Browsing by Subject "Myocardial"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Biochemical analysis and immunohistochemical determination of cardiac troponin for the postmortem diagnosis of myocardial damage
    (Murcia : F. Hernández, 2005) Martínez Díaz, F.; Rodríguez Morlensín, Mercedes; Pérez Cárceles, María Dolores; Luna, A.; Osuna Carrillo-Albornoz, Eduardo Javier; Noguera Velasco, José Antonio
    Cardiac disease is the most common cause of sudden death in Western nations. In forensic practice there is a need for more sensitive diagnostic methods for the postmortem diagnosis of myocardial damage. The aim of this study was to analyse the diagnostic efficacy of biochemical markers in cadaver fluids in conjunction with histological studies and the immunohistochemical determination of cardiac troponin C (cTnC) and cardiac troponin T (cTnT) levels in myocardial tissue fixed in formol and included in paraffin. We studied 50 cadavers (43 males and 7 females) with a mean age of 47.5 years (SD 19.2; range 12 to 87 years). Cases were chosen according to the postmortem interval, cause of death, and circumstances of death. Pericardial fluid and serum were tested in duplicate for cardiac troponin I (cTn I), myoglobin and CKMB by immunoassay system using commercial kits. In myocardial tissue, histological studies were performed with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), Masson’s trichrome staining and immunohistochemical techniques involving streptavidinbiotin- peroxidase were performed. The results pointed to statistically significant differences for all the biochemical markers in pericardial fluid. The highest levels were obtained in the group of cadavers who had died from myocardial infarction. The immunohistochemical expression of cTnC was detected in 86% of cases; it was strongly positive and usually diffuse. The expression of cTnT, was much less frequent (46% of cases) and less intense. It was concluded that the immunohistochemical determination of cTnC and cTnT levels in myocardial tissue may be used as an index of myocardium damage.
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    Calcium-supplemented University of Wisconsin solution in long-term myocardial preservation
    (Murcia : F. Hernández, 2008) Álvarez-Ayuso, Álvaro; García Gómez-Heras, Soledad; Roda, Jorge R.; Jorge, Eduardo; Calero, Patricia; Torralba, Amalia; Millán, Isabel; Fernández-García, Héctor; García-Poblete, Eduardo
    The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of the addition of calcium to University of Wisconsin solution in long-term myocardial perfusion. In a heterotopic heart transplantation model, performed in pigs, the donor heart was preserved for 24 hours by means of continuous perfusion in this solution, without (24hUW group) or with calcium, 2.4 mmol/L (24hUW+Ca). During this period, the oxygenation and pH of the solution were measured, as were the calcium and lactate concentrations and enzyme release. After two hours of reperfusion, samples were collected from both ventricles for the morphological study. In the control group, there were no signs that reperfusion had triggered the calcium paradox. The addition of this cation to the preservation solution improved the intercellular junction integrity but, at the same time, favored intracellular calcium overload. This is manifested by increased enzyme release during preservation (LDH: 242±95 vs 140±25; CK: 668±371 vs 299±83 (U/L). p<0.01 in both cases) and signs of ventricular contracture: hardness and stiffness were significantly more prominent than in the group without calcium supplementation. Moreover, in comparison with the control group, the structural morphology of 24hUW+Ca is characterized by the more prominent and extensive presence of contraction bands and disorganized actin structure. Thus, under the experimental conditions employed in this study, we consider the addition of calcium to Wisconsin solution to be unadvisable.
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    lmmunohistochemical reaction of myocardial fibers with actin antiserum in autopsy cases of myocardial infarction
    (Murcia : F. Hernández, 1986) Shigeo Hashimoto; Shozo Nishida; Shingo Hiruma; Manabu Takahashi; Yoshiki Enomoto; Kuniyasu Sakatani
    The purpose of this study was to determine the immunoreactivity of myocardial actin filaments with actin antiserum and to examine the significance of its application to diseased human cardiac muscle. The actin was extracted and purified from chicken gizzards. Anti-actin rabbit serum was prepared and purified by affinity chromatography and defined by an immunoblotting test. Using the avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex (ABC) method, the actin antiserum was applied to paraffin sections prepared from hearts taken from routine autopsies of patients who had died of myocardial infarction. Reactivity was shown to be completely lost, not only in necrotized fibers, but also in non-specific degenerative fibers which could be identified by their eosinophilic cytoplasm with pyknotic nuclei, and clearly remaining and/or diminished cross-striations stained with hematoxylin-eosin. In contrast, hypertrophic myocardial fibers adjacent to granulation or scar tissue and those adjacent to infarcted foci exhibited a more intense reaction. These results indicated that the immunohistochemical reaction of actin filaments can be used for the easy detection of very mild degrees of degeneration of cardial muscle fibers, and for hypertrophic fibers adjacent to diseased foci. Studies of the immunoreactivity of actin protein suggestive of alteration at the molecular level might yield morphological clues regarding the nature of functional activity in the contraction of cardiac fibers.