RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To observe the changes of serum PDCD5 antibody in chronic ischemic heart failure patients and the effect of carvedilol treatment. METHODS: Twenty chronic ischemic heart failure patients, 11 males and 9 females, aged 58 +/- 13, with the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) < 45% by echocardiography and New York Heart Association (NYHA) cardiac function classification II-III, were treated with carvedilol for 6 months with a target dosage of 50 mg/d. The serum PDCD5 antibody was tested by ELISA before and after carvedilol treatment and compared with those of 20 healthy persons. RESULTS: The A value of PDCD5 antibody in the heart failure patients was 3.5 +/- 1.4, significantly higher that in than healthy persons (1.9 +/- 1.0, P < 0.01). After treatment of carvedilol, the A value of PDCD5 antibody in the heart failure patients decreased to 2.5 +/- 1.2 (P < 0.05). In 6 months maintenance treatment, 14 (70%) patients reached the dosage 50 mg/d, 4 (20%) reached 25 mg/d, and 2 (10%) reached 12.5 mg/d. Five patients (25%) had side effect such as dizziness, nausea and cough, one patient (5%) was hospitalized for 3 weeks because of heart failure, no patient died. After treatment of carvedilol, the NYHA degree increased by 0.3 (P < 0.05), LVEF increased from 35.5% +/- 7.8% to 42.7% +/- 9.6% (P < 0.05), left ventricular end-diastolic diameter decreased 5.3 mm (P < 0.05), and left ventricular end-systolic diameter decreased by 8.1 mm (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The titer of apoptosis gene PDCD5 antibody in the serum of chronic ischemic heart failure patients are higher, which shows apoptosis and treatment of carvedilol significantly decreases its titer.
