BACKGROUND We organized and conducted a proficiency testing study (CardioOrmocheck) to evaluate the differences in analytical performance of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal proBNP (NT-proBNP) immunoassays. METHODS Approximately 90 Italian laboratories were involved in the 2005-2007 proficiency testing cycles, while 112 laboratories took part in the 2008 cycle (from January to M...

B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a cardiac hormone, which plays a major role in body fluid and cardiovascular homeostasis. Produced by cardiac ventricles, its expression is highly regulated by various mediators. Canine cardiac fibroblasts have been identified as a source of BNP. Cardiac fibroblasts are key regulators of myocardial structure and function. We treated cultured human adult cardi...

The natriuretic peptides are a family of related hormones that play a crucial role in cardiovascular and renal homeostasis. They have recently emerged as potentially important clinical biomarkers in heart failure. Natriuretic peptides, particularly brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and the inactive N-terminal fragment of BNP, NT-proBNP, that has an even greater half-life than BNP, are elevated in...

BACKGROUND Circulating N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT pro-BNP), high- sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and big endothelin (big-ET) have been shown to be increased in heart failure and to contribute to both hemodynamic deterioration and cardiovascular remodeling. Here, we examined the prognostic value of the three neurohormones at admission in a population of hospitalized p...

This study was performed to determine whether the N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-pro-BNP) is a useful biomarker in predicting cardiovascular congestion, mortality, and cardiovascular death and event in chronic peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. A prospective cohort study was conducted in 230 chronic PD patients in a dialysis unit of a university teaching hospital. Serum NT-pro-BNP...

Correspondence to: Professor Paulo M Bettencourt, Unidade Cuidados Intermédios Medicina, Hospital S Joaõ, Alameda Hernani Monteiro, 4200 Porto, Portugal; pbettfer@ esoterica.pt _________________________ T he identification of natriuretic peptides led to an explosion of basic and clinical investigations to clarify their physiology, pathophysiologic role in heart failure, and clinical usefulness....

To the Editor With great interest we read the article by Srisawasdi et al. 1 They found that the ratio between N-terminal (NT)-pro-B-natriuretic peptide (BNP) and BNP increases exponentially with the stage of renal disease. van Kimmenade et al, 2 however, suggested the NT-proBNP/BNP ratio increases only slightly and shows a linear trend. Their findings are used to support the hypothesis that BN...

B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and amino-terminal pro-BNP (NTproBNP) plasma levels are commonly high at the early phase of septic shock and have been suggested to be prognostic markers for this condition. It is uncertain, however, whether this increase reflects sepsis related cardiac dysfunction. In a recent issue of Critical Care, Mokart and coworkers showed the accuracy of NTproBNP in predi...

OBJECTIVE To determine the levels of NT-pro BNP in HIV patients over 40 years who are receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and investigating potential independent clinical or laboratory factors. METHOD We determine levels of NT-pro BNP in peripheral blood of HIV patients from Costa del Sol Hospital, over 40 years. We collected epidemiological, classical cardiovascular risk f...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to prospectively investigate changes in brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and amino terminal pro-BNP (NT-pro-BNP) in relation to functional status after surgical ventricular restoration (SVR). METHODS Between March 2003 and May 2006, 29 patients (20 men and 9 women, mean age 65 years, mean ejection fraction 24%) with post-infarction left ventricular aneurysm ...