BACKGROUND: The study aimed at evaluating neopterin concentration in relation to heart failure etiology and determining basal neopterin concentration in relation to the clinical state of patients after 12 months of standard treatment. MATERIAL/METHODS: The examined group was composed of 47 patients with NYHA class II and III heart failure and 20 healthy volunteers. Neopterin concentration in blood serum was determined with a radioimmunological assay. Twelve months after the patients had left the hospital, their quality of life and clinical symptoms of heart failure were evaluated. RESULTS: Statistically significantly higher basal concentrations of neopterin in the group of patients with CHF than in the control group (p<0.001) were noted. A higher concentration was found in NYHA class III than in NYHA class II CHF patients (p<0.001). No difference in relation to heart failure etiology was detected. The basal neopterin concentration determined patients' clinical status after the 12-month standard chronic heart failure treatment. CONCLUSIONS: In the 12-month observation, a relationship was detected between neopterin concentration and heart failure progression, which may point to neopterin as a marker of heart failure progression.
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