[Immunological study of primary non-obstructive myocardiopathies. A report on 37 cases (author's transl)]

The pathogenicity of primary non-obstructive myocardiopathies remains unknown at the present time. Immunological disturbances have been demonstrated but their role is open to discussion. A comparison between 37 such patients and 37 control subjects with cardiac insufficiency, similar according to age and sex, gave the following results: circulating immune complexes levels, anti-organ or anti-tissue antibody levels, and the levels of serum complement and its fractions were the same in both groups. Serum IgA levels were significantly higher in the "patient" group, and this appears to be partly related to alcoholism. Finally, an antimyocardial cellular immunity exists. These results would appear to demonstrate that conventional immunological techniques are of limited value in primary cardiac insufficiency.