Cardiac fibrosis - A short review of causes and therapeutic strategies.

Cardiac fibrosis - A short review of causes and therapeutic strategies. Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2019 May 31;: Authors: Hinderer S, Schenke-Layland K Abstract Fibrotic diseases cause annually more than 800,000 deaths worldwide, whereof the majority accounts for lung and cardiac fibrosis. A pathological remodeling of the extracellular matrix either due to ageing or as a result of an injury or disease leads to fibrotic scars. In the heart, these scars cause several cardiac dysfunctions either by reducing the ejection fraction due to a stiffened myocardial matrix, or by impairing electric conductance, or they can even lead to death. Today it is known that there are several different types of cardiac scars depending on the underlying cause of fibrosis. In this review, we will present an overview of what is known about cardiac fibrosis including the role of cardiac cells and extracellular matrix in this disease. We will further summarize current diagnostic tools and highlight clinical or pre-clinical therapeutic strategies to address cardiac fibrosis. PMID: 31158407 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Tags: Adv Drug Deliv Rev Source Type: research