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Experimental evaluation of the elastic determinants of myocardial function in vivo.

Shortening of myocardial fibers occurs following force development in those fibers. The extent, speed and timing of shortening are determined by kinetics and extent of force. However, shortening is also influenced by the elastance/viscosity of the muscle tissue, because that determines the coupling between force and shortening. In the in vivo dog heart, we estimated that coupling by measuring local myocardial force and fiber shortening independently under various conditions. We determined the effect of positive and negative inotropy (by intracoronary injection of dobutamine and acetylcholine, respectively), and of dysfunctional contraction produced by local ischemia/reperfusion and BDM. Under baseline and both positive and negative intropy, most shortening occurred during systole, and dobutamine increased the proportion of total shortening in early systole from 45.8 +/- 8.5% to 74.9 +/- 9.6%. During reperfusion following ischemia, shortening in early systole was markedly reduced to 16.5 +/- 2.9; BDM caused a similar reduction to 16.5 +/- 8.1. Most of the shortening occurred during early diastole (53.0 +/- 6.8 for reperfusion, and 54.0 +/- 10.3 for BDM). These effects were all reversible. It is concluded that energetic efficiency is greatly affected by the elastic properties coupling force and shortening. Thus appropriate analysis of muscle function must take into account the changeable elastic properties of the tissue-both force and shortening, and their interaction must be considered.

Algorithms↗

Canine X-linked muscular dystrophy: morphologic lesions.

Gross pathologic lesions and light microscopic and ultrastructural features of skeletal muscle lesions in canine X-linked muscular dystrophy (CXMD) were studied in dogs from 3 months to 6 years of age. Necrosis and regeneration were present at all ages, but were most prominent in the youngest dogs studied. Increased intracytoplasmic calcium, as evidenced by positive alizarin red S staining, was associated with fiber necrosis, but was also seen in small numbers of otherwise normal fibers. Progressive changes included development of severe fiber size variation, endomysial and perimysial fibrosis, prominent cytoplasmic disorganization, internalization of myonuclei, mitochondrial proliferation, mild fat infiltration, and alterations in the fiber-type pattern. The most consistent early ultrastructural changes were dilatation of the sarcoplasmic reticulum and focal subsarcolemmal areas of degeneration. Convincing sarcolemmal defects were not found. Z-band streaming was present at all ages, and Z-band duplication and nemaline rods were seen in older dogs. Evidence for abnormal regeneration was found in the oldest dog, and was associated with extensive fibrosis. These findings document the progression of lesions in CXMD, and illustrate the profound alterations in fiber organization and fiber type that may occur in late stages of dystrophin-deficient muscular dystrophy.

Aging↗

Biochemical and histochemical alterations following acute soman intoxication in the rat.

Rats injected with a nonlethal acute dose (100 micrograms/kg, sc) of soman (pinacolyl methylphosphonofluoridate) exhibited signs of anticholinesterase toxicity beginning at 5-15 min with increasing severity and lasting for 4-6 hr. Generalized tremors and seizure activity indicated comparatively greater involvement of the central cholinergic system than peripheral neuromuscular effects. During peak toxicity, all the brain regions tested showed more than 95% inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity. The cortex area was maximally affected (99% inhibition). Among skeletal muscles, soleus AChE was most severely affected (94%) and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) the least (72%). Inhibition of EDL AChE occurred at a much slower rate than in brain and other muscles. Significant recovery of AChE activity was seen by 48-72 hr after soman treatment in both brain and skeletal muscles. By Day 7, recovery was virtually complete in skeletal muscles but not in brain, although significant recovery had occurred by this time. Muscle fiber necrosis developed within 6 hr in the soleus and diaphragm, while no necrotic fibers were found in the EDL. The 16 S AChE molecular form showed the fastest recovery of the AChE isozymes in all three muscles. Full recovery was seen after 7 days in soleus and was increased to greater than control activity in diaphragm and EDL. The inhibition pattern of butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) activity was similar to that described for AChE activity, but the recovery was comparatively faster. Carboxylesterase activity in plasma was decreased to less than 10% of control within 1 hr and recovered to 53% of control within 24 hr. No significant inhibition was seen in hepatic carboxylesterase activity. It can be concluded that soman-induced acute toxicity is directly related to the rate and degree of AChE inhibition. A significant amount of soman binds to non-AChE enzymes with serine sites such as BuChE and carboxylesterases.

Acetylcholinesterase↗

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor disrupts organization of thalamocortical somatosensory barrels during development.

To further investigate the role of the transiently expressed serotonin (5-HT) transporter (5-HTT) in the development of thalamic fibers projecting to cortical barrels and the potential developmental changes in neuronal circuitry caused by a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), paroxetine (5 mg/kg, twice daily, s.c.) or saline was administered to rat pups from postnatal day 0 (P0) to P8. Pups were perfused on P8 for 5-HT immunostaining (-im) to confirm the 5-HT uptake blockade, and 5-HTT-im and phospholipase C-beta1 (PLC-beta1)-im to label the thalamic afferents to barrels and barrel cells respectively. Paroxetine treatment completely blocked 5-HT uptake into the thalamocortical fibers as indicated by the negative 5-HT-im in cortical barrel areas. Organization of thalamic afferents to barrels, indicated by 5-HTT-im or PLC-beta1, was altered in paroxetine-treated pups in the following manners: (1) segregation of thalamocortical fibers was partially disrupted and thalamocortical fibers corresponding to anterior snouts and row A mystacial vibrissae were fused; (2) sizes of the unfused thalamocortical fiber patches related to the long caudal vibrissae in rows B, C, D and E were significantly decreased without changes in the brain weights and cortical areas representing these vibrissae; and (3) thalamocortical fibers corresponding to C4 and D4 vibrissae tended to be closer to each other along the arc while the relative positions of thalamocortical fibers related to the rest of the vibrissae were normal. Our study demonstrated that 5-HTT plays an important role in the refinement, but not the formation, of barrel-like clusters of thalamocortical fibers and that the development of neural circuitry in rodent somatosensory cortex was affected by exposure to a SSRI during thalamocortical synaptic formation.

Age Factors↗

Peripheral vascular resistances during total left heart bypass with an oscillated blood flow.

For development aimed at a totally implantable type ventricular assist device (VAD), the vibrating flow pump (VFP) has been developed at Tohoku University. A transcutaneous energy transmission system (TETS) using amorphous fibers was developed to power the totally implantable VAD system. The VFP works at a high frequency compared to that of a natural heart of a biological system. It is a frequency of 10-50 Hz. In this research, animal experiments with left heart bypass were carried out with healthy adult goats. For comparison between nonpulsatile flow and oscillated flow, a rotary pump (RP) and the VFP were used in the experiments. For the achievement of total left heart bypass, left ventricular approaches were carried out, and blood was pumped from the left ventricle to the descending aorta. Adequate support of the left heart was provided by both pumps. In terms of the results, the vascular resistances tended to decrease during the use of both pumps during 100% bypass driving. When we compared these pumps at the same flow rate, the resistances during RP driving were significantly smaller than those during VFP driving. These results may suggest that the influences of the VFP upon the peripheral vessels may be relatively small compared to those of the RP. This may be an important result when a stable hemodynamic condition is required during artificial circulation. The VFP was considered as a candidate for a totally implantable VAD as a result.

Animals↗

Principles and applications of laser lithotripsy: experience with the holmium laser lithotrite.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: The initial clinical experience with holmium laser energy applied for endoscopic lithotripsy was positive. The current study is presented as a contrast to the preliminary findings and as a means of defining the clinical usefulness of this specific laser lithotrite. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Calculi were treated endoscopically with the holmium laser lithotriptor and data was gathered prospectively. The youngest patient in the series was a thirteen-month--old who underwent percutaneous therapy, while the youngest patient on whom a retrograde endoscopic procedure was performed was a six-year old male patient with a proximal ureteral calculus. Lower water density, quartz fibers delivery systems were developed and employed. Fiber diameters ranged from 200-1000 micrograms. The smaller fibers were employed most commonly through the actively deflectable, flexible endoscope to facilitate treatment with maximum deflection. Larger fibers, with their much larger vaporization bubbles, were used through rigid endoscopes to debulk large stone burdens. RESULTS: A total of 210 patients with 249 calculi were treated. All major stone compositions were treated with minimal variation in laser efficiency. All but three of 109 ureteral calculi were treated in a retrograde fashion to completion (i.e., "stone free") in one sitting (97%). One-hundred thirteen renal stone burdens were treated with the holmium laser; 99 of these were treated solely in a retrograde fashion. Of the latter, 79 (80%) required only a single session. The combination of the actively deflectable, flexible ureteroscope and the 200-micrograms fiber facilitated treatment to completion of 38 to 45 lower-pole caliceal calculi (85%). The success of ureteropyeloscopic lithotripsy with the holmium laser for all intrarenal calculi, including staged or second sitting for large complex stone burdens, was 90%. Sixteen percutaneous procedures (13 renal and 3 ureteral calculi) employed the holmium laser as an endoscopic lithotrite. All 28 patients with large bladder calculi with a mean diameter of 41.8 mm were treated to completion in one sitting. Complications from holmium laser energy, including postoperative ureteral stricture disease, were not encountered in this series. CONCLUSIONS: Holmium laser energy is uniquely suited to treat urinary calculi safely regardless of stone size, location, or metabolic composition, and has particular efficacy in complex clinical presentations.

Child↗

An experimental model combining microdialysis with electrophysiology, histology, and neurochemistry for exploring mechanisms of secondary damage in spinal cord injury: effects of potassium.

An experimental model for characterizing effects of agents suspected to cause damage secondary to spinal cord injury is presented. Microdialysis was used to administer candidate damaging agents and to sample the release of other substances in response to administered agents. Damage was assessed by monitoring the amplitudes of evoked potentials during candidate administration and by postmortem histologic examination. This approach enabled the correlation of electrophysiologic, histologic, and neurochemical parameters in the same experiment. Potassium was chosen as a candidate damaging agent, because (1) in high extracellular concentrations it destroys neurons and (2) its extracellular concentration rises substantially following impact injury to the spinal cord. A technique using parallel administering and collecting microdialysis fibers was developed to estimate the in vivo concentration of K+ outside the administering fiber. Administration of 100 mM KCl, 50 mM K2HPO4, or 100 mM potassium glucuronate in artificial cerebrospinal fluid blocked electrical conduction and destroyed cell bodies. Release of the neurotransmitter amino acids aspartate, glutamate, glycine, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and the possible neurotransmitter taurine were dramatically increased by administration of 100 mM KCl. Levels of non-neurotransmitter amino acids increased to lesser degrees. Impairment of conduction, destruction of cell bodies, and release of excitotoxins were all consistent with elevated K+ serving as a secondary damaging agent in spinal cord injury.

Amino Acids↗

Embryonic taste buds develop in the absence of innervation.

It has been hypothesized that taste buds are induced by contact with developing cranial nerve fibers late in embryonic development, since descriptive studies indicate that during embryonic development taste cell differentiation occurs concomitantly with or slightly following the advent of innervation. However, experimental evidence delineating the role of innervation in taste bud development is sparse and equivocal. Using two complementary experimental approaches, we demonstrate that taste cells differentiate fully in the complete absence of innervation. When the presumptive oropharyngeal region was taken from a donor axolotl embryo, prior to its innervation and development of taste buds, and grafted ectopically on to the trunk of a host embryo, the graft developed well-differentiated taste buds. Although grafts were invaded by branches of local spinal nerves, these neurites were rarely found near ectopic taste cells. When the oropharyngeal region was raised in culture, numerous taste buds were generated in the complete absence of neural elements. Taste buds in grafts and in explants were identical to those found in situ both in terms of their morphology and their expression of calretinin and serotonin immunoreactivity. Our findings indicate that innervation is not necessary for complete differentiation of taste receptor cells. We propose that taste buds are either induced in response to signals from other tissues, such as the neural crest, or arise independently through intrinsic patterning of the local epithelium.

Ambystoma↗

A clearance model of inhaled man-made fibers in rat lungs.

A clearance model of inhaled man-made fibers (MMFs) was developed, and the calculated fiber numbers and dimensions were compared with the experimental ones using a glass fiber (GF), ceramic fiber (RF1) and two potassium octatitanate whiskers (PT1, TW). If the translocation rate by macrophages is constant and the effect of dissolution and disintegration can be ignored, the fiber number is expected to decrease exponentially with time. In the experimental study, however, the fiber number did not always decrease exponentially. In the case of RF1, the fiber number decreased almost exponentially and the diameter decreased linearly with the time. The clearance rate constant of GF during 3 to 6 months after the end of one-month exposure was greater than that during 1 to 3 months. On the contrary, the clearance rate constants of PT1 and TW during 1 to 6 months were greater than next six months. The diameter and the length of GF did not change significantly. The fiber length of PT1 tends to become longer with time although the diameter did not change significantly. Our theoretical model gives a satisfactory fit to these experimental results.

Administration, Inhalation↗

[Muscle fiber involvement in Lowe syndrome].

Although it is well known fact that patients with Lowe syndrome have a delay in developmental milestones, muscle hypotonia and weakness, no detailed pathologic study to explain the muscle symptoms is available. In two patients with Lowe syndrome aged 22 years and 14 years, respectively, the biopsied biceps brachii muscles showed no significant morphologic changes except for small caliber fibers measuring almost 1/3 of the normal size. Although the muscle fiber type distribution is normal with no increase in undifferentiated type 2 C fibers, there remains a possibility of a certain defective neural influence on developing muscle fibers or metabolic defect. The muscle fiber immaturity is probably responsible for muscle weakness and hypotonia in this syndrome.

Adolescent↗

Time course of neocortical graft innervation by AChE-positive fibers.

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE)-containing axons are the only extrinsic fibers projecting to the adult cortex that readily innervate embryonic cortical grafts up to normal densities without prior manipulation of the host brain. In the present paper we compare the time course of AChE-positive fiber innervation in the normal mouse cortex with that seen in neocortical grafts by using AChE histochemistry as a marker for presumed cholinergic fibers. Donor tissue was taken at two different stages of gestation; before (embryonic days 12-14, or E12-14) and after (E17-19) the cortical plate is formed. Three features are analyzed: 1) the distribution and density of AChE-containing fibers, 2) the presence of AChE-positive cells, and 3) the distribution of butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE)-positive elements. The modification of Koelle's method used for AChE localization showed AChE-positive fibers in developing parietal neocortex as early as E18-19. The distribution of AChE-labeled fibers in the normal cortex achieves the mature pattern by the end of the third postnatal week. The rate of innervation of transplants takes longer and depends on the age of the donor tissue. Tissue from both donor ages first showed AChE-positive fibers crossing the host-transplant interface by 7 days postsurgery. E17-19 tissue approaches the density of AChE-positive fibers in the normal adult cortex by 15 weeks after grafting, whereas the E12-14 donor tissue does not approach normal innervation densities until after 20 weeks. While the degree of innervation in the E12-14 donor tissue never equalled the surrounding adult cortex within our range of survival times, a few of the E17-19 transplants did develop densities equal to that of the host cortex. AChE-positive cells are first detectable in the normal parietal cortex on the day of birth, peak by the end of the first postnatal week, and then decline in number to the low levels of the mature cortex after the second postnatal week. Grafted cells in E12-14 tissue stain lightly for AChE by 7 days postsurgery, achieve maximal densities by 3 weeks, and become markedly reduced in number and density by 10 weeks. Cells in E17-19 tissue are lightly reactive by 7 days postsurgery, reach maximal numbers by 2 weeks postsurgery, and become similar in number and density to those seen in the mature cortex after 4 weeks. The appearance of BuChE-reactive blood vessels, neurons, and glia in both normal development and in the transplants is described and discussed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Acetylcholinesterase↗

The prenatal development of the anterior commissure in hamsters: pioneer fibers lead the way.

The prenatal development of the anterior commissure (AC) was studied in 130 hamster embryos with ages varying from E12 to E16 (E1 = day of conception and E16 = P1 = day of birth) by use of carbocyanine crystals (DiI, DiA and/or DiO) implanted into different rostrocaudal segments of the paleocortex. On E12 and E13, many AC axons were seen with tortuous trajectories pointing towards the midline (precrossing stage). On E13.5 and E14, most AC fibers abutted the midsagittal plane, led by a few pioneer axons that grew as far as 500 microns ahead into the opposite hemisphere (crossing stage). Pioneers were present in most brains at these ages irrespective of the rostrocaudal position of the carbocyanine crystal. Somata of pioneer axons could be identified by retrograde labelling. They were characteristically immature neurons, located either in the olfactory peduncle or in the superficial layers of the olfactory cortex. On E14.5 and E15, pioneers and followers were seen close to the targets and on E15.5 and E16 interstitial budding occurred, and arborization started within the olfactory peduncle and the paleocortex (postcrossing stage). If the existence of pioneer fibers represents something more than a stochastic phenomenon, their appearance in the developing AC may reflect the operation of signals at the midline and/or in the contralateral hemisphere that either accelerate the growth of pioneers, or decelerate the growth of followers.

Animals↗

Axolemmal differentiation in myelinated fibers of rat peripheral nerves.

In developing rat peripheral fibers, nodal specialization appears early, prior to myelin compaction, and is first detected as a junction between the axon and the overhanging Schwann cell process characterized by a uniformly wide (approximately 18 nm) intercellular gap containing a patchy dense substance and a cytoplasmic undercoating subjacent to the axolemma. The gap width is rather consistent but the axolemmal undercoating is more variable and lower in density than that found at more mature nodes of Ranvier, and it is also highly variable in length, ranging from 0.5 to 3 micron. The outermost Schwann cell layer is usually prominent with a large volume of cytoplasm and many organelles. In freeze-fracture replicas, modal specializations are characterized by accumulations of large (approximately 10 nm) particles in the axolemma, especially the E face, but immature nodes generally have a lower particle concentration than mature nodes. No node-like particle aggregates have been found in axons not intimately associated with Schwann cells. Mature paranodal axon-Schwann cell junctions are usually formed first by the loops closest to the node and are characterized by a 2-3 nm gap between the apposed membranes, periodic intercellular densities (transverse bands) in the gap and cisternae flattened against the junctional Schwann cell membrane. The loops further removed from the node display a wider gap containing irregularly spaced or diffuse intercellular densities, or none. Mature junctions appear relatively late in the rat, and it is not unusual to find developing nodes with several Schwann cell loops present that do not indent the axolemma significantly and are not associated with the paracrystalline pattern characteristic of the mature junctional axolemma. In such instances, the nodal particle aggregates do not have sharply circumscribed boundaries. The majority of the developing nodes are asymmetric with one paranodal segment more mature than the other.

Animals↗

Transient midline raphe glial structure in the developing rat.

A major glial structure is present during development within the midline raphe of the midbrain, hindbrain, and cervical spinal cord of the rat. It is composed of great numbers of glial cell bodies lying immediately ventral to the cerebral ventricular system and the large radial processes extending from these cells toward the ventral surface of the brain roughly within the midsagittal plane. There is also a smaller group of glial cells on the dorsal surface of the aqueduct and the central canal whose processes extend to the dorsal surface of the brain. The entire structure exhibits an intensely positive immunoreactivity with the antibody to the S-100 protein, a nervous-system-specific protein found primarily in the cytoplasm of astrocytes. This immunoreactivity makes possible a clear visualization of the extent, magnitude, and continuity of this structure from at least embryonic day 15, the first age examined, until postnatal days 7-8, when it is no longer visible by this technique. This glial structure has several prominent morphological characteristics. During prenatal and early postnatal development the fibers forming the ventral aspect of the structure in the midbrain and hindbrain are formed into two parallel plates on either side of the midline with S-100-negative tissue between the plates. As development progresses, S-100-positive fibers are continually added so that the plates become thicker at the expense of the nonstaining intervening area. By postnatal day 4 only a single midline plate of fibers is visible, occupying the entire midline raphe. In the region of the pontine flexure the entire structure takes on a distinctly pleated configuration. This fact produces a curious "sine wave" appearance when the plane of section crosses these vertical pleats. At postnatal day 5 the structure begins to disappear, and it is no longer visible by 7-8 days postnatal. This glial structure does not stain with antisera to glial fibrillary acidic protein, a protein associated with fibrous astrocytes, or routine cell stains such as cresyl violet. With these techniques the raphe area appears essentially devoid of identifiable cellular elements.

Animals↗

Fiber-optic laser-Doppler anemometer microscope applied to the cerebral microcirculation in rats.

We have applied our developed fiber-optic laser-Doppler anemometer microscope (FLDAM) for the study of the cerebral microcirculation in the rat. The red cell velocity in single pial microvessels was successfully measured through a closed cranial window for the vessel diameter range from 7.8 to 230 microns. The temporal resolution of the FLDAM was sufficiently high to detect the pulsation in the arterioles. Arterio-venous distributions of the temporal mean red cell velocity and wall shear rate are also described.

Animals↗

In vitro and in vivo expression of alpha 7 integrin and desmin define the primary and secondary myogenic lineages.

Skeletal muscle fibers form during two periods of development and differ biochemically, functionally and in their morphology. Primary fibers develop in the rat hindlimb during Days 14 to 16 of embryogenesis. These fibers are subsequently surrounded by secondary fibers that eventually constitute the bulk of muscle mass in the limbs. We have used the expression of the alpha 7 muscle laminin binding integrin (Song et al., J. Cell Biol. 117, 643-657, 1992) and the intermediate filament protein desmin to identify myogenic cells at distinct stages of development both in vitro and in vivo. The phenotypes of these cells, determined by immunofluorescence microscopy, discriminate two lineages and indicate that the development of primary and secondary muscle fibers is regulated by multiple mechanisms. The cells which compose the primary myogenic lineage are derived from a population of precursor cells that is in part present in the Day 12 embryo limb bud and which do not express either alpha 7 integrin or desmin. These precursor cells develop into cells that express desmin, but not alpha 7, and which subsequently mature into replicating myoblasts that are competent to undergo terminal differentiation. This maturation process requires the in vivo environment of the Day 13 embryo limb. The alpha 7 integrin and slow myosin heavy chain are first expressed in primary muscle cells well after the onset of terminal differentiation. Some cells that give rise to secondary muscle fibers also are present in the Day 12 embryo hindlimb. The precursors of secondary fibers will develop into cells which express either alpha 7 integrin or desmin and subsequently into replicating myoblasts that express both proteins. Upon terminal differentiation of secondary myoblasts there is an increase in the expression of both alpha 7 integrin and desmin. The temporal regulation of expression of these proteins indicates that the environment of the limb plays a role in the maturation of precursors of both lineages. At least two roles of alpha 7 integrin during myogenesis are related to its association with beta 1 integrin and its function as a laminin receptor. Laminin selectively maintains the proliferation of secondary myoblasts and modulates their shape and mobility in vitro. This responsiveness of secondary myoblasts to laminin corresponds to the time when laminin is a major component of the extracellular matrix, when there is an expansion of the population of secondary myoblasts, and when the alpha 7 integrin is expressed on secondary myoblasts in vivo.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗

Expression of type-specific MHC isoforms in rat intrafusal muscle fibers.

Myosin heavy chain (MHC) expression by intrafusal fibers was studied by immunocytochemistry to determine how closely it parallels MHC expression by extrafusal fibers in the soleus and tibialis anterior muscles of the rat. Among the MHC isoforms expressed in extrafusal fibers, only the slow-twitch MHC of Type 1 extrafusal fibers was expressed along much of the fibers. Monoclonal antibodies (MAb) specific for this MHC bound to the entire length of bag2 fibers and the extracapsular region of bag1 fibers. The fast-twitch MHC isoform strongly expressed by bag2 and chain fibers had an epitope not recognized by MAb to the MHC isoforms characteristic of developing muscle fibers or the three subtypes (2A, 2B, 2X) of Type 2 extrafusal fibers. Therefore, intrafusal fibers may express a fast-twitch MHC that is not expressed by extrafusal fibers. Unlike extrafusal fibers, all three intrafusal fiber types bound MAb generated against mammalian heart and chicken limb muscles. The similarity of the fast-twitch MHC of bag2 and chain fibers and the slow-tonic MHC of bag1 and bag2 fibers to the MHC isoforms expressed in avian extrafusal fibers suggests that phylogenetically primitive MHCs might persist in intrafusal fibers. Data are discussed relative to the origin and regional regulation of MHC isoforms in intrafusal and extrafusal fibers of rat hindlimb muscles.

Aging↗

Left heart bypass using the oscillated blood flow with totally implantable vibrating flow pump.

Aiming at a totally implantable ventricular assist device (VAD), a vibrating flow pump (VFP) was developed in Tohoku University. A transcutaneous energy transmission system (TETS) using an amorphous fiber was developed for the totally implantable VAD system. The VFP works with a higher frequency than the natural heart of a biological system, a frequency of 10-50 Hz. In this research, animal experiments on left heart bypass were performed with healthy goats. Blood from the apex of the left ventricle was received and was sent to the aorta so that an adequate supporting effect of the left heart was provided. In particular, the depression effect of the left ventricle was obvious. As a result, sufficient artificial heart flow was provided. For a totally implantable type VAD, left heart bypass of almost 100% may become necessary in some situations. Therefore, apex approaches of left heart bypass may be desirable. From an anatomical consideration, an apex of the heart is suitable for the VFP of this totally implantable type. In the left heart bypass for which the apex of the heart was used, an almost 100% bypass was possible. This is a requirement that is important when waiting for recovery of sufficient cardiac function. It is also important that left heart circulation is maintained fully by an artificial heart of the complete implantation type. The VFP was considered to be useful as a totally implantable type artificial heart from the results.

Animals↗