A novel approach to devise the therapy for ventricular fibrillation by epicardial delivery of lidocaine using active hydraulic ventricular attaching support system: An experimental study in rats.

Active hydraulic ventricular attaching support system (ASD) placed around the heart is not only a novel, nontransplant surgical device used for epicardial administration of drugs like lidocaine, but also a promising treatment option for ventricular fibrillation (VF) and arrhythmias. We hypothesize that lidocaine in 5 mg/kg dose released by ASD significantly improves the VF in the rat model. Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were selected and were divided into four groups, intravenous injection (IV), epicardial infusion (EI), ASD, and control. ASD group was further divided into four subgroups for different lidocaine doses (i) ASD+A group (10 mg/kg), (ii) ASD+B group (5 mg/kg), (iii) ASD+C group (1 mg/kg), and (iv) ASD+D group (0.1 mg/kg). VF was induced with calcium chloride injection and was confirmed by electrocardiogram (ECG) in all the groups. VF was treated with different doses of lidocaine using different modes of administration. Data were analyzed using the SPSS 19.0 Chi-square tests and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The Kaplan-Meier curve for OS was compared to the Logrank test based on the survival time. P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. ASD + B group (5 mg/kg) showed significantly reduced sgroup. The time of first sinus rhythm recovered (15.96 ± 21.77 min) and ▵T-SOD in plasma (-42.02 ± 26.99 U/mL) was significantly different than that of control, IV, and EI groups. ▵T-SOD in plasma for all ASD-treated groups was smaller than the control and IV groups. This study proves that ASD with 5 mg/kg lidocaine dose appears as a promising therapeutic platform for treating VF in rats. Furthermore, ASD may also have potential for treating VF or other cardiovascular disease with different therapeutic agents. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 107B: 1722-1731, 2019.

Role of oxidative stress in pathology of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome and male infertility and antioxidants function in ameliorating oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress (OS) is a result of the imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidants in the body that can cause tissue damage. Oxidative stress has a significant involvement in the pathogenesis of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) and male infertility. CP/CPPS is a major risk factor for male infertility due to generation of excessive ROS that damage sperm DNA, lipids, and proteins, resulting in compromised vitality and decreased sperm motility. Here we present a comprehensive review of oxidative stress relevance in CP/CPPS and male infertility, and embody the protective effects of antioxidants against ROS. An online literature was searched using the following keywords/terms: oxidative stress, ROS, Oxidative stress and chronic prostatitis, oxidative stress and male infertility and antioxidants. Original and review articles, clinical trials, and case reports of human and animal studies published till 2017 were searched using the PubMed and MEDLINE.

Cardio-supportive devices (VRD & DCC device) and patches for advanced heart failure: A review, summary of state of the art and future directions.

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a complicated pathophysiological syndrome, leading cause of hospitalization as well as mortalities in developed countries wherein an irregular function of the heart leads to the insufficient blood supply to the body organs. It is an accumulative slackening of various complications including myocardial infarction (MI), coronary heart disease (CAD), hypertension, valvular heart disease (VHD) and cardiomyopathy; its hallmarks include hypertrophy, increased interstitial fibrosis and loss of myocytes. The etiology of CHF is very complex and despite the rapid advancement in pharmacological and device-based interventional therapies still, a single therapy may not be sufficient to meet the demand for coping with the diseases. Total artificial hearts (TAH) and ventricular assist devices (VADs) have been widely used clinically to assist patients with severe HF. Unfortunately, direct contact between the patient's blood and device leads to thromboembolic events, and then coagulatory factors, as well as, infection contribute significantly to complicate the situation. There is no effective treatment of HF except cardiac transplantation, however, genetic variations, tissue mismatch; differences in certain immune response and socioeconomic crisis are an important concern with cardiac transplantation suggesting an alternate bridge to transplant (BTT) or destination therapies (DT). For these reasons, researchers have turned to mechanically driven compression devices, ventricular restraint devices (VRD) and heart patches. The ASD is a combination of all operational patches and cardiac support devices (CSD) by delivering biological agents and can restrain or compress the heart. Present study summarizes the accessible peer-reviewed literature focusing on the mechanism of Direct Cardiac Compression (DCC) devices, VRD and patches and their acquaintance to optimize the therapeutic efficacy in a synergistic way.

Newborn screening: experience of Bangladesh.

Newborn screening for early diagnosis of many preventable diseases is already an established program in developed countries as well as in some countries in Asia. With the control of infectious and communicable diseases, the Bangladesh government is now giving more attention to the preventive aspect of health. The country is now preparing to adopt newborn screening as part of the preventive aspect of health. Among the various activities are laboratory set up, expert visits, pilot studies on CH and training of personnel. A national project to screen newborns for congenital hypothyroidism is now under active consideration. A universal newborn screening program is a highly ambitious project for a country like Bangladesh. Funds to run such a program will be the main problem. The social pattern where still more than 80% of deliveries are done at home is another constraint. However, the enthusiasm of the professionals as well as of the government is a very encouraging thing. Now it needs the support of the international communities.