Autoimmunity to alpha myosin in a subset of patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy

• Published in: British Heart Journal 1995-12, Vol.74 (6), p.598-603
• Main Authors: Goldman, J. H., Keeling, P. J., Warraich, R. S., Baig, M. K., Redwood, S. R., Dalla Libera, L., Sanderson, J. E., Caforio, A. L., McKenna, W. J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Autoantibodies - blood; Biological and medical sciences; Cardiology. Vascular system; Cardiomyopathy, Dilated - genetics; Cardiomyopathy, Dilated - immunology; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Heart; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Myocardial Ischemia - immunology; Myocarditis. Cardiomyopathies; Myosins - immunology; Prevalence; Sensitivity and Specificity
• ISSN: 0007-0769; 1355-6037; 1468-201X; 2053-5864
• DOI: 10.1136/hrt.74.6.598

OBJECTIVE--To use an enzyme linked immunoassay (ELISA) technique to assess frequency and disease specificity of anti-alpha-myosin antibodies in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy and their relatives. METHODS--Evaluation was performed on sera (dilution 1/320) from 123 consecutive patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (WHO criteria) (age 42 (SD 14) years), 252 of their relatives (35 (17) years), 203 healthy controls (45 (16) years), and 92 patients with ischaemic heart disease (63 (11) years). RESULTS--Abnormal antibody levels were commoner in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (25, 20%) than in ischaemic heart disease (4, 4%), or normal controls (4, 2%, P = 0.001). Forty one (16%) of the relatives had abnormal results compared to the controls (4, 2%, P < 0.001) and antibodies were detected in 20 (38%) of pedigrees. Relatives from non-familial kindreds had higher antibody levels than those with familial disease (P