SICA-HF

Studies Investigating Co-morbidities Aggravating Heart Failure

 Partecipanti

Mappa

 Word cloud

Esplora la "nuvola delle parole (Word Cloud) per avere un'idea di massima del progetto.

 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a massive clinical, social and economic problem. Diabetes and obesity increase the risk of developing CHF. Cachexia is also an ominous sign. In 13 clinical and preclinical research projects, SICA-HF aims to investigate the impact of these co-morbidities in CHF patients at the clinical, vascular, cellular and molecular levels. SICA-HF will enrol >1600 patients with CHF, >300 patients with type 2 diabetes without CHF and >150 healthy control subjects. We will ensure that 50% of subjects are women and that group mean ages are similar. Clinical investigations using standardised protocols will focus on body composition, insulin resistance, exercise capacity, cardiopulmonary reflex patterns and peripheral blood flow. Subjects will be assessed at baseline, after 4-6 months, 16-18 months and at annual intervals thereafter. Outcome variables include morbidity and mortality and data on incidence and prevalence of type 2 diabetes, obesity and cachexia among CHF patients. A strength of this proposal is that clinical and preclinical researchers will study the same patients, as blood and tissue samples from patients being clinically evaluated will be sent to partner research laboratories. Such interaction is very rare in large-scale studies and allows integration of clinical and preclinical findings. The Central Blood and DNA Banks on the EU and the Russian side of the consortium permit validation of established and investigation of novel biomarkers. Pathophysiological pathways that are found to be important in the heart failure co-morbidity interaction will be further analysed mechanistically in in-vitro and in animal models. We aim to validate clinical study results in experimental settings towards the end of the project (year 3 & 4), particularly focusing on adipose tissue, skeletal muscle and (endothelial) progenitor cells. Our studies aim to enable developing tailored therapies for CHF patients with type 2 diabetes, obesity and cachexia.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a pathological syndrome conditioned by many different diseases and aggravated by concomitant conditions, each requiring a special treatment. The goal of the SICA-HF consortium was to characterise CHF patients with diabetes, obesity or cachexia.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

To date, there is no cure for CHF. Researchers are actively looking for potential therapies that could heal or at least limit the progression of the disease. It is important to recognise that different forms of CHF may require different treatment. The goal of the EU-funded project 'Studies investigating co-morbidities aggravating heart failure' (SICA-HF) is to identify biomarkers of CHF patients with cardiac cachexia, obesity, or type 2 diabetes mellitus that might demand special treatment.

To date, the project recruited 576 subjects and collected full blood samples for genetic and biomarker analysis and comparison. The patient recruitment is still on-going. The researchers also try to assess the loss of muscle mass or strength and investigate pathophysiological changes that correlate with the disease. To identify molecular markers, the team is collecting samples of muscle, fat and bone marrow tissue for future analysis.

Preliminary research results were presented at two scientific conferences in Mannheim and Gothenburg in 2011. The group was able to identify specific parameters of muscle loss that characterise sarcopenia. Investigators plan to examine the cross-talk between muscle, adipose tissue and the immune system in order to better understand the pathophysiology of peripheral metabolic abnormalities in CHF.

Findings from this research project could be instrumental in finding an effective remedy for different types of CHF. This would help to improve the outcomes for affected patients.