Ischemia time impacts on respiratory chain functions and Ca-handling of cardiac subsarcolemmal mitochondria subjected to ischemia reperfusion injury.

Background: Mitochondrial impairment can result from myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury (IR). Despite cardioplegic arrest, IR-associated cardiodepression is a major problem in heart surgery. We determined the effect of increasing ischemia time on the respiratory chain (RC) function, the inner membrane polarization and Ca homeostasis of rat cardiac subsarcolemmal mitochondria (SSM).

Impact of levosimendan and ischaemia-reperfusion injury on myocardial subsarcolemmal mitochondrial respiratory chain, mitochondrial membrane potential, Ca2+ cycling and ATP synthesis.

Objectives: Levosimendan (LS) is increasingly used in case of myocardial failure after cardiac surgery. The impact of LS on myocardial mitochondrial functions, such as respiratory chain function (RCF), mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), Ca(2+) handling, mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) opening and ATP during ongoing ischaemia/reperfusion (IR) injury, is not well understood. Depending on LS, I/R injury or the combination of both, we analysed myocardial functions in a retrograde Langendorff-model followed by the analysis of subsarcolemmal mitochondrial (SSM) functions.

Surgical resource consumption in an academic health consortium.

Background: Health care costs continue to spiral; aggregate costs for 1992 are $850 billion, 13.6% of the U.S.

Lead levels in the hair of bipolar patients and normal controls.

The analysis of hair samples taken from ten symptomatic bipolar patients and from ten normal controls matched for age, sex and race suggest that a relatively high body burden of lead may be associated with episodes of bipolar illness.