Inflammatory dilated cardiomyopathy

Familial inflammatory dilated cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND Systematic family screening has recently identified dilated cardiomyopathy as an inherited disorder in up to 30% of cases. Mutations in genes encoding proteins responsible for myocardial architecture have been identified, but additional pathophysiological mechanisms including inflammatory reactions have been proposed. AIMS Identification and characterization of familial DCM, where ...

Myocarditis and dilated cardiomyopathy: an inflammatory link.

Myocarditis is a complex disease because multiple pathogenetic mechanisms play a role. While these mechanisms appear to act in a chronological cascade, they undoubtedly overlap in some cases, rendering diagnosis and treatment difficult. Ultimately, dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) may result. A multitude of still-circumstantial evidence points to a major role of viral myocarditis in the etiology of...

Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Dilated cardiomyopathy.

Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Background. Immunization with cardiac myosin induces experimental autoimmune heart disease in genetically predisposed mice. These mice produce heart-specific autoantibodies, some of which are directed against the cardiac myosin isoform. Methods and Results. We have reported the presence of circulating heart-specific autoantibodies in 26% of patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) ...