Abstrakt

Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) is associated with a proteomic signature that indicates persistent inflammation

Ogbebor Dragusha

In poor countries, Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) is still a major cause of illness and mortality. A better understanding of the pathogenetic mechanisms behind RHD could lead to drug repurposing, secondary penicillin prophylaxis recommendations, and/or the development of near-patient diagnostics. Logistic Regression was used to calculate the case–control differences and contribution to Area under the Receiver Operating Curve (AUC) for each of the 56 proteins discovered by the Boruta method, after adjusting for age, sex, and BMI. ClueGo pathway analysis was used to find biological pathways and activities that were enriched for proteins. These findings confirm the existence of a persistent inflammatory response in RHD, which occurs at a time when serious valve disease has established and is distinct from previous episodes of acute rheumatic fever.