The smooth muscle troponin-like protein calponin may be a novel biomarker for the early diagnosis of acute aortic dissection, according to researchers in Japan, Italy and the US.
As lead investigator Dr. Toru Suzuki told Reuters Health, "Calponin, in conjunction with other blood tests and rapid imaging tests, such as a chest X-ray and echocardiogram, may potentially aid in rapid diagnosis of aortic dissection." It may also help select the best "subsequent diagnostic imaging, such as a CT or MRI, and immediate treatment."
Dr. Suzuki of the University of Tokyo and colleagues note that acute aortic dissection is potentially catastrophic and early diagnosis is a prerequisite for treatment and survival.
Cardiac troponin has been a reliable marker of myocardial ischemia and infarction, the researchers point out. They therefore determined the diagnostic utility of the smooth muscle protein.
The investigators, on behalf of the International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection (IRAD) Substudy on Biomarkers, report their findings in the June issue of the European Heart Journal.
The team developed immunoassays and studied 58 patients known to have aortic dissection and 119 suspected of the condition.
Levels of basic calponin and acidic calponin were more than doubled in patients with acute aortic dissection. The combination of basic and acidic calponin proteins was effective in detecting aortic dissection in the first 24 hours, and basic calponin alone showed superior performance during the first six hours.
"After more than ten years of research," continued Dr. Suzuki, "we will hopefully have a commercial product in the next few years."
"In conjunction with my work in IRAD," he said, "the collective aim is to increase awareness to the disease as well as to provide methods such as this simple blood test to help in the diagnosis."
Eur Heart J 2008;29:1439-1445
