4.2. Patients
All patients participated in the European multicenter, phase II, double blinded, placebo-controlled SCIENCE trial, and were treated at the Medical University of Vienna. [Major inclusion criteria were left ventricular EF (LVEF) < 45%, NT-proBNP > 300 pg/mL and NYHA class II-III at screening. Details of the rationale, design, and detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria of the SCIENCE trial can be found in the 2019 published article by Paitazoglou et al. (The primary endpoint of this study was improvement of LVESV in echocardiography 6 months after treatment.