Impaired myocardial t-PA release in patients with coronary artery disease.

Aims: Myocardial ischemia remains a significant perioperative complication in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. We hypothesized that noxious stimuli during major surgery are associated with an acute release of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) into the coronary circulation, and that this response is reduced by CAD.

Methods And Results: Two patient groups, with (n=14) and without (n=8) CAD, were studied during the initial phase of heart surgery.

Intracoronary beta2 receptor activation induces dynamic local t-PA release in the pig.

To investigate beta2 -adrenergic agonist-mediated effects on coronary fluxes of local fibrinolytic factors, healthy anaesthetised and instrumented pigs (n=10) were studied during infusion of isoprenaline (IPR) into the left main coronary artery. Coronary net fluxes of total t-PA antigen, active t-PA and total PAI-1 antigen were determined at baseline and at 3, 5, 7 and 10 minutes of IPR infusion. During IPR, net release of total t-PA increased in a biphasic pattern with transiently high levels at 3 (+440 %) and 7 minutes (+620%) and returned towards baseline at 10 minutes.

Pulmonary blood flow (cardiac output) and the effective lung volume determined from a short breath hold using the differential Fick method.

Objectives: This work attempts to show how pulmonary blood flow (Qp), cardiac output (CO(Fick)) and the lung volume of effective gas exchange (ELV) can be determined from breath-by-breath measurements of the tidal exhaled CO2 elimination V (litre/min) and the end tidal CO2 concentration P (%) using the differential Fick method. The measurements are made during steady state ventilation and when the CO2 balance in the lungs changes subsequent to a perturbation of the gas exchange conditions.

Methods: A short breath hold is used to implement such a perturbation.

Short-term treatment for alcohol-related problems: four-session guided self-change versus one session of advice--a randomized, controlled trial.

The aim of this study was to compare two short-term treatments for alcohol-related problems. The study was performed at an outpatient clinic for substance misuse, and subjects (65 men and 28 women) were recruited through advertisements in the local newspaper. The subjects were randomized to either a four-session guided self-change group or a one-session advice group.

Myocardial ischemia induces coronary t-PA release in the pig.

Background: Tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) is the key factor in initiating endogenous fibrinolysis in the vascular compartment. Regulated release of t-PA from endothelial stores is rapidly induced by several humoral factors as well as coagulation activation products. The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that regional myocardial ischemia induces regulated release of t-PA in the coronary vasculature in vivo.