Novel Approach Predicts Outcomes in Heart Failure Patients
By LabMedica International staff writers Posted on 07 Jan 2014 |
Image: A nuclear magnetic resonance tube with a protein sample (Photo courtesy of Kjaergaard).
A new method has been identified that determines whether a patient's heart will fail, which in the future may help physicians better treat patients and tailor therapeutic interventions.
This novel method tests energy metabolism in the heart and has proved to be a significant predictor of clinical outcomes, independent of a patient's symptoms, race, or strength of the heart and helps determine which patients with heart failure (HF) will do well and which patients will not.
Scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (Baltimore, MD, USA) measured energy metabolism in 58 heart failure patients with nonischemic cardiomyopathy, or heart failure not due to blocked arteries and 17 healthy subjects using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). They then followed these patients for a median of 4.7 years, recording any hospitalizations, heart transplantation, placement of a ventricular assist device and death from all causes.
The investigators looked at adenosine triphosphate (ATP), an energy source for heart muscle cells, and an energy reserve called creatine kinase (CK), an enzyme that interacts with ATP to keep the energy supply constant in a beating heart. They measured the rate of ATP synthesis through CK, called CK flux, using MRS (GE Healthcare Technologies, Pittsburgh, PA, USA). They found that measurements of CK flux were significantly lower in heart failure patients whose condition had worsened.
Gurusher Panjrath, MD, an assistant professor of medicine and co-lead author of the study said, “While various used methods are currently used for prediction, none of these methods are reflective of the underlying mechanism in the weak heart. Furthermore, some of these measures are not very consistent in their predictive ability. There is a need for newer methods, which could potentially be more specific and reproducible. By targeting impaired energy metabolism, it may also be possible in the future to develop and tailor therapies to this new target.” The study was published on December 11, 2013, in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
Related Links:
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
GE Healthcare Technologies
This novel method tests energy metabolism in the heart and has proved to be a significant predictor of clinical outcomes, independent of a patient's symptoms, race, or strength of the heart and helps determine which patients with heart failure (HF) will do well and which patients will not.
Scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (Baltimore, MD, USA) measured energy metabolism in 58 heart failure patients with nonischemic cardiomyopathy, or heart failure not due to blocked arteries and 17 healthy subjects using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). They then followed these patients for a median of 4.7 years, recording any hospitalizations, heart transplantation, placement of a ventricular assist device and death from all causes.
The investigators looked at adenosine triphosphate (ATP), an energy source for heart muscle cells, and an energy reserve called creatine kinase (CK), an enzyme that interacts with ATP to keep the energy supply constant in a beating heart. They measured the rate of ATP synthesis through CK, called CK flux, using MRS (GE Healthcare Technologies, Pittsburgh, PA, USA). They found that measurements of CK flux were significantly lower in heart failure patients whose condition had worsened.
Gurusher Panjrath, MD, an assistant professor of medicine and co-lead author of the study said, “While various used methods are currently used for prediction, none of these methods are reflective of the underlying mechanism in the weak heart. Furthermore, some of these measures are not very consistent in their predictive ability. There is a need for newer methods, which could potentially be more specific and reproducible. By targeting impaired energy metabolism, it may also be possible in the future to develop and tailor therapies to this new target.” The study was published on December 11, 2013, in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
Related Links:
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
GE Healthcare Technologies
Latest Clinical Chem. News
- 3D Printed Point-Of-Care Mass Spectrometer Outperforms State-Of-The-Art Models
- POC Biomedical Test Spins Water Droplet Using Sound Waves for Cancer Detection
- Highly Reliable Cell-Based Assay Enables Accurate Diagnosis of Endocrine Diseases
- New Blood Testing Method Detects Potent Opioids in Under Three Minutes
- Wireless Hepatitis B Test Kit Completes Screening and Data Collection in One Step
- Pain-Free, Low-Cost, Sensitive, Radiation-Free Device Detects Breast Cancer in Urine
- Spit Test Detects Breast Cancer in Five Seconds
- Electrochemical Sensors with Next-Generation Coating Advances Precision Diagnostics at POC
- First-Of-Its-Kind Handheld Device Accurately Detects Fentanyl in Urine within Seconds
- New Fluorescent Sensor Array Lights up Alzheimer’s-Related Proteins for Earlier Detection
- Automated Mass Spectrometry-Based Clinical Analyzer Could Transform Lab Testing
- Highly Sensitive pH Sensor to Aid Detection of Cancers and Vector-Borne Viruses
- Non-Invasive Sensor Monitors Changes in Saliva Compositions to Rapidly Diagnose Diabetes
- Breakthrough Immunoassays to Aid in Risk Assessment of Preeclampsia
- Urine Test for Monitoring Changes in Kidney Health Markers Can Predict New-Onset Heart Failure
- AACC Releases Comprehensive Diabetes Testing Guidelines