Autoantibodies to cardiac troponin in patients after renal transplant: A new target for statins?

Abstract

o o d n i s h r a t There have been few studies on the immune response to myocardial damage and their findings are of little practical value. Even in myocardial infarction (MI), the classic example of myocardial injury not due to inflammation or infection, the clinical impact of research is limited. An example of what we would hope for from such research, with potential application to clinical practice, is the recent publication of an interesting study by Savukoski et al., who have developed a new immunoassay for troponin measurement that is free from interference from circulating anti-troponin autoantibodies.1 In another study by the same group, the prevalence of troponin-specific autoantibodies in a cohort of 510 patients with suspected MI was 9.2%, but they found no correlation with 12-month outcome.2 The practical relevance of this observation is that the presence of these antibodies can lead to false negative readings for serum troponin in patients with MI and thus delay diagnosis. The presence of these antibodies has also been reported in apparently healthy individuals. Adamczyk et al.3 reported