigate the pathogenic role of FGF21 in DCM, hypothesizin...

BACKGROUND Patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) may present with ventricular arrhythmias early in the disease course, unrelated to the severity of left ventricular dysfunction. These patients may be classified as having an arrhythmogenic DCM (AR-DCM). We investigated the phenotype and natural history of patients with AR-DCM. METHODS AND RESULTS Two hundred eighty-five patients with a re...

BACKGROUND Studies from Europe and North America suggest that 20 - 50% of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) may have familial disease. There is little information on the frequency and clinical genetics of familial DCM in Africa. PURPOSE To determine the frequency and probable mode of inheritance of familial DCM in patients referred for investigation of the cause of DCM at a tertiary ...

OBJECTIVES This prospective study was performed to analyze the frequency and clinical characteristics of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). BACKGROUND Despite several previous reports on families with DCM, most cases are still believed to be sporadic, and specific clinical findings of the familial form are not well defined. METHODS In 445 consecutive patients with angiographically pro...

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the third most common cause of heart failure after coronary artery disease and hypertension. DCM is the most frequent form of primary myocardial disease. Clinically, DCM is characterized by a progressive course of ventricular dilatation and systolic dysfunction. The different stages of DCM are reflected by the presentation of asymptomatic patients with left ventr...