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Previous Volume 334:856-857 March 28, 1996 Number 13 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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Idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy is characterized by left ventricular dilatation, insufficient compensatory hypertrophy of the left ventricle, interstitial fibrosis in the myocardium, and increased stress on the wall of the left ventricle. In this disorder, a fundamental abnormality of the contractile function of the heart leads to progressive ventricular remodeling and symptomatic heart failure. Most therapies are directed at unloading the left ventricle with the use of agents that reduce afterload (i.e., angiotensin-converting–enzyme inhibitors) and that decrease chamber size by reducing volume overload (i.e., diuretics). These approaches do not specifically improve the underlying contractile dysfunction of the myocytes. An alternative therapeutic . . . [Full Text of this Article]

References

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• Niebauer, J., Pflaum, C.-D., Clark, A. L., Strasburger, C. J., Hooper, J., Poole-Wilson, P. A., Coats, A. J. S., Anker, S. D. (1998). Deficient insulin-like growth factor I in chronic heart failure predicts altered body composition, anabolic deficiency, cytokine and neurohormonal activation. J Am Coll Cardiol 32: 393-397 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Shen, Y.-T., Woltmann, R. F., Appleby, S., Prahalada, S., Krause, S. M., Kivilghn, S. D., Johnson, R. G., Siegl, P. K., Lynch, J. J. (1998). Lack of beneficial effects of growth hormone treatment in conscious dogs during development of heart failure. Am. J. Physiol. Heart Circ. Physiol. 274: H456-H466 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Turner, H., Wass, J.A.H., Frustaci, A., Gentiloni, N., Russo, M. A., Sacca, L., Fazio, S. (1996). Growth Hormone in the Treatment of Dilated Cardiomyopathy. NEJM 335: 672-674 [Full Text]