Cardiovascular pathology : the official journal of the Society for Cardiovascular Pathology
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Cardiovasc. Pathol. · Mar 2007
Intramyocardial injection of low-dose basic fibroblast growth factor or vascular endothelial growth factor induces angiogenesis in the infarcted rabbit myocardium.
Myocardial angiogenesis after the systemic administration of basic fibroblast growth factor or vascular endothelial growth factor at high therapeutic doses has been implicated in the occurrence of side effects that may undermine their safety. The aim of this study was to investigate the angiogenic effects of the intramyocardial administration of recombinant human basic fibroblast growth factor or vascular endothelial growth factor protein, at low doses, in the infarcted rabbit myocardium. ⋯ Low doses of recombinant human basic fibroblast growth factor or vascular endothelial growth factor protein, when administered intramyocardially, stimulate angiogenesis in the infarcted myocardium.
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Cardiovasc. Pathol. · Mar 2007
Plasma brain natriuretic peptide correlates with infarct size but not with subsequent remodeling in the rat heart.
Brain natriuretic peptide is a marker of the severity of congestive heart failure. However, the relation between its concentration and ventricular remodeling after myocardial infarction remains unknown. Thus, we studied plasma brain natriuretic peptide over 6 months after myocardial infarction in the rat and correlated it with parameters of left ventricular remodeling. ⋯ Thus, after a large myocardial infarction in the rat, despite progressive left ventricular dilation and increase in wall stress, plasma brain natriuretic peptide did not progress over time. This indicates that, although plasma brain natriuretic peptide is a good indicator of infarct size and left ventricular dilation, it cannot be used to trace progressive ventricular remodeling in the rat heart after myocardial infarction.