Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a common disease in humans and dogs. Large-breed dogs and especially Irish wolfhounds belong to the frequently affected breeds. Male Irish wolfhounds show a significantly higher prevalence of DCM than females. Therefore, we evaluated X chromosome markers for linkage with DCM as well as a human candidate gene on the X chromosome. A set of X chromosomal microsatell...

The aim of our study was to investigate the clinical prevalence of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) with predominantly failure of the right-side heart (right ventricular DCM, RV-DCM), and features of the clinical course and prognosis of the disease compared to DCM with biventricular heart failure (BV-HF). The study design suggests a prospective observation of 300 patients with idiopathic DCM betwee...

In majority of the cases familial dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner. In rare instances, this condition is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern. In other rare cases, DCM can be inherited in an Xlinked pattern. Establishing a genetic diagnosis confirms or modifies the clinical diagnosis and enables disease specific estimates on prognostics and treatm...

In potentially inherited cardiac diseases, the family history is of great importance. We looked at the way cardiologists take a family history in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) or long QT syndrome (LQTS) and whether this led to screening of relatives or other follow-up. We performed retrospective cross-sectional analyses of adult index patients with DCM or LQTS in a gener...

ATP-sensitive potassium channels play an important role in myocardial electrical activity. Genetic disruption of these channels predisposes the myocardium to cardiac diseases. Herein we investigated whether two polymorphisms, E23K and I337V, located in the Kir6.2 subunit of ATP-sensitive potassium channels are associated with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in a Chinese population. Blood was colle...

Pediatric dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the most common indication for heart transplantation in children. Despite similar genetic etiologies, medications routinely used in adult heart failure patients do not improve outcomes in the pediatric population. The mechanistic basis for these observations is unknown. We hypothesized that pediatric and adult DCM comprise distinct pathological entities...

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the most common form of primary myocardial disorder and is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Increasing evidence suggests that genetic risk factors play an important role in the pathogenesis of idiopathic DCM. However, DCM is a genetically heterogeneous disease, and the genetic defects responsible for DCM in an overwhelming majority of cases re...

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM), a common consequence of longstanding diabetes mellitus, is initiated by death of cardiomyocyte. Hyperglycemia-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction is a major contributor of the chronic low-grade inflammation that characterizes as the DCM. ROS may promote the activation of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain like receptor (NLR) pyrin domain co...

BACKGROUND In autoimmune disorders, circulating autoantibodies identify healthy relatives at risk years before clinical presentation. Healthy relatives of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) who have echocardiographic changes, including left ventricular enlargement or depressed fractional shortening at baseline, have increased medium-term risk for DCM development. Approximately one third...

In majority of the cases familial dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner. In rare instances, this condition is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern. In other rare cases, DCM can be inherited in an Xlinked pattern. Establishing a genetic diagnosis confirms or modifies the clinical diagnosis and enables disease specific estimates on prognostics and treatm...