Biomedical subjects

M Pokorski

Publications and source records attributed to M Pokorski.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1991

Endogenous opiates and ventilatory acclimatization to chronic hypoxia in the cat.

The effects of the opiate antagonist naloxone (0.4 mg.kg-1, i.v.) on carotid chemoreceptor and ventilatory responses to graded steady-state levels of hypoxia and hypercapnia were investigated in two groups of cats: chronically normoxic and chronically hypoxic. The cats of the latter group were exposed to PIO2 of about 70 mm Hg at sea level for 3-4 weeks and showed an attenuated response to hypoxia. All cats were tested under alpha-chloralose anesthesia. Naloxone treatment did not increase appreciably carotid chemoreceptor activity or its responses to hypoxia and hypercapnia in either cat group. Naloxone caused a small ventilatory stimulation in the chronically hypoxic cats, so that the attenuated response to hypoxia was not relieved. By contrast, the chemoreflex ventilatory response to hypoxia was stimulated by naloxone in the chronically normoxic cats. The findings that the depressed ventilatory chemoreflexes in the chronically hypoxic cat were not ameliorated by the opiate antagonist indicate that an increased elaboration of endogenous opiates does not underlie ventilatory adaptation to chronic hypoxia.

Acclimatization↗

PubMed1991

Cardiorespiratory reactions to static, isometric exercise in man.

Cardiac output (Q), stroke volume (SV), heart rate (HR), and respiratory variables were measured in ten healthy men performing static, isometric muscular contraction (handgrip) during air breathing. We found an instantaneous rise in ventilation (VI) and in HR, accompanied by a minimal rise in cardiac output. The rise in VI was due to a rise in tidal volume (VT) and a reduction in expiratory duration (TE). These effects of isometric exercise are explainable as due to a muscle reflex instantly inhibiting the cardiac, vagal motoneurons and, at the same time, stimulating neurons in the respiratory area of the medulla. These medullary neurons seem capable of independent operation. The rise in mean arterial pressure (MAP) during isometric exercise is 27% just as the rise in total peripheral vascular resistance (TPVR). The MAP rise is too high to be caused by vascular occlusion due to the high tension of contracted muscles in only one upper extremity. Thus, redistribution of Q in the system of many parallel vascular resistances is a likely possibility--with possible cutaneous vasodilation and dominating vasoconstriction of other vascular regions.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Ventilatory and cardiovascular responses to hypoxic and hyperoxic static handgrip exercise in man.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ventilatory and cardiovascular responses to static handgrip exercise at different levels of arterial chemoreceptor activation. The study was done on 10 healthy subjects. They performed handgrip of 50% of maximal voluntary contraction on a background of either hypoxia (PE'O2 approximately 47 mm Hg) or hyperoxia (PE'O2 approximately 216 mm Hg), i.e., enhanced or suppressed chemoreceptor activity. The subjects were able to sustain the handgrip for 50-60 sec, during which time no steady-state responses were attainable. Minute ventilation (VI), cardiac output (Q), heart rate (HR), and a number of other variables were recorded. Handgrip exercise resulted in a rapid initial VI rise followed by a subsequent slow increase. Hyperoxia diminished the VI response over the exercise range. The ventilatory response was associated with an HR acceleration, increased arterial pressure and peripheral vascular resistance. No appreciable changes in Q were noted, nor was there any particular relationship between ventilatory and circulatory changes. These results provide no support for the Q mediated ventilatory stimulus during static handgrip exercise in man. It is concluded that the ventilatory and cardiovascular responses are of independent nature.

Cardiac Output↗

PubMed1990

Cardiac responses to hypoxia and hypercapnia in spinal man.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of interruption of the descending supraspinal sympathetic outflow on heart rate control during exposures to chemical stimuli. We investigated the heart rate responses to progressive isocapnic hypoxia and hyperoxic hypercapnia using the rebreathing technique and quantified the relationship between heart rate (HR), oxygen saturation (SaO2), alveolar PCO2 (PACO2), and minute ventilation (VE) in 16 chronic tetraplegic subjects with low cervical spinal cord transection. The HR responses were determined from the linear slopes of HR on SaO2 and HR on PACO2. We found that mean resting heart rate was within normal range; 66 +/- 3 (SEM) beats min-1. HR increased as oxygenation fell or CO2 tension rose. The mean tetraplegic delta HR/delta SaO2 was 0.83 +/- 0.14 beats min-1 per 1% fall in SaO2 and that of delta HR/delta PACO2 was 0.30 +/- 0.13 beats min-1 per mmHG rise in PACO2. The HR and VE responses to either hypoxia or hypercapnia were related in the tetraplegic subjects. We conclude that the stimulatory HR responses to chemical stimuli are not suppressed by cervical spinal cord transection. Thus, the descending sympathetic activity does not underlie the HR acceleration by chemical stimuli.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

Cardiac output and heart rate in man during simulated swimming while breath-holding.

We measured stroke volume (SV), heart rate (HR), cardiac output (Q), arterial pressure and intrapulmonic (mouth) pressure in four healthy, male subjects during simulated swimming (i.e., performing crawl movements with the legs continuously at a constant rhythm) with and without apnea (water temperature: 31 degrees C). We wanted to see whether the exercise tachycardia response persisted, or whether the HR decreased during apnea, just as in the "diving response" of diving animals. The SV and the Q fell to half its value in the control phase (i.e., swimming with normal breathing), when the 15-s apnea was performed at a high mouth-pressure; at low mouth-pressure, SV and Q hardly changed. These results are replicates of our previous findings in man during rest in air. Due to the light work, HR increased slightly from rest, but the exercise HR did not change much during apnea with or without high mouth-pressure. The results show that man tends to preserve his exercise HR response, and does not react as an oxygen-conserving animal, whether he is in air or in water under these conditions. However, man, as well as diving animals, may well have a "diving response" as an emergency reaction, which may not be restricted to only the water environment.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Facial cold receptors and the survival reflex "diving bradycardia" in man.

We measured heart rate (HR), stroke volume (SV), systemic arterial blood pressure (BP), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) in 7 healthy volunteers in response to face immersion in water with concomitant breath-holding at different lung volumes. The subjects were at rest in the prone position. During breath-holding at total lung capacity (TLC), baseline HR (70 to 75 beats/min) fell by 10% within fractions of a second, both in the control preimmersion state when the head was surrounded by room air, and when it was immersed in water of 33 degrees C. This response was associated with rises in MAP and in SV. Immersion of the face in 10 degrees C water while breath-holding, was associated with a strong, negative chronotropic effect (22% fall in HR), which developed within 10 s. Breath-holding at functional residual capacity (FRC) reduced HR substantially only in 10 degrees C water, and in contrast to that at TLC, the response was slowly developing with a latency of 10-15 s. All these reductions in HR were significant and accompanied by increases in BP and MAP. The strong, negative chronotropic effect of cold water was typically linked to a rise in SV. The study identified two temporal components of HR reduction to face immersion: a fast parasympathetic response dependent on the input from the high pressure baroreceptors, and a late response mediated, in all likelihood, by sympathetic efferent activity. Facial receptors sensitive to cold seem to be vital in the largest responses observed. The fast response to breath-holding with the face in water of neutral temperature was equal to that in air. Thus "diving bradycardia" is in fact a basic survival response independent of water.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Ventilatory responses to chemosensory stimuli in quadriplegic subjects.

We tested the hypothesis that interruption of motor traffic running down the spinal cord to respiratory muscle motoneurons suppresses the ventilatory response to increased chemical drive. We compared the hypoxic (HVR) and hypercapnic (HCVR) ventilatory responses, based on the rebreathing technique, before and during inspiratory flow-resistive loading in 17 quadriplegic patients with low cervical spinal cord transection and in 17 normal subjects. The ventilatory response was evaluated from minute ventilation (VE) and mouth occlusion pressure (P0.2) slopes on arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) or on end-tidal PCO2 (PACO2), and from absolute VE values at SaO2 80% or at PACO2 55 mmHg. We found no difference in the unloaded HVR or HCVR between the quadriplegic and normal subjects. In the loaded HVR, the delta VE/delta SaO2 slope tended to decrease similarly in both groups of subjects. The delta P0.2/delta SaO2 slope was shifted upwards in normal subjects, yielding a significantly higher P0.2 at a given SaO2. In contrast, this rise in the P0.2 level during loaded HVR was absent in quadriplegics. Loaded HCVR yielded qualitatively similar results in both groups of subjects; delta VE/delta PACO2 decreased and delta P0.2/delta PACO2 increased significantly. The results show that the ventilatory chemosensory responses were unsuppressed in quadriplegics, although they displayed a disturbance in load-compensation, as reflected by occlusion pressure, in hypoxia. We conclude that the descending drive to respiratory muscle motoneurons is not germane to the operation of the chemosensory reflexes.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1989

Opioid involvement in the perception of pain due to endurance exercise in trained man.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of endogenous opiates in modulating physical performance during dynamic exercise in conscious man. The plasma concentration of beta-endorphin (BEP) and of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) along with muscle pain (McGuill Pain Questionnaire) were assessed in 17 trained, male runners before and after running the longest possible distance within 12 min (i.e., the Cooper test). Each runner participated twice in the test (double-blind cross-over design), with a 1-week interval--with or without an injection of the opiate antagonist naloxone (0.8 mg i.v.). The average (SEM) distance reached was 3,198 (45) m in the naloxone test and 3,240 (38) m in the placebo test. The BEP increased significantly during the tests by a factor of 4.1 on naloxone and by 2.8 on placebo (from the normal resting averages of 1.7 and 2.1 pmol/l, respectively). The ACTH also increased significantly by a factor of 2.0 on naloxone and 2.5 on placebo (from the normal resting averages of 19.3 and 16.8 pmol/l, respectively). There were no significant differences between the naloxone and the placebo test with respect to the increments of BEP or ACTH by exercise. However, the perception of muscle pain was enhanced with naloxone. The increased perception of pain did not decrease the athletes ability to perform in terms of the distance run. We conclude that endogenous opiates are involved in the perception of pain associated with exhaustive exercise and may subserve psychological rather than physiological functions during exercise.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗

PubMed1989

Paralysis of respiratory muscles and hypoxic ventilatory chemoreflex.

We investigated the hypothesis that if the chest and abdominal respiratory muscles are paralyzed, the stimulatory hypoxic ventilatory response (HVR) would be less. We compared the HVR in low cervical cord-transected tetraplegics and in normal subjects during unloaded and mechanically loaded breathing. The results demonstrated that the tetraplegics' HVR was unsuppressed, although they displayed a disturbance in load compensation. We conclude that the descending drive to respiratory muscle motoneurons is not germane for the proper operation of the hypoxic chemoreflex.

Humans↗

PubMed1988

Estimation of peripheral chemoreceptor contribution to exercise hyperpnea in man.

Nine normal male subjects were studied at three levels of exercise (0, 40, and 80 W). Single vital capacity breath test was applied at rest and during exercise (phases 2 and 3). Minimum minute ventilation found within 4 breaths following the test was compared to the control value. Significant depression in minute ventilation was invariably observed. The minute ventilation was depressed more and more with increasing intensity of exercise. A significant difference was found between exercise and rest. However, the relative contribution of chemoreceptor activity remained the same 10-20% at all exercise levels. The magnitude of ventilatory depression (delta V resp) in phase 2 was larger than that in phase 3, when work rate increased to 80 W, both relative and absolute. A significant part of the exercise hyperpnea is due to peripheral chemoreceptor activity. The peripheral chemoreceptor activity is greater in phase 2 than in phase 3 at work rates of light to moderate intensity.

Adult↗

PubMed1987

Time-dependent effect of hypoxia on carotid body chemosensory function.

The time-dependent effects of hypoxia on the discharge rate carotid chemoreceptors were measured in anesthetized cats. Hypoxic exposure of two different durations were used: a short-term exposure (2-3 h) was used to measure the response of the same carotid chemoreceptors; and a long-term exposure (28 days at inspired PO2 of 70 Torr) to study carotid chemoreceptor properties in one group of cats relative to those of a control group. In the chronically hypoxic and control groups, determinations were made of the 1) steady-state responses to four levels of arterial PO2 (PaO2) at constant levels of arterial PCO2; 2) steady-state responses to acute hypercapnia during hyperoxia; and 3) maximal discharge rates during anoxia. We found that the acute responses of carotid chemoreceptor afferents to a given level of hypoxia (PaO2 = 30-40 Torr) did not significantly change within 2-3 h. After long-term exposure the carotid chemoreceptor responses to hypoxia significantly increased, with no significant changes in the hypercapnic response and in the maximal discharge rate during anoxia. We conclude that isocapnic hypoxia may not elicit a sufficient cellular response within 2-3 h in the cat carotid body to sensitize the O2 responsive mechanism, but hypoxia of longer duration will sensitize such a mechanism, thereby augmenting the chemosensory activity.

Acid-Base Equilibrium↗

PubMed1987

Cooling of ventral medullary intermediate areas and respiration in the cat.

We sought to address the contribution of the ventral medullary intermediate (I) areas to respiratory regulation in the close loop condition. The experiments were done on anesthetized, spontaneously breathing cats. The transient and steady-state neural respiratory output responses to longlasting cooling of the I areas and to vagotomy and hyperoxia performed during the cooling period were investigated. Cooling of the I areas resulted in an initial transient inhibitory response followed by respiratory output increase in the steady-state, provided other respiratory inputs were maintained intact. This investigation calls into question the crucial role of the I areas in regulation of respiration in the close loop condition.

Animals↗

PubMed1987

Apneustic respiration of ketamine is not antagonized by naloxone in the cat.

We investigated the hypothesis that ketamine-induced respiratory depression might be mediated through the opiate system that can be eliminated by naloxone. The steady-state respiratory responses to i.v. ketamine (2 mg.ml-1.kg-1) and their antagonism by naloxone (0.4 mg.ml-1.kg-1) were studied in anesthetized, paralyzed, vagotomized, and artificially ventilated cats. We found that ketamine depressed central respiratory output, assessed from the phrenic nerve electroneurogram, leading to apneustic breathing, which was not antagonized by naloxone. The apneustic respiratory depression by ketamine was thus mediated through mechanism other than the opiate system.

Animals↗

PubMed1986

Ventilatory responses to partial cardiopulmonary bypass at rest and exercise in dogs.

We determined the role of blood flow-induced changes in CO2 load to the lungs on ventilatory control, at rest and in the steady-state of electrically induced exercise, in the anesthetized dog. A portion of the vena caval blood was diverted to the descending aorta following "arterialization" through an extracorporeal gas exchanger. Ventilation typically decreased, both at rest and during exercise (i.e., at 2 different levels of mixed venous CO2), in proportion to the CO2 loss; arterial PCO2 was consequently regulated. There were concomitant increases of the pulmonary and peripheral vascular resistance. Bilateral cervical vagosympathectomy markedly attenuated the ventilatory response at rest, thus disrupting arterial PCO2 homeostasis, but not so during exercise. The results therefore provide evidence for and support the suggestion of CO2 flow-related hyperpnea both at rest and during muscular exercise.

Animals↗

PubMed1984

Dopaminergic efferent inhibition of carotid body chemoreceptors in chronically hypoxic cats.

The observations that the dopamine concentration of the carotid body and efferent inhibition of carotid chemoreceptors are increased during chronic hypoxia led to the hypothesis that the inhibition was due to the effect of an increased dopamine release by the activity of carotid sinus nerve (CSN) efferents. The hypothesis was tested by measuring the effect of dopamine receptor blockade on efferent inhibition of carotid chemosensory responses to graded levels of arterial O2 partial pressure in chronically hypoxic and normoxic cats. Chronically hypoxic cats were prepared by exposing the cats to 10% O2 at sea level for 30-34 days. Carotid chemosensory activity was first measured from a slip of an otherwise intact CSN. The measurements were then repeated after sectioning the remaining nerve trunk. The effect of sectioning the CSN provided the measure of efferent inhibition. In each group of cats the effects of sectioning the CSN with and without dopamine receptor blockade by haloperidol were also studied. CSN section augmented the chemosensory responses in the chronically hypoxic cats. Haloperidol, a dopamine antagonist, augmented the responses further, indicating that a part of the endogenous dopamine effect was independent of the CSN efferents. After haloperidol treatment CSN section did not influence the chemosensory responses. This study confirmed that the efferent inhibition significantly increased in the chronically hypoxic cats and demonstrated that haloperidol blocked the efferent inhibition, suggesting that the mechanism of the augmented inhibition is dopaminergic.

Animals↗

PubMed1984

Presynaptic neurotransmitter and chemosensory responses to natural stimuli.

We investigated the hypothesis that release of acetylcholine from presynaptic nerve terminals in the carotid body may be responsible for the excitation of carotid body chemoreceptors by hypoxia and hypercapnia and central ventilatory stimulation by hypercapnia. 4-Aminopyridine, an agent known to release presynaptic transmitters including acetylcholine, was administered intravenously (1 mg X kg-1) or by close intra-arterial injection to the carotid body (200 micrograms) in anesthetized cats. 4-Aminopyridine did not change the carotid chemosensory responses to any arterial PO2 or PCO2 levels studied, whereas it stimulated ventilation at all arterial PO2 and PCO2 levels. Atropine blocked the ventilatory effects of 4-aminopyridine but not the responses to hypoxia and hypercapnia. The results add to the evidence, which shows that the presynaptic cholinergic mechanism is not germane to carotid body chemoreception. Also, acetylcholine does not seem to mediate the central hypercapnic stimulation of ventilation.

4-Aminopyridine↗

PubMed1983

Aortic and carotid chemoreceptor responses to metabolic acidosis in the cat.

The effect of metabolic acidosis on the activity of aortic chemoreceptor afferents and their responses to hypoxia and hypercapnia were investigated in nine cats anesthetized with alpha-chloralose, paralyzed, and artificially ventilated. This effect was compared with that on simultaneously recorded activity of carotid chemoreceptor afferents in three separate cats. The activity of a single or paucifiber preparation of chemoreceptor afferents was recorded at five steady-state levels of arterial O2 tension (PaO2) at a constant arterial CO2 tension (PaCO2) and at three levels of PaCO2 during hyperoxia (PaO2 greater than 400 Torr) before and after slow injection of 1 M lactic acid in the average dose of 2.6 +/- 0.6 mmol X kg-1. On the average, arterial pH decreased from 7.445 +/- 0.046 to 7.222 +/- 0.041 at PaO2 of 98 +/- 5 Torr and PaCO2 of 34 +/- 1 Torr. This decrease in pHa during normoxia increased the aortic chemoreceptor activity from 0.8 +/- 0.2 to 1.4 +/- 0.3 imp X s-1. Metabolic acidosis increased the excitatory effect of hypoxia and hypercapnia. The stimulatory effect of CO2 for the same increase in arterial [H+] was greater than that of metabolic acidosis, indicating a dominant effect of molecular CO2 on aortic chemoreceptors. Simultaneous measurements of carotid and aortic chemoreceptor activities showed that their responses to metabolic acidosis were qualitatively similar. Quantitatively, the response of aortic chemoreceptor afferents was less than that of carotid chemoreceptors.

Acidosis↗

PubMed1983

Efferent inhibition of carotid body chemoreception in chronically hypoxic cats.

The effects of chronic hypoxia on carotid chemoreceptor afferent activity before and after sectioning the carotid sinus nerves (CSN) were studied in cats exposed to 10% O2 for 21-49 days in a chamber at sea level. For comparison, chronically normoxic cats at sea level were also studied. The cats were anesthetized, paucifiber preparation for the measurement of carotid chemosensory activity from a small slip of CSN was made, and their steady-state responses to 4-5 levels of arterial pressure of O2 (PaO2) at a constant PaCO2 and to 3-4 levels of PaCO2 in hyperoxia were measured before and after sectioning the CSN. The chemosensory response to hypoxia in the cats with intact CSN after chronic exposure to hypoxia was not reduced relative to the cats that breathed room air at sea level. Sectioning the CSN significantly augmented the chemosensory responses to hypoxia in all the chronically hypoxic but not significantly in the normoxic cats. The responses to moderate hypercapnia during hyperoxia were not significantly changed by cutting the CSN in either group. We conclude that there is a significant CSN efferent inhibition of chemosensory activity due to chronic hypoxia in the cat. This implies that without the efferent inhibition the hypoxic chemosensitivity is increased by chronic hypoxia.

Animals↗