Background: Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is known to induce systemic inflammation and cardiac dysfunction associated with a significant morbidity. Aim of the study was to develop an in vivo model of rat CPB with hypothermic cardiac arrest and the use of cardioplegia.
Material And Methods: The CPB circuit consisted of a venous reservoir, membrane oxygenator, heat exchanger, and roller pump.
Objective: The primary event in the development of infective endocarditis (IE) is bacterial adherence to damaged heart valves. This includes capture, adhesion and internalization of bacteria into host cells.
Methods: We determined in an experimental rabbit model for IE whether a transient bacteremia caused by Staphylococcus aureus and/or endothelial heart valve lesions induce transcriptional regulation of alpha(5)beta(1) integrin, fibronectin, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), macrophage colony-stimulating factor-1 (MCSF-1), c-fms proto-oncogene (MCSF-1 receptor), and macrophage chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) in mitral and tricuspid valves.
The calcium sensitizer levosimendan (LEV) improves the function of stunned myocardium, cardiac performance in heart failure, and possibly the efficiency of myocardial work. The present experiments investigated the effect of LEV on myocardial contraction and metabolism of acutely ischaemic myocardium distal to a functionally effective coronary artery stenosis. Anaesthetised open chest pigs (n = 14) were instrumented to assess heart rate (HR), aortic pressure (AoP), cardiac output (CO), blood flow in the left descending (QLAD) and circumflex (QLCX) coronary artery, myocardial end-diastolic segment length and systolic shortening (edL, MSS by sonomicrometry) in the LAD- and LCX-territory.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aim Of The Study: Bacterial colonization of inert artificial materials is a critical variable in the appearance of foreign body-centered infections. Hence, a new experimental endocarditis model was evaluated that enables quantitative in-vivo testing of bacterial adherence to prosthetic materials.
Methods: In 53 rabbits, different patches of either Dacron (DAC; n = 16), glutaraldehyde-fixed pericardium (GAP; n = 18) or cryopreserved allograft (AG; n = 19) were threaded onto a Prolene suture and led through a stitch incision at the left atrium to the ventricle, perforating the mitral valve and leaving the heart at the outside of the left ventricle.
Background: We compared the long-term durability of allografts and xenografts implanted for reconstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract.
Methods: A total of 401 patients were studied from January 1974 to June 2000 (145 xeno- and 256 allografts), follow-up being 98% complete. We analyzed freedom from reoperation and allograft specific factors that may indicate degeneration.