Pregnancy induces marked changes in the respiratory and cardiovascular systems that are essential for meeting the increased metabolic demands of the mother and fetus. Important respiratory system changes occur in the upper airway, chest wall, static lung volumes, and ventilation and gas exchange. Marked cardiovascular changes also occur during pregnancy including increased plasma volume, increa...

Parkinson’s disease (PD), a degenerative disease of the central nervous system, is noted for voice and speech deficits, classified as hypokinetic dysarthria. Dysarthric speech is characterized by vowels that are centralized due, in part, to the limited range of movement of the speech articulators. PD results in disruption of internal cues or trigger of movement. 89% patients with Parkinson’s ha...

The abnormal metabolism of serotonin during the perinatal period alters respiratory network maturation at birth as revealed by comparing the monoamine oxidase A-deficient transgenic (Tg8) with the control (C3H) mice (Bou-Flores et al., 2000). To know whether these alterations occur only transiently or induce persistent respiratory dysfunction during adulthood, we studied the respiratory activit...

Therapeutic effect of Portulaca oleraceae on respiratory diseases is indicated in Iranian ancient medical books. The relaxant effect of this plant also observed on smooth muscles in previous studies. Therefore, in the present study, the possible mechanism (s) for the relaxant effects of boiled and aqueous extracts of Portulaca oleraceae on tracheal chains of guinea pigs were examined. The relax...

Therapeutic effect of Portulaca oleraceae on respiratory diseases is indicated in Iranian ancient medical books. The relaxant effect of this plant also observed on smooth muscles in previous studies. Therefore, in the present study, the possible mechanism (s) for the relaxant effects of boiled and aqueous extracts of Portulaca oleraceae on tracheal chains of guinea pigs were examined. The relax...

BACKGROUND Epidemiologic evidence suggests that chronic stress may alter susceptibility to air pollution. However, persistent spatial confounding between these exposures may limit the utility of epidemiologic methods to disentangle these effects and cannot identify physiologic mechanisms for potential differential susceptibilities. OBJECTIVES Using a rat model of social stress, we compared re...

International guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation recommend mild hypothermia (32-34 degrees C) for 12-24h in comatose survivors of cardiac arrest. To induce therapeutic hypothermia a variety of external and intravascular cooling devices are available. A cheap and effective method for inducing hypothermia is the infusion of large volume, ice-cold intravenous fluid. There are concerns re...

Respiratory influenza virus infections represent a serious threat to human health. Underlying medical conditions and genetic make-up predispose some influenza patients to more severe forms of disease. To date, only a few studies have been performed in patients to correlate a selected group of cytokines and chemokines with influenza infection. Therefore, we evaluated the potential of a novel mul...

BACKGROUND Dexamethasone (Dex) limits and all-trans-retinoic acid (RA) promotes alveolarization. While structural changes resulting from such hormonal exposures are known, their functional consequences are unclear. METHODS Neonatal rats were treated with Dex and/or RA during the first two weeks of life or were given RA after previous exposure to Dex. Morphology was assessed by light microscop...

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is characterised by profound respiratory compromise secondary to the level of loss of motor, sensory and autonomic control associated with the injury. This review aims to detail these anatomical and physiological changes after SCI, and outline their impact on respiratory function. Injury-related impairments in strength substantially alter pulmonary mechanics, which in t...