Experience in applied veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation to support catheter ablation of malignant ventricular tachycardia.

Background: An electrical storm due to malignant ventricular tachycardia (VT) is a life-threatening condition that requires catheter ablation (CA). Most VT arrhythmias evolve over time after acute myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass grafting, or chronic heart failure. Clinically, only radiofrequency ablation can identify and block all arrhythmia origin points.

ECMO combined with prone positioning strategies in COVID-19 respiratory distress syndrome.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has already become a global pandemic as a public health emergency of international concern. Previous evidence from similar patient populations proved that carefully selected patients with severe ARDS who did not benefit from conventional treatment might be successfully supported with Veno-Venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-V ECMO). We now share the case reports of COVID-19 patients with ECMO combined prone position strategies.

In vivo quantification by SPECT of [123I] ADAM bound to serotonin transporters in the brains of rabbits.

Background: A novel radioiodine ligand [(123)I] ADAM (2-((2-((dimethylamino)methyl)phenyl)thio)-5-iodophenylamine) has been suggested as a promising serotonin transporter (SERT) imaging agent for the central nervous system. In this study, the biodistribution of SERTs in the rabbit brain was investigated using [(123)I] ADAM and mapping images of the same animal produced by both single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and microautoradiography. A semiquantification method was adopted to deduce the optimum time for SPECT imaging, whereas the input for a simple fully quantitative tracer kinetic model was provided from arterial blood sampling data.

Hypothermia attenuates circulatory shock and cerebral ischemia in experimental heatstroke.

We tested the hypothesis in a rat model that body cooling suppresses circulatory shock and cerebral ischemia in heatstroke. Animals under urethane anesthesia were exposed to water blanket temperature (Tblanket) of 42 degrees C until mean arterial pressure (MAP) and local cerebral blood flow (CBF) in the hippocampus began to decrease from their peak levels, which was arbitrarily defined as the onset of heatstroke. Control rats were exposed to 26 degrees C.

Hypothermia attenuates cerebral dopamine overloading and gliosis in rats with heatstroke.

The present study attempted to ascertain whether hypothermia attenuated the heat stroke-induced dopamine overload and gliosis in rat brain. Urethane-anesthetized rats were exposed to water blanket temperature (T(blanket)) of 42 degrees C until mean arterial pressure (MAP) began to decrease from their peak levels, which was arbitrarily defined as the onset of heat stroke. Extracellular concentrations of dopamine in brain were assessed by microdialysis methods.