Its levels are elevated in various diseases including chronic heart failure (CHF) and it has been suggested that the up-regulation of ADM in cardiac disease represents a protective mechanism.
In this study, gene expression of ADM mRNA (analyzed by northern blot) and tissue concentration of ADM (measured by radioimmunoassay) were assessed in the explanted hearts of 17 patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC) and in 7 organ donors with no cardiopathy (controls).