2011 November - 8 articles
On behalf of the Working Group on Cellular and Molecular Biology of the Italian Society of Cardiology, we are glad to present this special issue devoted to Channelopathies, the genetically transmitted ion channel diseases.[...]
20 November 2011
Soft gentle music accompanies us throughout our lifetime; it is the music of our heart beating. Although at times it is questionable as to who serves as conductor of the orchestra, there is little doubt that our ion channels are the main players. Whe...
The congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS) is a monogenic disorder, not as rare as it was originally estimated to be, mainly caused by mutations in genes encoding for ion channels. Molecular screening in this disease is part of the diagnostic process and...
The Brugada syndrome demonstrates characteristic electrocardiogram features and is a significant cause of sudden death in young adults with overtly normal cardiac structure and function. The genetic basis has not yet been fully elucidated but our und...
Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) is a rare, potentially lethal inherited arrhythmia syndrome characterized by stress or emotion-induced ventricular arrhythmias. CPVT was first described in 1960, while the genetic basis und...
The short QT syndrome (SQTS) is a recently described genetic arrhythmogenic disorder, characterized by abnormally short QT intervals on surface electrocardiogram (ECG) and a high incidence of sudden death (SD) during life, including the first months...
The sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), with the load of mystery surrounding its causes and with the devastating impact on the affected families, remains the greatest contributor to post-neonatal mortality during the first year of life. Following a...
Besides traditional risk factors, atrial fibrillation (AF) also shares a strong genetic component. Here, we review the genetics of AF including monogenic forms of AF, heritability of AF, complex genetic risk of AF, and the role of microRNAs in AF pat...
