Journal of applied physiology
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Spontaneous breathing has beneficial effects on the circulation, since negative intrathoracic pressure enhances venous return and increases cardiac stroke volume. We quantified the contribution of the respiratory pump to preserve stroke volume during hypovolemia in awake, young, healthy subjects. Noninvasive stroke volume, cardiac output, heart rate, and mean arterial pressure (Finometer) were recorded in 31 volunteers (19 women), 19-30 yr old, during normovolemia and hypovolemia (approximating 450- to 500-ml reduction in central blood volume) induced by lower-body negative pressure. ⋯ We have quantified the contribution of the respiratory pump to cardiac stroke volume and cardiac output in healthy volunteers during normovolemia and central hypovolemia. The positive hemodynamic effect of the respiratory pump was abolished by noninvasive, low-level positive-pressure ventilation. Compared with control-mode positive-pressure ventilation, spontaneous negative-pressure ventilation attenuated the fall in stroke volume by 30%.
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Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is characterized by lung inflammation and pulmonary edema, leading to arterial hypoxemia and death if the hypoxemia is severe. Strategies to correct hypoxemia have the potential to improve clinical outcomes in ARDS. The goal of this study was to evaluate the potential of hemoglobin modification as a novel therapy for ARDS-induced hypoxemia. ⋯ We concluded that increasing the oxygen affinity of hemoglobin using GBT1118 may be a novel therapy for treating hypoxemia associated with acute lung injury. NEW & NOTEWORTHY In this study, we show that GBT1118, a compound that increases hemoglobin affinity for oxygen, improves survival and oxygen saturation in a two-hit lung injury model of intratracheal LPS without causing tissue hypoxia. Modulation of hemoglobin oxygen affinity represents a novel therapeutic approach to treatment of acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome, conditions characterized by hypoxemia.
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Limb blood flow increases linearly with exercise intensity; however, invasive measurements of muscle microvascular blood flow during incremental exercise have demonstrated submaximal plateaus. We tested the hypotheses that 1) brachial artery blood flow (Q̇BA) would increase with increasing exercise intensity until task failure, 2) blood flow index of the flexor digitorum superficialis (BFIFDS) measured noninvasively via diffuse correlation spectroscopy would plateau at a submaximal work rate, and 3) muscle oxygenation characteristics (total-[heme], deoxy-[heme], and percentage saturation) measured noninvasively with near-infrared spectroscopy would demonstrate a plateau at a similar work rate as BFIFDS. Sixteen subjects (23.3 ± 3.9 yr, 170.8 ± 1.9 cm, 72.8 ± 3.4 kg) participated in this study. ⋯ Whereas muscle activation of the FDS increased until task failure, noninvasively measured indices of perfusive and diffusive muscle microvascular oxygen delivery demonstrated submaximal plateaus. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Invasive measurements of muscle microvascular blood flow during incremental exercise have demonstrated submaximal plateaus. We demonstrate that indices of perfusive and diffusive microvascular oxygen transport to skeletal muscle, measured completely noninvasively, plateau at submaximal work rates during incremental exercise, even though limb blood flow and muscle recruitment continued to increase.
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Traditional monitoring technologies fail to provide accurate or early indications of hypovolemia-mediated extremis because physiological systems (as measured by vital signs) effectively compensate until circulatory failure occurs. Hypovolemia is the most life-threatening physiological condition associated with circulatory shock in hemorrhage or sepsis, and it impairs one's ability to sustain physical exertion during heat stress. ⋯ Extensive experimental evidence employing acute reductions in central blood volume (using lower-body negative pressure, blood withdrawal, heat stress, dehydration) demonstrate that compensatory reserve provides the best indicator for early and accurate assessment for compromises in blood pressure, tissue perfusion, and oxygenation in resting human subjects. Engineering challenges exist for the development of a ruggedized wearable system that can measure signals from multiple sites, improve signal-to-noise ratios, be customized for use in austere conditions (e.g., battlefield, patient transport), and be worn during strenuous physical activity.
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In patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), substantial increases in genioglossus (GG) activity during hypopneas/apneas usually fail to restore normal airflow. We have previously suggested that sleep-induced alteration in tongue muscle coordination may explain this finding, as retractor muscle coactivation was reduced during sleep compared with wakefulness. The present study was undertaken to evaluate whether these alterations in dilator muscle activation during sleep play a role in the pathogenesis of OSA and whether coactivation of additional peripharyngeal muscles (non-GG muscles: styloglossus, geniohyoid, sternohyoid, and sternocleidomastoid) is also impaired during sleep. ⋯ NEW & NOTEWORTHY Pharyngeal obstruction during sleep may trigger genioglossus activity to levels substantially exceeding those observed during wakefulness, without ameliorating flow limitation. In contrast, other peripharyngeal muscles exhibit a much lower activity during sleep in both patients with obstructive sleep apnea and healthy subjects. Coordinated muscular synergy stabilizes the pharynx despite relatively low activity while awake, yet even higher genioglossal activity allows the pharynx to obstruct when simultaneous activity of other dilator muscles is inadequate during sleep.