Articles: function.
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Observational Study
Alterations in the Functional Connectivity of Frontal Lobe Networks Preceding Emergence Delirium in Children.
This study aimed to characterize the electroencephalogram in children who emerged with emergence delirium (ED) compared with children without ED using methods that involved the assessment of cortical functional connectivity. ⋯ ED is associated with arousal from an indeterminate state before the onset of sleep-like electroencephalogram patterns. Increased frontal lobe cortical functional connectivity observed in ED, immediately after the termination of sevoflurane anesthesia, will have important implications for the development of methods to predict ED, the design of preventative strategies, and efforts to better understand its pathophysiology.
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Osteopontin (OPN) is a phosphorylated acidic glycoprotein that can function as both an extracellular matrix molecule and a cytokine. Published data support that OPN is upregulated in surgical lung tissue samples of patients with COPD. The aim of this study was to determine the levels of OPN in sputum supernatants of patients with COPD and to investigate possible associations with mediators and cells involved in the inflammatory and remodeling process as well as with the extent of emphysema. ⋯ OPN levels are higher in patients with COPD compared with healthy subjects. OPN may play a role in the neutrophilic inflammation and in the pathogenesis of emphysema.
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Critical care medicine · Oct 2014
Lung-Targeted RNA Interference Against Angiopoietin-2 Ameliorates Multiple Organ Dysfunction and Death in Sepsis.
Angiopoietin-2, a protein secreted by stimulated endothelium and an antagonist of the endothelium-stabilizing receptor Tie2, contributes to the pathophysiology of septic multiple organ dysfunction. We tested the therapeutic potential of a pulmonary-endothelium-specific RNA interference-based angiopoietin-2 targeting strategy in sepsis. ⋯ The Tie2 antagonist angiopoietin-2 represents a promising target against sepsis-associated multiple organ dysfunction. A novel RNA interference therapeutic approach targeting gene expression in the pulmonary endothelium could be a clinically relevant pharmacological strategy to reduce injurious angiopoietin-2 synthesis.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Oct 2014
Dexmedetomidine provides neuroprotection: impact on ketamine-induced neuroapoptosis in the developing rat brain.
Ketamine and dexmedetomidine are increasingly used in combination in pediatric patients. This study examined the hypothesis that dexmedetomidine attenuated ketamine-induced neurotoxicity. ⋯ In conclusion, ketamine caused neuroapoptosis and impaired brain functions in the developing rat brain which can be effectively attenuated by dexmedetomidine. Dexmedetomidine alone was not neurotoxic to the developing brain.