The Spinal Cord Damage in a Rat Asphyxial Cardiac Arrest/Resuscitation Model.

Background: After cardiac arrest/resuscitation (CA/R), animals often had massive functional restrictions including spastic paralysis of hind legs, disturbed balance and reflex abnormalities. Patients who have survived CA also develop movement restrictions/disorders. A successful therapy requires detailed knowledge of the intrinsic damage pattern and the respective mechanisms.

Normoxic post-ROSC ventilation delays hippocampal CA1 neurodegeneration in a rat cardiac arrest model, but does not prevent it.

The European Resuscitation Guidelines recommend that survivors of cardiac arrest (CA) be resuscitated with 100% O and undergo subsequent-post-return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC)-reduction of O supply to prevent hyperoxia. Hyperoxia produces a "second neurotoxic hit," which, together with the initial ischemic insult, causes ischemia-reperfusion injury. However, heterogeneous results from animal studies suggest that normoxia can also be detrimental.

Relative Resilience of Cerebellar Purkinje Cells in a Cardiac Arrest/Resuscitation Rat Model.

Background: In studies on cardiac arrest (CA)/resuscitation (R) injury, Purkinje cell degeneration was described, however, with inconsistent data concerning severity and time point of manifestation. Moreover, CA/R studies paid only limited attention to inhibitory stellate interneurons. To this aim, the hypothesis that cerebellar could be relatively resilient toward CA/R because of diverse cellular defense mechanisms including interaction with stellate cells was tested.

Independent Predictors for Higher Postoperative Pain Intensity During Recovery After Open Thoracic Surgery: A Retrospective Analysis in 621 Patients.

Objective: To evaluate two standard procedure-specific pain regimens and to assess independent predictors for higher pain intensity after thoracic surgery.

Methods: Patients received either oral opioid analgesia (Opioid Group) or epidural analgesia and were then bridged to systemic opioid analgesia (EDA + O Group) in this retrospective observational study. Medical history, discharge letters, anesthetic protocols, and pain protocols were evaluated in 621 patients after open thoracotomy and assessed with a stepward back elimination in a multivariate logistic regression model.

is neuroprotective in a rat model of cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Asphyxial cardiac arrest (ACA)-induced ischemia results in acute and delayed neuronal cell death. The early reperfusion phase is critical for the outcome. Intervention strategies directed to this period are promising to reduce ACA/resuscitation-dependent impairments.

High-potential defense mechanisms of neocortex in a rat model of transient asphyxia induced cardiac arrest.

Cardiac arrest (CA) is a common cause of disability and mortality and thus an important risk for human health. Circulatory failure has dramatic consequences for the brain as one of the most oxygen-consuming organs. Hippocampus, striatum and neocortex rate among the most vulnerable brain regions.

The Influence of Type of Anesthesia, Perioperative Pain, and Preoperative Health Status on Chronic Pain Six Months After Thoracotomy-A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Chronic post-thoracotomy pain (CPP) has a high incidence. However, less is known about risk factors and the influence of different analgesia therapies.

Methods: In this prospective cohort study, patients either received standardized epidural analgesia or began an oral analgesic protocol with controlled-release oxycodone immediately postoperatively.

[Sufficient high frequency jet ventilation during a period of 2.5 h - Airway management during resection of a tracheaesophageal fistula and tracheal resection].

We present a 54 year old female patient who had undergone a Ross procedure in 2009, and in 2013 again a replacement of the aortic root and arch with bioprothetic material and homograft replacement of the pulmonalis walve. Postoperatively the patient had experienced a functional compromising tracheal stenosis and a persistent esophago-tracheal fistula. Endoscopic attempts to close the fistula were not successful, and the fistula was "bridged" with an endoscopically positioned tracheal stent.

[Management of anaesthesia and intensive care for acute ischemic insult].

The acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is a major cause of death and disability in Germany. The treatment of patients with AIS focuses on rapid recanalization of close brain vessels. Anaesthesiologists are likely to encounter patients with AIS and must be aware of the anaesthetic considerations for these patients.

[Development of the physician based prehospital emergency medicine system in the former GDR].

The development of the physician based prehospital emergency medicine system of the former GDR started in the early 1960th. Initially the use of ambulances was trauma-orientated. Because of the increasing number for non-traumatic emergencies the so called SMH-system (emergency medical services) was stepwise established.

Low-dose nitroglycerine improves outcome after cardiac arrest in rats.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of intravenously applied nitroglycerine (NTG, 1μgkg(-1)min(-1) for 1h) after resuscitation from an asphyxia cardiac arrest (ACA) insult. We hypothesized that NTG infused for 1h after the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) would improve functional and neuro-morphological outcomes.

Methods: Adult rats were subjected to 8min of ACA followed by resuscitation.

Prolonged minocycline treatment impairs motor neuronal survival and glial function in organotypic rat spinal cord cultures.

Background: Minocycline, a second-generation tetracycline antibiotic, exhibits anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects in various experimental models of neurological diseases, such as stroke, Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and spinal cord injury. However, conflicting results have prompted a debate regarding the beneficial effects of minocycline.

Methods: In this study, we analyzed minocycline treatment in organotypic spinal cord cultures of neonatal rats as a model of motor neuron survival and regeneration after injury.

Spontaneous hypothermia is not able to completely counteract cardiac arrest-induced mitochondrial impairment in the rat heart.

Vijlbrief et al. [Neonatology 2012;102:243-248] reported a beneficial effect of hypothermia on cardiac function after perinatal asphyxia indicated by low levels of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP). Elevated troponin I plasma levels, however, reflects impairment of cardiomyocytes under hypothermic conditions.

Minocycline neuroprotection in a rat model of asphyxial cardiac arrest is limited.

Objective: The study investigated a possible neuroprotective potency of minocycline in an experimental asphyxial cardiac arrest (ACA) rat model. Clinically important survival times were evaluated thus broadening common experimental approaches.

Methods: Adult rats were subjected to 5 min of ACA followed by resuscitation.

[Anaesthesia for interventional procedures].

Interventional radiologists perform a wide range of procedures. The anaesthesiologist takes care for provision of a physiologically stable and immobile patient, alteration of arterial blood pressure as necessary, and appropriate and timely management of complications. In this article we discuss the anaesthetic considerations for procedures like embolization of arterio-venous malformations, coiling of cerebral aneurysms, kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty including the preprocedure preparation, monitoring requirements, suitable anaesthetic techniques, postprocedure management and complication.

Selection of reference genes for quantitative real-time PCR in a rat asphyxial cardiac arrest model.

Background: Cardiac arrest, and the associated arrest of blood circulation, immediately leads to permanent brain damage because of the exhaustion of oxygen, glucose and energy resources in the brain. Most hippocampal CA1 neurons die during the first week post the insult. Molecular data concerning the recovery after resuscitation are sparse and limited to the early time period.

Oxyresveratrol (trans-2,3',4,5'-tetrahydroxystilbene) is neuroprotective and inhibits the apoptotic cell death in transient cerebral ischemia.

Oxidative stress is one of the major pathological factors in the cascade that leads to cell death in cerebral ischemia. Here, we investigated the neuroprotective effect of a naturally occurring antioxidant, oxyresveratrol, to reduce brain injury after cerebral stroke. We used the transient rat middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model of brain ischemia to induce a defined brain infarction.