Hemodynamic effects of lidocaine in the thoracic paravertebral space during one-lung ventilation for thoracic surgery.

Objective: There is increasing interest in the use of the thoracic paravertebral block (TPVB) in association with general anesthesia for lung-resection surgery. The aim of the study was to evaluate the hemodynamic effects of a 5-mg/kg lidocaine bolus injected in the thoracic paravertebral space during one-lung ventilation (OLV) in noncardiac patients undergoing thoracic surgery.

Design: Prospective, observational study.

Presence of methylated arginine derivatives in orthotopic human liver transplantation: relevance for liver function.

Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is a frequent option in the treatment of liver diseases. During the cold ischemia period of the donor liver, there is an accumulation of metabolites that are potent inhibitors of the cytokine-inducible and endothelial nitric oxide synthase isoenzymes. We identified the presence of L-N-monomethylarginine and asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) as the main inhibitors by means of analytic high-pressure liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry techniques.

Importance of creatine kinase activity for functional recovery of myocardium after ischemia-reperfusion challenge.

To define the relation between the phosphoryl transfer via creatine kinase and the ability to recover from an ischemia-reperfusion challenge, the authors chemically inhibited creatine kinase activity with iodoacetamide (IAm) and then measured myocardial recovery after 2, 10, or 30 min of global ischemia followed by 30 min of reperfusion in the isolated, arterially perfused interventricular septa of the rabbit heart. During normoxia, IAm (0.5 M perfused for 15 min) did not by itself modify developed tension, maximal rate of tension development, or resting tension.

Ultrastructural evidence of the protective effect of Na+/H+ exchange inhibition on the in vitro damage induced by ischaemia reperfusion in the interventricular septum of the rabbit heart.

We investigated the effects of the Na+/H+ antiporter inhibitor, dimethylamiloride, on myocardial injury after 1 h global ischaemia and 30 min. reperfusion in the isolated arterially perfused interventricular septum of the rabbit heart. After ischaemia and reperfusion challenge, dimethylamiloride significantly increased the recovery of developed tension in a dose-dependent manner, and significantly decreased the maximal increase in resting tension.

Presence of a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor in the graft efflux during reperfusion in human liver transplantation.

Involvement of the nitric oxide (NO) system in complications following human orthotopic liver transplants (OLT) has been reported, but the contribution of the graft to the modulation of the NO system during reperfusion in normal OLT has not been characterized. We have studied the contribution of the graft efflux to the modulation of the NO system in 20 consecutive OLT. We evaluated its effects on isolated vascular reactivity of the rabbit and on rat cultured macrophages stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

[Scientific activity of the most productive Spanish research teams in pharmacology and pharmacy during the period 1986-1993 as covered by the Science Citation Index (SCI)].

Background: Bibliometric analyses at the research team level in the pharmacology and pharmacy (F&F) subfield allow in-depth analysis of the findings obtained at higher aggregation levels.

Material And Methods: Publications of Spanish authors in pharmacological journals covered by the Science Citation Index (SCI) are studied and the most productive Spanish teams during 1986-1989 and 1990-1993 are identified through in-house programmes based on co-authorship analysis. Team composition is defined and team size, scientific output, productivity, expected impact factor and collaboration pattern of the most productive teams are analysed as well as its evolution over time.

Protective effects of cyclopiazonic acid on ischemia-reperfusion injury in rabbit hearts.

The cardioprotective effects on myocardial ischemia of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) inhibitor, cyclopiazonic acid (CPA), were studied. We used the isolated arterially perfused interventricular septum of the rabbit heart submitted to 30-min global ischemia/30-min reperfusion. Mechanical [maximal increase in resting tension (MIRT), and the recovery of developed tension (RDT)], and biochemical parameters [creatine phosphokinase activity (CPK) in the effluent] were analyzed.

Characterization of the calcium overload in cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes under metabolic inhibition.

We studied the calcium compartmentation of the Ca overload induced by 50 min of metabolic inhibition (MI) in cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. MI was achieved by application of 1 mM iodoacetic acid (IAA) and 10 mM 2-deoxyglucose (2-DOG) with omission of glucose in the perfusate. MI per se abolished spontaneous beating, but 10 mM caffeine pulses at 15, 30 and 45 min were able to induce contractile responses.

[Spanish research in international pharmacy and pharmacology journals from 1980 to 1989].

Background: During the last years, the usefulness and validity of bibliometric analyses in complementing other types of indicators has been put forward. Especially interesting is the performance of this type of studies in the pharmacological area, due to the important medical and economic repercusions of the research in this field.

Methods: Documents of Spanish authors published in international pharmacological journals covered by the database Science Citation Index (1980-1989) were downloaded.

Lack of platelet-activating factor release on acute myocardial ischemia in the isolated interventricular septum of rabbit heart.

The effects of platelet-activating factor (PAF) on myocardial injury after 1 h global ischemia-30 min reperfusion were investigated in isolated arterially perfused interventricular septum of rabbit heart. PAF did not significantly affect developed tension, +/- dT/dtmax, resting tension and the times of active state in non-ischemic septa. The recovery of developed tension was significantly reduced by PAF (100 nM), after an ischemia-reperfusion challenge, from the control value of 20.

Protective effects of dazmegrel on the PAF potential of ouabain-induced cardiac arrhythmias.

The ouabain threshold to induce cardiac arrhythmias in urethane-anaesthetized guinea-pigs was not modified by the administration of either dazmegrel, 4 mg/kg i.v., or lysine-acetylsalicylate, 13.

Negative inotropic effect induced by diethylamiloride (DEA) in rabbit myocardium.

The effects of the Na+/H+ exchange blocking drug diethylamiloride (DEA) on mechanical function have been studied in the rabbit isolated, arterially perfused interventricular septum. At concentrations of 10(-6)-10(-5) M, DEA induced a significant, dose-dependent, negative inotropic effect (a 54% decrease from control values at the highest concentration), which was slow to develop. After a 45 min washout, recovery was almost complete (95 +/- 3.

The effect of oxytocin on contractile responses and 45Ca movements in rat isolated aortic strips.

The effects of oxytocin (Oxt) on contractile responses and transmembrane Ca fluxes were studied in rat isolated aortic strips. Oxt (50-1000 mu ml-1) induced a dose-dependent contractile response and spontaneous myogenic activity. The Oxt-induced contractile response was not inhibited by pretreatment of aortic strips with phentolamine plus practolol, atropine, diphenhydramine plus cimetidine or indomethacin, but was significantly reduced by verapamil or deamino-ethyl-Oxt.

Effects of pincainide on contractile responses and 45Ca movements in rat isolated vascular smooth muscle.

The effects of pincainide, a new beta-amino anilide, on contractile responses and 45Ca fluxes were studied in rat aorta and on spontaneous mechanical activity in rat portal veins. Pincainide (10(-5) to 10(-2) M) produced a dose-dependent inhibition of noradrenaline (NA) and high K+ -induced contractions. These inhibitory effects were observed with pincainide added either before or after the induced contractions.

Electrophysiological effects of platelet-activating factor (PAF-acether) in guinea-pig papillary muscles.

The effects of PAF-acether (10(-11) to 10(-7) M) were studied on the electrical and mechanical activity of guinea-pig papillary muscles. At 10(-11) M PAF-acether did not modify the amplitude and Vmax of the upstroke or the resting membrane potential. At higher concentrations PAF-acether produced a dose-dependent increase in the amplitude and Vmax of the upstroke, shortened the action potential duration and hyperpolarized the resting membrane potential.

Effects of chlorbutol on 45Ca movements and contractile responses of rat aorta and its relevance to the actions of Syntocinon.

The effects of chlorbutol (0.7, 1.4 and 2.

Comparison of three beta-amino anilides: IQB-M-81, lidocaine and tocainide, on isolated rat atria.

The effects of a new beta-amino anilide, IQB-M-81, on electrical and mechanical activity of isolated rat atria were studied and compared with those of lidocaine and tocainide. In spontaneously beating right atria IQB-M-81 produced a dose-dependent decrease in rate, contractile force and maximum following frequency and prolonged the sinus node recovery time and the effective refractory period of atrial fibers. The negative inotropic effect was not modified by pretreating the atria with atropine or practolol.

Effects of bunaphtine on 45Ca movements in rat aortic smooth muscle.

The effect of bunaphtine (BNA, 5 X 10(-5)M) on La3+ -resistant 45Ca content and 45Ca efflux was studied on rat aortic smooth muscle. BNA decreased both control and norepinephrine-stimulated La3+-resistant 45Ca content and increased the 45Ca efflux. These effects could explain the inhibition of the contractile responses induced by BNA.

The mechanism of the positive inotropic action of ketamine on isolated atria of the rat.

1 The effect of ketamine (10-7 M-5 X10-4 M) on electrical and mechanical properties of isolated atria of the rat was investigated. 2. On spontaneously beating right atria, ketamine produced a dose-dependent positive inotropic effect which was accompanied by a progressive reduction in atrial rate.