Patent ID: 8628929

Claim:
A method for detecting and treating a subpopulation of patients exhibiting heart damage, the method comprising: a) detecting intracellular levels of cardiac troponin T (cTnT) or cardiac troponin I (cTnI) protein in cardiac tissue of a patient in the population, wherein a decrease of at least 50% in intracellular levels of either cTnT or cTnI protein in cardiac tissue of the patient relative to control or normal intracellular levels of either cTnT or cTnI protein, respectively, is indicative of heart damage and classifies the patient as a member of the subpopulation of patients exhibiting heart damage; and b) treating the patient in the subpopulation of patients exhibiting heart damage with a composition comprising at least one therapeutic agent, wherein the at least one therapeutic agent is glial growth factor 2 (GGF2).