Portal hypertension is characterized by increased portal pressure due in part to a reduction in mesenteric vascular resistance. It is generally accepted that in humans and in animal models of portal hypertension, the reduced vascular resistance is due to a marked pressor hyporesponsiveness in vivo. However, whether this vascular hyporesponsiveness is directly related to a reduction in the contr...

The rat portal vein is a useful pharmacological model to study the contractions of smooth muscle cells through both receptor-dependent and receptor-independent mechanisms. We previously showed that sepsis decreases the spontaneous and agonist-induced contractile response to angiotensin II in this model. To determine whether acidosis and hyperthermia, which occur in sepsis, might contribute to t...

Hypertension is a disease of relatively normal blood flow and increased vascular resistance. The search for neural and humoral vasoconstrictors to explain this pattern has not produced convincing evidence in most cases. Autoregulatory vasoconstriction is an alternative explanation supported by Borst, Ledingbam and others; the validity of this idea is strengthened by frequent observations of rel...

The present study aimed to characterize the contractile reactivity of the chicken ductus arteriosus (DA) from the last stage of prenatal development and throughout the perinatal period. Isolated DA rings from 15-day, noninternally-pipped 19-day, and externally-pipped 21-day embryos were studied using myograph techniques. On embryonic day 15, the chicken DA did not respond to O(2) (0 to 21%), no...

Spinal infarction is a rare and devastating complication of open-heart surgery, especially in the context of perioperative hemodynamic instability in patients requiring high dose of inotropes and vasoconstrictors. Our report highlights that spinal infarction can occur in such circumstances following a valve replacement surgery.

OBJECTIVES Our purpose was to examine the impact of diabetes mellitus (DM) on vasoreactivity and endothelial function of radial artery (RA) grafts ex vivo. BACKGROUND The arteriopathy associated with DM may influence the surgeon's choice of conduits for revascularization. Arterial conduits and especially the RA are prone to vasospasm in the perioperative period. METHODS The study population...