Figure 1.
Serial measurements of cardiac function and mortality.
A–E; Graphs of left and right ventricular morphology and function measured in vivo in mdx and WT mice from 1 to 12 months. F; Kaplein-Meier graph of mouse survival during the study indicating earlier mortality in mdx mice.
Table 1.
Left and right ventricular cardiac morphology and function.
Figure 2.
In vivo short axis cine-MR images of the same wild type and mdx mouse imaged at 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months.
Figure 3.
Left ventricular filling and ejection rates in control mouse.
Time-volume curve (upper) and rate of change of volume curve (lower) acquired before and after bolus injection of 1.5 mg/kg dobutamine. The dobutamine induced an increase in peak ejection rate, but a reduction in peak filling rate, with lengthening of the high velocity filling phase. Mdx and control mice showed similar responses.
Table 2.
Left and right ventricular cardiac function under dobutamine stress.
Figure 4.
Late gadolinium enhancement in 6 and 12 month mdx mice.
Upper left; late gadolinium enhancement in 3 of 9 mdx mice at 6 months (arrows). Lower panel; late gadolinium enhancement was present in the septum of all mdx mice imaged at 12 months in both long axis (left) and short axis (right) views as well as RV wall (arrows). Upper right; no late gadolinium enhancement was present in wild type mice (WT) at any time point. Far right; Sirius red staining of cryosections confirmed presence of fibrosis in the septum and RV wall of mdx mouse hearts.
Figure 5.
Greater cardiac remodeling in hearts with more late gadolinium enhancement.
End diastolic volumes (left) and end systolic volumes (middle) and left ventricular mass (right) were increased in hearts with more segments showing late gadolinium enhancement.