Biomedical subjects

R D Mainwaring

Publications and source records attributed to R D Mainwaring.

40 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed1986

The effect of heart rate on in utero left ventricular output in the fetal sheep.

The effect of heart rate on left ventricular output was examined in seven fetal lambs at ages of 128 to 140 gestational days. The fetuses had been surgically instrumented at least 4 days previously with an ascending aortic flow probe, left ventricular dimension transducers, and left and right atrial pacing electrodes. Natural variations in heart rate of the lambs taken as a group correlated positively with left ventricular output, and negatively with ventricular end-diastolic dimension and stroke volume (P less than 0.0001). Rate did not affect output with right atrial pacing. With left atrial pacing, it correlated negatively with output (P less than 0.0001). At both pacing sites, rate correlated negatively with end-diastolic dimension and stroke volume (P less than 0.0001). The introduction of a longer interval during each pacing rate circumvented the rate-related changes in dimension and allowed the ventricle to fill to the same end-diastolic dimension. The systole at the end of the longer interval had a greater stroke volume than the preceding systoles. The faster the preceding paced rate, the greater was the stroke volume (P less than 0.0001). This study demonstrates that experimentally induced variations in heart rate produce changes in end-diastolic volume and contractility which prominently affect stroke volume. Over a broad range of rates, however, the effect of rate on left ventricular output is either negative or absent. With naturally occurring rate changes, there are additional changes in contractility and venous return which affect stroke volume. These combine to produce a positive relation between heart rate and left ventricular output. These effects of heart rate on output are qualitatively similar to those described for the adult animal.

Animals↗

PubMed1985

Hormonal role of adenosine in maintaining patency of the ductus arteriosus in fetal lambs.

The hypothesis that endogenously released adenosine plays an important role in maintaining patency of the fetal lamb ductus arteriosus was tested. The design of the study was (1) to determine the effect, if any, of exogenous adenosine on blood flow through the ductus arteriosus and (2) to evaluate the relationship among the partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood, circulating endogenous plasma adenosine concentration, and the rate of blood flow through the ductus. When exogenous adenosine (5 mumoles) was administered during oxygen-induced ductal constriction, ductal blood flow increased from 101 +/- 6 ml/min to 153 +/- 4 ml/min (p less than 0.01). When fetal blood adenosine concentrations were measured during nonventilation and ventilation with 100% oxygen, endogenous adenosine concentrations fell to less than one-half of the preventilation levels, i.e., from 1.12 +/- 0.17 to 0.49 +/- 0.03 microM (p less than 0.01). Finally, when fetal lambs were ventilated with increasing concentrations of oxygen (0%, 10%, 20%, 60%, and 100%) and measurements obtained simultaneously at each level, there was a significant monoexponential relationship among the rise in PO2, the fall in plasma adenosine concentration, and the decrease in ductal blood flow. These data suggest that: (1) adenosine is a potent vasodilator of the lamb ductus arteriosus during oxygen-induced vasoconstriction; (2) fetal endogenous plasma adenosine levels fall significantly when PO2 is increased; and (3) the fall in adenosine concentrations parallels a decrease in ductal blood flow. The findings suggest that the endogenous vasodilator adenosine plays an important role in maintaining ductal patency in utero.

Adenosine↗

PubMed1985

The role of adenosine in the regulation of coronary blood flow in newborn lambs.

Adenosine is a metabolic vasodilator of the coronary vessels in the adult. Whether it plays a similar role in the regulation of coronary blood flow (CBF) in the newborn is not known. We evaluated changes in adenosine release during periods of decreased oxygen supply (hypoxia) and increased oxygen demand (dobutamine infusions). In anesthetized open-chest lambs (age 1 to 8 days), aortic and coronary sinus adenosine concentrations, circumflex CBF, and myocardial oxygen consumption (MVO2) were measured. Adenosine was assayed by high-performance liquid chromatography, and the release of adenosine was calculated as the product of the aortic-coronary sinus plasma level difference and CBF in milliliters per minute per 100 gm myocardial tissue. Control values were obtained when the lambs were ventilated with 60% oxygen. In the first series of experiments, hypoxemia resulted in an increase in CBF from 120 +/- 5 to 171 +/- 8 ml/min/100 gm (p less than 0.01). This was associated with sixfold increase in adenosine release. In a second set of experiments the intravenous infusion of dobutamine resulted in parallel increases in MVO2 and CBF. Concomitantly, adenosine release increased by fivefold. There were significant linear relationships between MVO2 and CBF (r = 0.96; p less than 0.01), MVO2 and adenosine release (r = 0.69; p less than 0.002), and adenosine release and CBF (r = 0.71; p less than 0.002). These data support the hypothesis that adenosine may play an important role in the regulation of CBF in the newborn lamb.

Adenosine↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Secundum-type atrial septal defects with failure to thrive in the first year of life.

This article summarizes the case histories of six infants who had isolated secundum-type atrial septal defects (ASDs) and presented with failure to thrive in the first year of life. Patients underwent operative closure of their ASD with the expectation that this would improve their feeding and growth pattern. Five of the six children demonstrated little or no improvement in symptoms following operation. Each of these five patients have subsequently shown signs of developmental delay. Our experience with this group suggests that failure to thrive associated with a secundum ASD will frequently have a noncardiac basis.

Child Development↗