Tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases in serum are cardiac biomarkers in Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy.

Background: Tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMPs) are known to be involved in cardiovascular diseases. Hitherto, they have not been examined in dilated cardiomyopathy in the course of Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD).

Aim: To define TIMPs in serum because they might help in defining cardiac dysfunction at the early cardiological stages of this disease and detect preclinical stages of cardiomyopathy.