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Biomedical subjects

S E Piwinski

Publications and source records attributed to S E Piwinski.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1994

A comparison of postspace-flight orthostatic intolerance to vasovagal syncope and autonomic failure and the potential use of the alpha agonist midodrine for these conditions.

After space-flights of less than ten days, orthostatic hypotension upon reentry is characterized by plasma volume depletion that may lead to activation of the Bezold-Jarisch reflex which is also considered to be the mechanism of vasovagal (neurocardiogenic) syncope. For space-flight of longer duration, loss of cardiovascular reflex control may take precedence over volume depletion and thus may have similarities to the orthostatic hypotension seen in patients with autonomic failure secondary to basal ganglial disease and peripheral neuropathies. Midodrine is an alpha-one agonist that produces arterial and venous constriction and leads to a decrease in heart rate by baroreceptor reflexes. The efficacy of Midodrine in successfully treating orthostatic hypotension secondary to autonomic failure has been shown in clinical trials. Midodrine's ability to vasoconstrict without increasing heart rate suggests that it might be a useful treatment for vasovagal syncope since stimulation of the Bezold-Jarisch reflex would be less likely. For post-space flight orthostatic hypotension, midodrine may be a useful adjunctive treatment to the measures currently being used.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

A blitz of bends: decompression sickness in four students after hypobaric chamber training.

This paper reports three cases of type II and one case of type I decompression sickness occurring in a group of nine vigorously active US Army parachutists who took a hypobaric chamber HALO (high altitude-low opening) training flight to a maximum altitude of 9,908.5 m (32,500 ft). After the cases of decompression sickness were diagnosed and treated, the aviator mask regulators were checked and found to be functioning properly; the oxygen supply was analyzed and found to be pure. All cases fully recovered after treatment on US Navy Diving Table 6 and have returned to full military duty. This HALO training profile is not in use with either the US Navy or the US Air Force and should probably be considered unsafe for future use in training.

Adult↗