title: Levosimendan: calcium sensitizer and inodilator.
abstract: Levosimendan is a unique therapeutic agent that decreases mortality in acute episodes of decompensated heart failure by increasing myocardial contractility without increasing oxygen consumption or ATP demands, decreasing preload, or decreasing afterload. The mechanism for each accomplishment is novel. The drug is a calcium sensitizer, which increases myocyte contractility by stabilizing troponin C rather than by increasing intracellular calcium. The drug may have implications in numerous other common and chronic medical ailments, even in overdoses of drugs that stun and depress the myocardium.
authors.affiliation: San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium, Brooke Army Medical Center, Division of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, 3851 Roger Brooke Drive, Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234, USA. daun.milligan@us.army.mil
authors.forename: Daun Johnson
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Milligan
authors.forename: Aaron M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Fields
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D002315:Cardiopulmonary Bypass; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D006835:Hydrazones / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000096:biosynthesis; D011724:Pyridazines / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000077464:Simendan; D014665:Vasodilator Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D006835:Hydrazones; D011724:Pyridazines; D014665:Vasodilator Agents; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D000077464:Simendan; D002118:Calcium