Diagnosis Myocarditis

Targeting Peptide Improves Accurate Myocarditis Imaging and Diagnosis

Application

Targeting peptide molecule for image-based diagnosis of myocarditis.

Key Benefits

Enables noninvasive diagnosis of myocarditis.
Targets and binds to biomarker of myocarditis.

Market Summary

Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle (myocardium). Myocarditis can affect your heart muscle and your heart's electrical system, reducing the heart's ability to pump and causing rapid or abnormal heart rhythms. Myocarditis is one of the most challenging diagnosis in cardiology and has led to the under-diagnosis of the condition. The gold standard for diagnosis, endomyocardial biopsy, is invasive and has a high risk for serious complications. There are noninvasive imaging methods to assist in diagnosis such as cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR), echocardiography and computerized tomography (CT). These methods may help to exclude other causes of heart failure and general inflammation and swelling but don’t definitively diagnose myocarditis. There is a need for a noninvasive approach for accurate diagnosis of myocarditis.

Technical Summary

Emory Researchers have identified a peptide that targets and binds biomarkers of myocarditis. The peptide was identified through a multi-step screening process. It can identify both moderate and severe cases of myocarditis, and potentially differentiate between the two cases. The peptide has demonstrated the ability to target hearts with myocarditis after intravenous delivery. Future studies will focus on potential targets and clinically relevant imaging methods that could benefit from this targeting molecule.