The Journal of surgical research
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Previous studies have reported that female gender confers cardioprotection against ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, partly because estrogen activates phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/Akt (PI3K/Akt) pathway. We have previously proven that cardioprotection of sevoflurane postconditioning is mediated by PI3K/Akt pathway in male rats. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the cardioprotection of sevoflurane postconditioning is influenced by gender, and the role of PI3K/Akt pathway in such gender difference. ⋯ It is concluded that female rat hearts showed greater resistance to I/R injury, and sevoflurane postconditioning developed cardioprotection in male rats but not in female rats. The PI3K/Akt pathway may be involved in the cardioprotection by both sevoflurane postconditioning and gender.
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The development of acute renal failure and myocardial infarction (MI) following colectomy prolongs recovery and is associated with worse outcomes. The purpose of this study is to identify perioperative factors that predispose patients to an adverse cardiac or renal complication. ⋯ This study demonstrates that several potentially modifiable preoperative and intraoperative factors exist that predispose patients to postoperative cardiac and renal dysfunction in the absence of major surgical complications.
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Sepsis models are frequently based on induction of peritonitis, with cecal ligation and puncture reflecting the prototypical model. However, there is an ongoing discussion about the limitations of these models due to their variability in progression and outcome. Since standardization is a cornerstone of experimental models, we aimed to develop a reliable and reproducible procedure for induction of peritonitis. ⋯ This model reflects many features of human sepsis. Application of an infectious focus that is both quantitatively and qualitatively defined assures high reproducibility. Moreover, the procedure is simple and can be easily standardized.