Nathan Mewton, Ingrid Sanchez, Denis Angoulvant, Michel Ovize, Gérald Gahide, Eric Bonnefoy, Hélène Vernhet, Christophe Piot, Thien Tri Cung, Didier Revel, Geneviève Derumeaux, Pierre Croisille, Catherine Sportouch, Xavier André-Fouët, Gilles Rioufol, and Gérard Finet
Objective This study examined the effect of cyclosporine A used at the time of reperfusion, on LV remodeling and function by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) in the early days and several months after AMI. Background In a human study, administration of cyclosporine A at the time of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) reperfusion was associated with a smaller infarct size. However, experimental data suggest that cyclosporine A has a detrimental effect on left ventricular remodeling. Methods 28 patients of the original cyclosporine A study had an acute (day 5) and a follow-up (6 months) CMR study. Cine imaging was used to determine LV volumes, mass, ejection fraction and myocardial wall thickness in infarcted and remote non-infarcted myocardium, and late gadolinium imaging was used to determine infarct size. Results There was a persistent reduction of the absolute infarct size at 6 months in the cyclosporine A group compared with the control group of patients (29±15 grams VS 38±14 grams; P=0.04). There was a significant reduction of LV end-systolic volume (and a trend for LV end-diastolic volume; P=0.07) in the cyclosporine A group, compared with the control group, both at day 5 and at 6 months after infarction. There was no significant difference between the two groups in either global LV mass or regional wall thickness of the remote non-infarcted myocardium at day 5 or at 6 months. Attenuation of LV dilatation and improvement of LV ejection fraction by cyclosporine A at 6 months were correlated with infarct size reduction. Conclusion Cyclosporine A used at the moment of AMI reperfusion persistently reduces infarct size and does not have a detrimental effect on LV remodeling