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Biomedical subjects

A E Barber

Publications and source records attributed to A E Barber.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Early isotonic saline resuscitation from uncontrolled hemorrhage in rats.

BACKGROUND: Attempts to modify traditional fluid resuscitation have been based on animal models that evaluate several variables including anesthesia. This study presents the effects of early saline resuscitation from severe uncontrolled hemorrhage unanesthetized rats. METHODS: Sixty-three female Sprague-Dawley rats were equally divided into three groups: group A, nonresuscitated; and groups B and C, resuscitated ;with isotonic saline (40 and 80 mL/kg, respectively). Hemodynamics, blood loss, survival time, and mortality were recorded for 360 minutes after the hemorrhage, which was initiated by 75% resection of the tail. RESULTS: In group C, 80 mL/kg of saline significantly lowered mortality (24% vs 76% and 71% for groups A and B, respectively) with concomitant increases in mean survival time (241 +/- 103 min vs 146 +/- 108 and 175 +/- 92 min for groups A and B, respectively). There were no statistically significant differences in blood loss, hematocrit, or hemodynamic parameters among the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Early and adequate isotonic saline resuscitation of unanesthetized rats improved outcome despite continuing hemorrhage. The significantly lower mortality rate and increased survival time were not a result of transiently improved arterial pressure and did not correlate with blood loss. No significant bleeding increases were noted in the resuscitated groups.

Animals

Hypercortisolemia increases plasma interleukin-10 concentrations during human endotoxemia--a clinical research center study.

Hypercortisolemia directly before the administration of endotoxin (LPS) to normal humans completely prevents the release of the proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor, whereas hypercortisolemia 12 h to 7 days before the injection of LPS is associated with enhanced tumor necrosis factor release. To determine the effect of elevated cortisol levels on the secretion of the antiinflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10), 23 healthy men were given iv LPS (lot EC-5; 2 ng/kg) alone or in combination with a continuous iv infusion of hydrocortisone (3 micrograms/kg.min) for 6 h immediately before or 6, 12, or 144 h before LPS injection. LPS induced a monophasic increase in plasma IL-10 concentrations that peaked after 2 h (162 +/- 27 pg/mL; P < 0.0001). In subjects who were infused with hydrocortisone directly before LPS administration, IL-10 concentrations were much higher (1784 +/- 331 pg/mL; P < 0.0001 vs. LPS only), whereas hypercortisolemia 6, 12, or 144 h before LPS injection did not influence LPS-induced IL-10 levels. In human whole blood in vitro, hydrocortisone caused a dose-dependent reduction of LPS-induced IL-10 levels. Further, hydrocortisone reversed the increase in IL-10 concentrations by epinephrine in LPS-stimulated whole blood. Stimulation of IL-10 release may contribute to the antiinflammatory properties of glucocorticoids.

Adult

Cell damage after shock.

Hypoperfusion of tissue results in cell membrane dysfunction. Normally, the cell membrane serves to preserve the milieu interior through the maintenance of a negative charge or membrane potential. Maintenance of a negative membrane potential across the cell membrane serves as a semipermeable barrier, preserving the balance of intra- and extracellular electrolytes and water.

Animals

Influence of hypercortisolemia on soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor II and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist responses to endotoxin in human beings.

BACKGROUND: We have previously reported that the antecedent administration of glucocorticoids altered both the hormonal and proinflammatory cytokine responses to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) when administered to human volunteers. In that study, subjects with vastly exaggerated levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukin (IL)-6 12 and 144 hours after cortisol infusion exhibited hemodynamic and hormonal responses no different from those of untreated subjects after endotoxin. The current study examined levels of the antiinflammatory cytokines interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) and soluble receptors to tumor necrosis factor (sTNF-R) in the same setting of the previous report. METHODS: Hydrocortisone succinate was infused into healthy volunteers. LPS was then injected immediately or was delayed by 6, 12, or 144 hours (C, C-6, C-12, and C-144, respectively). Subjects receiving LPS alone served as controls. Plasma was analyzed to determine levels of TNF, sTNF-R and IL-1ra by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay before administration of LPS and at 30-minute intervals after administration of LPS for 6 hours. RESULTS: Levels of sTNF-R increased after LPS administration in all groups (p < 0.05 versus baseline) with a significantly higher level recorded in the subjects having received hydrocortisone 144 hours before (C-144, p < 0.05 versus all other groups). TNF levels remained undetectable in association with immediate infusion of LPS (C) and the relatively short delay group (C6). This cytokine peaked 90 minutes after LPS in all other groups, with a significantly higher peak in the C-144 subjects when compared with controls. IL-1ra levels rose in all groups but to a lesser extent in the C group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These data confirm that glucocorticoids influence the production of both sTNF-R and IL-1ra. The potential for an exaggerated response of sTNF-R exists for an extended period of time after exposure to glucocorticoids.

Adult

Isotonic saline resuscitation in uncontrolled hemorrhage under various anesthetic conditions.

OBJECTIVE: The authors evaluated the effect of early fluid resuscitation with isotonic saline (NaCl, 0.9%) on uncontrolled hemorrhage in rats under different anesthetic conditions. SUMMARY/BACKGROUND DATA: Recently, it has been suggested that administration of fluids to patients during uncontrolled hemorrhage may produce adverse effects, and a postponement of resuscitation until surgical control of bleeding was recommended. Past clinical trials were inconclusive, and the results of recent experimental studies were affected by use of vasoactive anesthetics. METHODS: One hundred thirty-five female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups: group 1--unanesthetized; group 2--anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital; and group 3--anesthetized with a mixture of droperidol and ketamine. Uncontrolled hemorrhage was initiated with a 75% tail resection, and each group was further subdivided into three subgroups for the following treatment: (A) no resuscitation; (B) 40 mL/kg of isotonic saline; or (C) 80 mL/kg of isotonic saline, administered 15 minutes after the initiation of hemorrhage. Blood loss volume and survival time were recorded, and animals were observed up to 360 minutes. RESULTS: At 6 hours, nonresuscitated animals of all groups exhibited the highest mortality rates (93%, 73%, 100% in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively). Resuscitation significantly improved the survival; lowest mortality rates were observed after resuscitation with 80 mL/kg in groups 1 and 3 (33%) and 40 mL/kg in group 2 (40%). Fluid infusion increased hemorrhage rates in all anesthetized rats. No such increases in bleeding were observed in group 1. CONCLUSIONS: Resuscitation with isotonic saline improved mortality in uncontrolled hemorrhage, even with concomitant increases in hemorrhage rates, under all three anesthetic conditions tested. Unanesthetized rats bled less than the animals under anesthesia and did not exhibit an increased blood loss in response to fluid infusion.

Anesthesia

Glucocorticoid therapy alters hormonal and cytokine responses to endotoxin in man.

Previous experimental data have demonstrated that steroid pretreatment regulates endotoxin-elicited cytokine production. The timing of such hypercortisolemia also appears to be a major determinant of both the systemic and the cytokine response to infectious stimuli. Our study was undertaken to further study the in vivo influence of glucocorticoid infusion concurrent with and before endotoxin exposure in man. A total of 23 normal human subjects were given endotoxin (LPS) alone or pretreated with hydrocortisone infusion for 6 h immediately before and concomitant to LPS administration; or rendered hypercortisolemic for a 6-h period waiting 6, 12, or 144 h before LPS administration. LPS administration was followed by significant elevations in temperature (1.9 +/- 0.3 degrees C), pulse (29 +/- 6 bpm), and resting energy expenditure (26.2 +/- 0.4 kcal/kg/day) as well as epinephrine (236 +/- 59 pg/ml), cortisol (296 +/- 29), and C-reactive protein (4.2 +/- .03 mg/dl) as compared with base-line values. Levels of TNF and IL-6 that were not detectable before LPS administration, peaked, respectively, at 90 and 120 min after LPS (155 +/- 4 pg/ml, 12 +/- 1 U/ml). Glucocorticoids when given immediately before and concomitant with LPS significantly attenuated the temperature (0.8 +/- 0.01 degrees C) and pulse rate response (10 +/- 3 bpm) seen after LPS alone as well as suppressing peak levels of epinephrine (78 +/- 14 pg/ml) and C-reactive protein (undetected). TNF remained undetectable in this group although the IL-6 response (14 +/- 1 U/ml) was unchanged. With a 6-h interval between hydrocortisone infusion and LPS challenge, changes in temperature, pulse, resting energy expenditure, and hormone levels were similar to those seen after LPS alone whereas TNF remained undetectable and IL-6 levels were similar to subjects receiving LPS alone. Subjects receiving LPS after 12 or 144 h after hydrocortisone infusion displayed hemodynamic and hormonal responses similar to the LPS alone group, yet mounted significantly greater circulating levels of both IL-6 (117 +/- 14 U/ml, 160 +/- 51 U/ml at 12 and 144 h) and TNF (609 +/- 173, 671 +/- 132 pg/ml at 12 and 144 h) to those observed after LPS alone. We conclude that antecedent periods of hypercortisolemia participate in regulation of the hemodynamic, hormonal, and cytokine responses to endotoxin and that a complex temporal relationship between hypercortisolemia and LPS induced cytokine and systemic responses exists.

Adult

The effects of isotonic saline volume resuscitation in uncontrolled hemorrhage.

In the present study, the effects of early isotonic fluid resuscitation on uncontrolled hemorrhage in rats under pentobarbital anesthesia were assessed. Forty-five female Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing between 230 and 295 grams, were anesthetized and cannulated. Uncontrolled hemorrhage was initiated by a 75 percent tail resection, and the rats were randomly divided into three groups: group 1, no resuscitation; groups 2 and 3, saline solution administration over a four minute interval (40 and 80 milliliters per kilogram, respectively), 15 minutes after the initial hemorrhage. Changes in blood pressure, blood loss and mortality rates were recorded and the rats were observed for up to 360 minutes. The mortality rates were 73, 40 and 53 percent for groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The corresponding average survival times for these groups were 135, 195 and 178 minutes. The difference between groups 1 and 2 were above the 95 percent confidence level using the chi-square test (mortality) and the Student's t test. The average total blood loss in groups 2 and 3 was 31.7 and 41.4 milliliters per kilogram of body weight; when compared with group 1 (24.6 milliliters per kilogram), the difference between the two latter groups (1 and 3) was statistically significant with a p < 0.001. These results suggest that early infusion of isotonic fluid improves survival time and reduces short term mortality in uncontrolled hemorrhage regardless of the associated increases in blood loss.

Animals

Effect of combined cortisol-endotoxin administration on peripheral blood leukocyte counts and phenotype in normal humans.

We studied the role of lipopolysaccharide and the associated hypercortisolemic response as mediators of leukocyte changes associated with endotoxemia. Normal human subjects were given continuous, 12-hour, intravenous infusions of cortisol. After 6 hours of cortisol infusion, lipopolysaccharide (20 U/kg) was administered in an intravenous bolus. Plasma cortisol and blood leukocyte counts and lymphocyte subset proportions were evaluated every hour throughout the 12-hour study period. After 6 hours of cortisol infusion, lymphocyte counts and proportions of CD4+ helper/inducer T cells had declined significantly. The fact that these cells did not decline further in response to lipopolysaccharide and continued cortisol infusion suggests that lipopolysaccharide-induced lymphocyte changes are cortisol dependent. In contrast, the granulocytosis normally observed after lipopolysaccharide administration was unaffected by cortisol infusion. Finally, the monocyte counts and proportions of B cells (HLA-DR+ or CD20+ cells) responded to cortisol infusion and LPS in a pattern distinct from that of lipopolysaccharide alone. These results indicate that lipopolysaccharide-induced hypercortisolemia plays a role in immune modulation during endotoxemia.

Adult

Effect of cyclosporine on adrenocortical response to injury and infection.

The effects of cyclosporine administration on the adrenocortical response to the severe stress of burn wound sepsis were studied in Wistar rats. Animals were treated with cyclosporine (10 mg/kg/day) or saline by gavage for 10 days, then subjected to 30% scald burns with wound inoculation with Pseudomonas. Animals were sacrificed on Postburn Days (PBDs) 1, 4, and 7 for determination of serum corticosterone and ACTH levels and adrenal weights and histology. Adrenal glands from animals sacrificed on PBD 7 were also analyzed for DNA, RNA, and protein content. Cyclosporine treatment without injury had no significant effect on body weight gain, adrenal mass, or baseline ACTH or corticosterone levels. During sepsis, cyclosporine-treated animals demonstrated a significantly diminished adrenocortical response compared to those given only saline. Serum corticosterone levels in the cyclosporine group were 45, 53, and 62% lower on PBDs 1, 4, and 7, respectively, than in saline-treated controls (P < 0.01 on each day). ACTH levels were 43 and 36% lower in cyclosporine-treated animals on PBDs 4 and 7, respectively, compared to the saline-treated group (P < 0.05 on each day). Adrenal hyperplasia occurred in both groups by PBD 7, but increases in adrenal mass and in histologic changes associated with hyperplasia (lipid depletion, vascular dilation) were less pronounced in cyclosporine-treated animals compared to those receiving saline, while adrenal composition remained similar between the two groups. Thus, cyclosporine administration is associated with an attenuated adrenocortical response to the stress of sepsis due to diminished circulating levels of ACTH.

Adrenal Cortex

Effect of sepsis on intracellular sodium activity, sodium concentration, and water content in thermal injured rat.

The effects of sepsis on intracellular Na+ activity, Na+ concentration, and H2O partition in skeletal muscle were investigated in a burn rat model. Studies were performed on either postburn day 3 or day 7 during evolving burn wound sepsis. Data are compared among 3 groups of rats: burned and infected (BI), burned not infected (B), and sham burn (C). After 3 days postburn both Na+ activity and concentration decreased in the BI group as compared with B and C groups. By postburn day 7, the BI group developed septic shock and had increased intracellular Na+ activity and concentration. The resting membrane potentials of skeletal muscle cells depolarized. The finding of an increased cell membrane relative permeability of Na+ to K+ could account for the increase in Na+ influx into cells. In addition, intracellular and total muscle H2O contents decreased and extracellular H2O increased. Hypernatremia, hyperchloremia, and hyperosmolality were also observed in the BI group. However, the fact that there was no significant difference between B and C groups indicates that the late derangements were due to septic shock rather than simple burn injury. Thus, the deleterious effects of the evolving burn wound sepsis on Na+ homeostasis might be due to the detrimental effect of increased intracellular Na+ activity on mitochondrial respiratory control with subsequent impairment of cellular functions.

Animals

Pathophysiologic glucocorticoid levels and survival of translocating bacteria.

Burn wound sepsis in rats results in sustained corticosterone elevations and the prolonged presence of translocated bacteria in the mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs). To determine if survival of bacteria in the MLNs may be influenced by pathophysiologic corticosterone levels, MLNs were quantitatively analyzed from rats randomized to the following groups: burn wound sepsis (BI); BI with adrenocortical response attenuated by cyclosporine (cyclosporine/BI); or cyclosporine/BI with corticosterone replacement (cyclosporine/BI + P). Although rates of bacterial translocation were similar, corticosterone levels were significantly different among the three groups and correlated with the number of lymphocytes and the number of enteric bacteria present per gram of MLN. Thus, pathophysiologic elevations of corticosterone levels during sepsis may exert an effect that allows survival of translocated bacteria in the MLNs of rats, perhaps due to glucocorticoid-associated alterations in regional immunity.

Administration, Cutaneous

Bacterial overgrowth and intestinal atrophy in the etiology of gut barrier failure in the rat.

Bacterial translocation occurs in animal models of shock, trauma, sepsis, and parenteral or elemental enteral alimentation. Bowel atrophy and cecal bacterial overgrowth have both been implicated in the pathophysiology of bacterial translocation in many of these models. To further define the etiology of bacterial translocation resulting from dietary manipulations, rats were fed a elemental/defined-formula diet (DFD) for 2 weeks ad libitum and then randomized to either intestinal decontamination with a nonabsorbable antibiotic (neomycin) or no antibiotic treatment. Neomycin treatment significantly (p less than 0.01) reduced the incidence of bacterial translocation after DFD, in association with a significant reduction in the number of cecal gram-negative bacteria. Neither loss of bowel mass after DFD nor bowel composition was affected by oral neomycin. Bacterial translocation after DFD would thus appear to be the result of cecal bacterial overgrowth rather than a loss of a physical intestinal barrier due to atrophy.

Animals

Differential pathophysiology of bacterial translocation after thermal injury and sepsis.

Bacterial translocation (BT) occurs transiently after thermal injury and may result from an ischemic intestinal insult. To evaluate continued intestinal ischemia in the ongoing BT associated with sepsis after injury, rats were randomized to (1) 30% burn injury with Pseudomonas wound infection (BI), (2) BI + fluid resuscitation (BI + Fluid), (3) BI after allopurinol pretreatment to inhibit xanthine oxidase (BI + Allo), or (4) BI after azapropazone pretreatment to inhibit neutrophil degranulation (BI + Aza). On postburn days (PBD) 1, 4, and 7, animals were studied for evidence of BT and intestinal lipid peroxidation. BI + Fluid, BI + Allo, and BI + Aza significantly (p less than 0.05) reduced rates of BT and ileal lipid peroxidation acutely after thermal injury (PBD 1) compared to BI. All four groups had equally high rates of BT associated with the onset of sepsis (PBDs 4 and 7), without evidence of further intestinal lipid peroxidation. These data indicate that the chronic gut barrier failure associated with sepsis after injury occurs independently of continued intestinal ischemia.

Animals

Splanchnic vasoconstriction and bacterial translocation after thermal injury.

Gut barrier failure and bacterial translocation (BT) after thermal injury may result from splanchnic vasoconstriction and intestinal ischemia. The role of the renin-angiotensin system in intestinal blood flow and BT after thermal injury was studied by pretreatment with the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor enalapril in Wistar rats before sham or 30% scald burn. Adequacy of ACE inhibition was documented by the absence of a hypertensive response to angiotensin I, and intestinal blood flow was determined using 51Cr-labeled microspheres. Small bowel blood flow was decreased by 46% at 4-h postburn (P less than 0.05) in untreated burned animals despite maintenance of normal cardiac index but returned to baseline levels by 24 h after injury. Enalapril pretreatment resulted in maintenance of small bowel blood flow after thermal injury and was associated with a significantly reduced incidence of BT (20% vs. 75% in untreated burned animals, P less than 0.01). These findings further implicate intestinal ischemia in the etiology of gut barrier dysfunction after thermal injury, mediated in part by activation of the renin-angiotensin system.

Animals

Comparison between effects of interleukin-1 alpha administration and sublethal endotoxemia in primates.

Interleukin (IL)-1 is an early mediator of host response to inflammation, although its contribution to individual components of the acute phase reaction is still unclear. To evaluate how the hemodynamic, metabolic, and hormonal responses to sublethal endotoxemia compare with IL-1 administration, baboons received intravenously either lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or 0.1, 10, or 100 micrograms/kg IL-1 alpha. LPS induced an early tachycardia and a fall in mean arterial pressure, as well as lacticacidemia and hypoaminoacidemia. Similar hemodynamic and metabolic changes were seen with 10 or 100 micrograms/kg of IL-1 alpha. An increase in adrenocorticotropic hormone and fall in serum iron were induced by IL-1 alpha but not by LPS. Plasma tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) was not measurable after IL-1 alpha administration, whereas LPS induced a monophasic TNF-alpha response. IL-6 levels were significantly greater after LPS than IL-1 alpha administration. Histopathological lesions, similar in LPS- and 100 micrograms/kg IL-1 alpha-treated groups, were present only in the adrenal cortex. We conclude that many, but not all, of the effects of sublethal endotoxemia can be replicated by IL-1 alpha administration, and these responses are dose dependent.

Amino Acids

Unknown primary squamous cell carcinoma metastatic to the neck.

We analyzed retrospectively 157 cases of metastatic neck squamous cell carcinoma from unknown primary sites, treated with surgery, radiotherapy, excisional biopsy, and combined modalities. Median follow-up was 74 months, and overall actuarial survival was 55% at 5 years. The surgery-treated group, despite a higher rate of manifesting primary tumors, had significantly better survival at 5 years compared with those receiving radiation therapy, of whom 23% had residual disease after treatment. Primary tumors were discovered during follow-up in 16% overall. Different treatments yielded comparable results in lower-staged neck disease (NX, N1, N2a), while surgery appeared more effective in controlling advanced disease (N2b, N3a). Factors that affected survival include neck stage, connective tissue invasion, and presence of recurrent or residual disease after treatment.

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell

Bacterial translocation and intestinal atrophy after thermal injury and burn wound sepsis.

Bacterial translocation (BT) occurs after thermal injury in rodents in association with intestinal barrier loss. Infection complicating thermal injury may also affect the intestine producing bowel atrophy. To study these relationships, Wistar rats received either 30% scald followed by wound inoculation with Pseudomonas; 30% scald with pair feeding to infected animals; or sham injury as controls. On days 1, 4, and 7 after injury animals were killed with examination of the bowel and culture of the mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN), livers, spleens, and blood. All burned animals demonstrated BT to the MLN on day 1 after injury, but only burn-infected animals had continued BT on days 4 and 7, with progression of BT to the abdominal organs and blood. Burn injury and infection also resulted in significant atrophy of small bowel mucosa temporally associated with continued BT. Thus injury complicated by infection results in prolonged and enhanced bacterial translocation, perhaps due to failure to maintain the mucosal barrier.

Animals