Cardiomyopathy in Biological News

Studies point to novel target for treating arrhythmias

... in troponin genes had been linked to inherited forms of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), which carries a high risk of sudden cardiac death. HCM is perhaps ... to arrhythmias and a new therapeutic target for familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and other arrhythmia syndromes." The first author of the current report, ...

Why 'lazy Susan' has a weak heart

... of cardiac insufficiency. For many years, the researchers in Heidelberg have been studying the zebrafish. The genetic variant that suffers from cardiomyopathy is called "Lazy Susan" and got its nickname because of its slow blood flow. Dr. Benjamin Meder and Christina Laufer from Dr. Wolfgang Rottbauer's ...

New potential therapeutic target discovered for genetic disorder -- Barth syndrome

... exhibit defects in cardiolipin metabolism which help fight infections. The various symptoms of BTHS, in addition to cardiolipin deficiency, include cardiomyopathy (weakness in heart muscle), neutropenia (a reduction in neutrophils or white blood cells that fight bacterial infections), muscle weakness & fatigue ...

Research uncovers new steps on pathway to enlarged heart

... the role of the AKAP-Lbc/PKD/HDAC5 signaling pathway in whole animal models to establish whether AKAP-Lbc is a valid biomarker for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and to determine which genes are initiated upon up-regulation of the anchoring protein," offers Dr. Scott. ...

A search for protection against chemotherapy cardiotoxicity

... population of long-term pediatric cancer survivors mean that, more than ever, cardiotoxicity will continue to remain an important issue for oncology. cardiomyopathy induced by chronic chemotherapy may result, at least in part, from acute cardiotoxic effects accompanying each drug exposure. said Professor Mireille ...

Are one-third of costly implanted heart devices unnecessary? New study suggests yes

... Last spring, they published results from the same group of ischemic cardiomyopathy patients, showing that the MTWA test was able to predict the risk of death ... study results. This research has focused on patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy ?the most common form of heart-muscle damage that weakens the heart's ...

Potential heart benefit found in stem cells

... Ventricular Function and Myocardial Perfusion in Patients with Ischaemic cardiomyopathy (Abstract 934-173) Yet another potential new source for stem cells to ... to the heart infarction. In the study, 17 patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy were treated with a combined percutaneous injection (both intramyocardial ...

Fruit fly's beating heart helps identify human heart disease genes

... inserted into the fly genome a mutated gene that causes dilated cardiomyopathy in humans. This condition is often the cause of heart failure in humans ... inserting into the fly the gene that we know is implicated in dilated cardiomyopathy in humans, we imaged the adult fly with this novel system and what we saw ...

Study offers clues to 'Broken Heart Syndrome'

... interventional cardiologist finds no blockage in the coronary arteries. To date, the registry has enrolled 40 patients diagnosed with Takotsubo cardiomyopathy at two major hospitals in Rhode Island over a period of nearly 2½ years. Ninety-five percent were women, and 60 percent experienced some type of ...

Heart failure: Intervention possibilities from imaging programmed cell loss

... muscle," he added. "This research is significant since cell loss is potentially reversible and earlier intervention could delay the development of cardiomyopathy or heart muscle disease," noted Hofstra. He indicated that additional research is needed since the study was performed on a small group of heart ...

Protein overexpression at heart of heart failure

... Chronic heart failure resulting from dilated cardiomyopathy is rapidly emerging as a disease of epidemic proportions.1 Molecular mechanisms are being studied and advances have been made in a minority of cases, ...

Study finds 60 new genes controlled by DNA snippet

... cells' ability to contract. That in turn reduces the pumping strength of heart muscle and leads to heart failure, according to recent studies. Can cardiomyopathy be reversed by manipulating CArG-SRF? CArG sequences also appear near genes that direct the building of nerve cells and blood vessels, suggesting ...

Image of myosin-actin interaction revealed in cover story of Molecular Cell

... characterization of this myosin-actin interface is critical, evident by the way a single amino acid change in myosin leads to familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (FHC), an undetectable condition resulting in death by sudden cardiac arrest in otherwise healthy young adults. Contributors to this work include: ...

Potential Cure for Lymphoma in HIV patients

... function, a side effect of the intensive treatment, were experienced in a majority of the patients. One patient, the oldest in the study, developed cardiomyopathy (a weakening of the heart) and kidney failure due to treatment toxicities and died a few weeks after the transplant. Opportunistic infections, such ...