Determination of the effects of pulmonary arterial hypertension and therapy on the cardiovascular system of rats by impedance cardiography

Aim To evaluate the effects of bosentan, sildenafil, and combined therapy on the cardiovascular system using impedance cardiography (ICG) in rats with monocrotaline (MCT)-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Methods Seventy male Wistar-albino rats were randomized into five groups. A single dose of MCT was given to all rats, except to the control group. After 4 weeks, bosentan, sildenafil, and combined treatment was started and lasted for 3 weeks. The last group that developed PAH did not receive any medication. Echocardiographic evaluation was performed to determine the PAH development. Thoracic fluid content index (TFCI), stroke volume index (SI), heart rate (HR), cardiac index (CI), and myocardial contractility index (IC) were determined. All procedures were performed at the baseline and after 4 and 7 weeks. Results Echocardiographic parameters showed that the all MCT-injected rats developed PAH. There were no significant inter- and intra-group differences in TFCI, SI, and IC (P > 0.05), but at the 7th week, CI value in the sildenafil- treated PAH rats was significantly higher than in other groups and HR of PAH rats with combined therapy was significantly lower than in other groups. Conclusion PAH did not have an effect on LV function of rats, or if it did, the effect was compensated by physiological processes. Also, sildenafil treatment deteriorated the LV cardiac index

The Effect of Different Magnetic Field Intensities on Regeneration at Injured Peripheral Rat Nerves

WOS: 000262383600011Objective: We investigated the effects of different intensities of sinusoidal magnetic fields of daily life exposures on the peripheral nerve regeneration daily life exposure. The effects of magnetic field (50 Hz frequency and 1, 2, 3 mT intensities) treatment on sciatic nerve regeneration were studied in a model of crush injury of the sciatic nerve of rats. Material and Methods: Prior to crush injury, compound muscle action potentials were recorded for all rats. Then, the sciatic nerve was compressed for 15 sec with a jewelers forceps (no: 5). One rat group was kept as control and the remaining were assigned as 1, 2 and 3 mT magnetic field treatment groups. The magnetic fields 1, 2 and 3 mT were applied to 30 rats for 4 hours per day for a week using Helmholtz coil systems. The control group was included in the system for 4 hours per day for a week while the system was turned off. Results: In terms of nerve regeneration, 3- and 7-days treatments of different magnetic field intensities had no statistically significant effect on amplitude and conduction velocity of compound muscle action potential. Conclusions: The intensities and frequency of magnetic fields used in this study had no effect on conduction and excitability of nerves and consequently did not influence the nerve regeneration. We could not prove a neuroprotective effect of magnetic field in rat crush injury model using electrophysiological method

Effects of Trans-Cinnamaldehyde on Reperfused Ischemic Skeletal Muscle and the Relationship to Laminin

Purpose Ischemia-reperfusion (I-R) injury is a serious problem caused by vascular trauma, tourniquet use and/or compartment syndrome. Studies have reported that skeletal muscle function is impaired due to the lower extremity I-R injury. There are insufficient studies on the treatment methods used for the recovery of dysfunction. This study is designed to investigate the effects of trans-cinnamaldehyde (TCA), a volatile oil of cinnamon structure, on the contractile dysfunction due to I-R injury of rat extensor-digitorum-longus (EDL) muscle. Materials and methods Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups. Except for the animals in the control group, all animals received saline (3-ml/kg) or TCA solution (30-mg/kg) which was administered orally three times with an 8-h interval before ischemia. After 24-hours, experimental groups were subjected to 3-h of lower extremity ischemia followed by 5-h reperfusion period. Then, the compound muscle action potential (CMAP) and mechanical activity of muscle were recorded using the standard electro-biophysical techniques. Results There was a decrease in the maximum contractile force in I-R group compared to the control group (p  0.05). Conclusion We concluded that TCA has a potential protective effect with antioxidant effects against I-R injury and may maintain laminin levels