Enzymatic changes in myosin regulatory proteins may explain vasoplegia in terminally ill patients with sepsis.

The current study was conducted with the hypothesis that failure of maintenance of the vascular tone may be central to failure of the peripheral circulation and spiralling down of blood pressure in sepsis. Namely, we examined the balance between expression of myosin light chain (MLC) phosphatase and kinase, enzymes that regulate MLCs dephosphorylation and phosphorylation with a direct effect on pharmacomechanical coupling for smooth muscle relaxation and contraction respectively. Mechanical recordings and enzyme immunoassays of vascular smooth muscle lysates were used as the major methods to examine arterial biopsy samples from terminally ill sepsis patients.

[Effects of shenmai injection on the clinical efficacy of noninvasive ventilation in patients with severe respiratory failure caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease].

Objective: To study the effect of Shenmai Injection (SMI) on the clinical efficacy of noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation (NPPV) in treating patients with severe respiratory failure (RF) caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Methods: Patients in the control group (n=23) were treated with conventional therapy plus NPPV, and those in the treatment group (n=25) received the same treatment but with intravenous infusion of SMI 30 ml once a day additionally. The treatment lasted for 10 days.