Inflammatory cardiomyopathy is defined as inflammation of the heart muscle associated with impaired function of the myocardium. In our region, its etiology is most often viral. Viral infection is a possible trigger of immune and autoimmune mechanisms which contributed to the damage of myocardial function. Myocarditis is considered the most common cause of dilated cardiomyopathy. Typical manifestation of this disease is heart failure, chest pain, or arrhythmias. The most important noninvasive diagnostic method is magnetic resonance imaging, but the gold standard of diagnostics is invasive examination, endomyocardial biopsy. In a significant proportion of cases with impaired left ventricular systolic function, recovery occurs spontaneously in several weeks and therefore it is appropriate to postpone critical therapeutic decisions about 3-6 months after start of the treatment. Therapy is based on standard heart failure treatment; immunosuppressive or antimicrobial treatment may be considered in some cases depending on the results of endomyocardial biopsy. If severe dysfunction of the left ventricle persists, device therapy may be needed.

• MeSH
• Anti-Bacterial Agents therapeutic use   MeSH
• Anti-Inflammatory Agents therapeutic use   MeSH
• Biopsy methods   MeSH
• Cardiomyopathies diagnosis   therapy   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Evidence-Based Medicine MeSH
• Myocarditis diagnosis   therapy   MeSH
• Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy methods   MeSH
• Treatment Outcome MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Review MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Anti-Bacterial Agents MeSH
• Anti-Inflammatory Agents MeSH

A wide range of viral agents is associated with the development of acute myocarditis and its possible chronic sequela, dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). There is also increasing evidence that Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) is associated with DCM in endemic regions for Bb infection. This study sought to use electron microscopy to prospectively analyze the presence of viruses and Bb within the myocardium of 40 subjects with preserved left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction and 40 patients with new-onset unexplained DCM during the same time period. Virus particles were found within the myocardium of 23 subjects (58%) of both cohorts studied, yet there was no statistically significant difference in virus family presence between those with DCM versus those with preserved LV systolic function. In contrast, Bb was detected only in those subjects with DCM (0 versus 5 subjects; p ˂ 0.05). Polymerase chain reaction was performed on samples from patients who were positive for Bb according to electron microscopy, and Bb was confirmed in 4 out of 5 individuals. Our results demonstrate that the prevalence of viral particles does not differ between subjects with preserved LV systolic function versus those with DCM and therefore suggests that the mere presence of a viral agent within the myocardium is not sufficient to establish a clear link with the development of DCM. In contrast, the presence of Bb was found only within myocardial samples of patients with DCM; this finding supports the idea of a causal relationship between Bb infection and DCM development.

• MeSH
• Antiviral Agents adverse effects   therapeutic use   MeSH
• Borrelia burgdorferi genetics   isolation & purification   physiology   ultrastructure   MeSH
• Cardiomyopathy, Dilated microbiology   physiopathology   virology   MeSH
• Microscopy, Electron MeSH
• Ventricular Function, Left MeSH
• Blood Pressure MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Lyme Disease classification   microbiology   physiopathology   MeSH
• Myocardium ultrastructure   MeSH
• Prospective Studies MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Heart microbiology   physiopathology   virology   MeSH
• Virus Diseases complications   drug therapy   virology   MeSH
• Viruses classification   genetics   isolation & purification   ultrastructure   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Antiviral Agents MeSH

The aim of our study was to find out the optimal conditions for short-term storage of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples for direct diagnosis of Lyme disease. A mixture of Borrelia-negative CSFs spiked with a defined amount of cultured Borrelia garinii was used. Borrelia stability was investigated over 7 days at four different temperatures [room temperature (RT), +4, -20 and -70 °C]. Quantitative changes in CSF Borrelia were measured by quantitative PCR (qPCR), and morphological changes in the spirochetes were observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). These qPCR results were statistically evaluated. We found +4 °C to be an optimal temperature for short-term storage of CSF samples intended for TEM observation. There was no significant difference between the temperatures tested in the average quantity of Borrelia measured by qPCR. On the contrary, electron optical diagnosis of frozen samples and samples stored at RT showed destructive morphological changes and decreased spirochete counts. Our results show that optimal conditions for the pre-analytical phase of investigation of one type of material can differ depending on the diagnostic method employed.

• MeSH
• Borrelia burgdorferi Group physiology   MeSH
• Time Factors MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Lyme Disease diagnosis   microbiology   MeSH
• Microbial Viability * MeSH
• Cerebrospinal Fluid microbiology   MeSH
• Specimen Handling methods   MeSH
• Temperature MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH

BACKGROUND: Several recent small studies have suggested a causal link between Lyme disease and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) by demonstrating the presence of the Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) genome in the myocardium of patients with recent-onset DCM. The aim of this study was to further investigate the effect of targeted antibiotic treatment of Bb-related recent-onset DCM in a larger cohort of patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) in 110 individuals (53 ± 11 years, 34 women) with recent-onset unexplained DCM, and detected the Bb genome in 22 (20 %) subjects. Bb-positive patients were subsequently treated with intravenous ceftriaxone for 21 days in addition to conventional heart failure medication. RESULTS: At the 1-year follow-up, a significant improvement in left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (26 ± 6 vs. 44 ± 12 %; p < 0.01) and a decrease in LV end-diastolic (69 ± 7 vs. 63 ± 11 mm; p < 0.01) and end-systolic (61 ± 9 vs. 52 ± 4 mm; p < 0.01) diameters were documented. Moreover, a significant improvement in heart failure symptoms (NYHA class 3.4 ± 0.6 vs. 1.5 ± 0.7; p < 0.01) was also observed. CONCLUSION: Targeted antibiotic treatment of Bb-related recent-onset DCM in addition to conventional heart failure therapy is associated with favorable cardiac remodeling and improvement of heart failure symptoms.

• Keywords
• Antibiotics, Borrelia burgdorferi, Dilated cardiomyopathy, Endomyocardial biopsy, Lyme disease,
• MeSH
• Anti-Bacterial Agents administration & dosage   MeSH
• Endocarditis, Bacterial diagnosis   drug therapy   microbiology   MeSH
• Borrelia burgdorferi isolation & purification   MeSH
• Ceftriaxone administration & dosage   MeSH
• Cardiomyopathy, Dilated diagnosis   drug therapy   microbiology   MeSH
• Injections, Intravenous MeSH
• Cardiotonic Agents administration & dosage   MeSH
• Drug Therapy, Combination methods   MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Lyme Disease diagnosis   drug therapy   microbiology   MeSH
• Treatment Outcome MeSH
• Check Tag
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Controlled Clinical Trial MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Anti-Bacterial Agents MeSH
• Ceftriaxone MeSH
• Cardiotonic Agents MeSH