SIR Medicine Investigation Abstract
ASSESSMENT OF THE PROCOAGULANT ACTIVITY OF THE ENDOMYOCARDIUM IN NON-ISCHEMIC DILATED CARDIOMYOPATHY
Presenter:
Benjamin L. Bick, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, 1500 West Sullivan Road, Aurora, IL, 60506; benny@imsa.edu
Mentor:
Dr. Connie Hall, Pritzker Institute of Medical Engineering, 10 W 32nd Street E1-116, Chicago, IL, 60616; 312- 567-3862; hallc@iit.edu
Abstract:
Clinicians have observed an increased risk for blood clots in patients who suffer from a form of heart failure called "non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy" (NIDC). Tissue factor protein is synthesized by a variety of cells and is located around blood vessels, organs, and areas of epithelium. Tissue factor's importance is that it is a cell receptor that initiates coagulation. It is hypothesized that it is the initiator of the clots associated with NIDC. Factor Xa, a product formed during the process of clot formation, is an indirect measure of the amount of tissue factor present in the tissue. The level of factor Xa is measured using a chromogenic substrate, spectrozyme Xa, that changes absorbance in the presence of factor Xa. Hearts from animals suffering from NIDC are compared to hearts from healthy animals. This project is the first stage of a larger endeavor that will consider several procoagulant and anticoagulant proteins on endomyocardium and that will also examine the role of the fluid dynamics of blood flow with pressure and shear stress in NIDC hearts. Other research will be done comparing the mechanical factors from blood flow in healthy hearts with those factors in NIDC hearts.