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Uremic cardiomyopathy: role of circulating digitalis like substances

Behram Mohmand1, Deepak K Malhotra, Joseph I Shapiro

  • 1Department of Medicine, Medical College of Ohio, 3120 Glendale Avenue, Toledo, Ohio 43614-5089, USA.

Frontiers in Bioscience : a Journal and Virtual Library
|June 23, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Patients with chronic renal failure develop cardiac problems and oxidative stress due to increased digitalis-like substances. These substances may be the cause of both the cardiomyopathy and the systemic oxidant stress observed in these patients.

Area of Science:

  • Nephrology
  • Cardiology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Chronic renal failure is associated with cardiac dysfunction, specifically diastolic dysfunction and left ventricular hypertrophy.
  • Elevated levels of digitalis-like substances are observed in patients with chronic renal failure.
  • An unexplained systemic oxidant stress state is also a characteristic of chronic renal failure.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the potential role of digitalis-like substances in the development of cardiomyopathy and oxidant stress in chronic renal failure.
  • To explore the mechanism by which digitalis-like substances might induce cardiac myocyte hypertrophy.

Main Methods:

  • The study proposes a mechanism linking digitalis-like substances to cellular processes.
  • It references existing data on digitalis-like substances, sodium pump interaction, and reactive oxygen species production.
  • It also considers findings on cardiac myocyte hypertrophy in cell culture and oxidant stress in patients.

Main Results:

  • Digitalis-like substances bind to the sodium pump, initiating a signal cascade.
  • This cascade involves the production of reactive oxygen species.
  • This process has been shown to induce hypertrophy in cultured cardiac myocytes.

Conclusions:

  • Digitalis-like substances are proposed as the causative agents for cardiomyopathy in renal failure.
  • These substances are also implicated as the cause of the systemic oxidant stress state in chronic renal failure patients.

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