1. Evaluation of Galectin-3 as a Novel Biomarker for Chagas Cardiomyopathy.
- Author
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Noya-Rabelo, Márcia Maria, Larocca, Ticiana Ferreira, Macêdo, Carolina Thé, Torreão, Jorge andion, Souza, Bruno Solano de Freitas, Vasconcelos, Juliana Fraga, Souza, Luciana Estrella, Silva, agnaluce Moreira, Ribeiro dos Santos, Ricardo, Correia, Luís Claudio Lemos, and Soares, Milena Botelho Pereira
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GALECTINS , *CHAGAS' disease , *BIOMARKERS , *NONINVASIVE diagnostic tests , *CARDIAC imaging - Abstract
Objectives: Chagas cardiomyopathy has worse long-term outcomes than other cardiomyopathies. A biomarker strategy to refer subjects for noninvasive cardiac imaging may help in the early identification of cardiac damage in subjects with Chagas disease. Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a mediator of cardiac fibrosis shown to be upregulated in animal models of decompensated heart failure. Here we assessed the correlation of Gal-3 with myocardial fibrosis in patients with Chagas disease. Methods: This study comprised 61 subjects with Chagas disease. All subjects underwent clinical assessments, Doppler echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging. Plasmatic Gal-3 was determined by ELISA. Results: Delayed enhancement (DE) was identified in 37 of 61 subjects (64%). The total amount of myocardial fibrosis was 9.4% [interquartile interval (IQI): 2.4-18.4]. No differences were observed in Gal-3 concentration according to the presence or absence of myocardial fibrosis, with a median Gal-3 concen-tration of 11.7 ng/ml (IQI: 9.4-15) in subjects with DE versus 12.9 ng/ml (IQI: 9.2-14) in subjects without DE (p = 0.18). No correlation was found between myocardial fibrosis and Gal-3 concentration (r = 0.098; p = 0.47). Conclusions: There is no correlation between the degree of myocardial fibrosis and the concentration of Gal-3 in subjects with Chagas disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2016
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