Project description:
In transthyretin amyloidosis of the heart, misfolded proteins are deposited in the heart muscle, causing it to become increasingly stiff. This results in heart failure, cardiac arrhythmia, and reduced physical capacity. In this study, the scientists investigated what a typical ultrasound feature—known as “apical sparing”—reveals about the severity of the disease. To do this, they analyzed heart tissue samples from newly diagnosed patients and determined the amount of amyloid deposits. They found that patients with apical sparing had significantly more amyloid in their heart muscle and more frequently showed signs of advanced disease, such as elevated cardiac stress values or atrial fibrillation. In addition, common nuclear medicine examinations often did not adequately reflect the actual amount of amyloid. The results can help to better assess the disease status and use therapies in a more targeted manner.
Publication:
Krammer, T., Baier, M.J., Lutz, V., Hübner, A.-C., Zschiedrich, T., Lukas, D., Le Phu, C., Wolf, M., Maassen, C., Wester, M., Neef, S., Schach, C., Sag, C.-M., Evert, K., Paulus, M., Meindl, C., Tafelmeier, M., Debl, K., Maier, L.S., Wagner, S., Röcken, C. and Mustroph, J. (2025), Left ventricular transthyretin amyloid load and apical sparing in patients with newly confirmed transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy. Eur J Heart Fail, 27: 2979-2989.
Paper: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejhf.70077
Submitting the Paper of the Month:
Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung is using the series “Paper of the Month” to report in an exemplary and hot-off-the-press style on the outstanding work being done by the scientists it supports. We regularly present publications which have recently appeared in especially renowned journals, have emerged from foundation funding and been given appropriate acknowledgment. This is done in the respective categories “Original Paper” and “Review”. In the case of each of these publications, the first author and/or senior author are being funded by the foundation.
We invite all project managers, fellowship recipients and members of graduate study programs to send their work in accordance with the stated criteria as proposal for Paper of the Month to Ms. Anne Asschenfeldt (a.asschenfeldt@ekfs.de).
More Paper of the Month can be found here.
