Troponin T and Troponin I in Carriers of Duchenne and Becker Muscular Dystrophy with Cardiac Involvement

Abstract

Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and cardiac troponin T (cTnT) are standard markers for the detection of ischemic myocardial damage (1)(2)(3). Both cTnI and cTnT can also be detected in the blood of patients with chronic heart failure (4)(5)(6)(7), which enables the identification of patients with latent or progressive myocardial damage. Carriers of Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy (DMD and BMD, respectively) are at risk for cardiac disease. In a cross-sectional study among 129 definite DMD/BMD carriers, 5.4% had dilated cardiomyopathy and 18% had left ventricle dilation (8). In the present study, we analyzed both cTnT and cTnI, together with creatine kinase (CK) and CK-MB mass, to establish the value of these markers in DMD and BMD carriers and their possible association with the presence of nonischemic myocardial damage. We studied 129 definite carriers of DMD (n = 85) and BMD (n = 44) enrolled in a cross-sectional study (8)(9) to assess the presence of muscle weakness and cardiac involvement. All carriers underwent extensive cardiological examinations, including medical history, physical examination, electrocardiogram, and transthoracic M-mode and two-dimensional echocardiography (8)(9). This study was approved by the Medical Ethical Committee of the Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam. All carriers participated only after giving informed consent. We collected 10 mL of heparin blood by venipuncture. Plasma was prepared, aliquoted, and …