In heart transplanted patients, weekly oral bisphosphonates in combination with calcium and vitamin D supplementation preserved bone mass, prevented uncoupling of bone resorption/formation and fractures. Bone density should be measured and adequately treated, that is, with regular bisphosphonates.
Background
Graft failure caused by allograft rejection and vasculopathy is the most common cause of mortality after heart transplantation. To detect an early allograft rejection, endomyocardial biopsy is still needed. Tissue characterization by T1-mapping and Late gadolinium enhancement is well established in acute and chronic myocardial tissue alterations. Therefore several studies investigated T1-mapping as a potential noninvasive parameter to monitor cardiac allograft vasculopathy and allograft rejection. However it is unclear if T1 is also influenced by pretransplant ischemic time and elapsed time since transplantation.
Purpose
It was the aim of our study to examine the influence of ischemic and elapsed time since transplantation to the cardiac allograft tissue characteristics measured by CMR T1 relaxation times.
Methods
Allograft transplant patients underwent stress CMR on a yearly routine. T1-maps were acquired using a modified look locker sequence (MOLLI 3(2)3(2)5) in the midventricular septum. Uni- and multi linear regression analysis was used to predict T1 by ischemic time, time since transplantation, troponin and NT-Pro-BNP.
Results
49 cardiac allograft transplanted patients underwent stress CMR (mean age 58.6±11.7 years, left ventricular ejection fraction 62.1±6.8%; indexed enddiastolic volume 68.4±14.7 ml/m2; native T1 1120±51 ms, extracellular volume 0.27±0.04). A significant correlation was found between T1 and NT-Pro-BNP (1519±3639 pg/ml, p=0.003) and a trend for troponin (17.0±12.8 ng/dl, p=0.051). We saw no correlation between T1 and the ischemic time (198.4±44.9 minutes, p=0.1172) and elapse time since transplantation (47±7 month, p=0.9868). In the multivariate regression analysis none of the four parameters were independently associated with the T1 time (p=0.1017).
Table 1 Characteristics Mean ± SD p Ischemic time (minutes) 198.4±44.9 0.1172 Time since transplant (month) 47±7 0.9868 NT-Pro-BNP (pg/ml) 1519±3639 0.003 Troponine (ng/dl) 17.0±12.8 0.051
Conclusion
There was no significant effect of pretransplant ischemic time and elapse time since transplantation on native T1 times, whereas native T1 was significantly correlated with troponine and NT-Pro-BNP-Levels. T1 is excellently suited to detect acute changes in allograft transplant patients without being influenced by aging of the transplanted heart and the heart's pretransplant condition.
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