No abstract

Purpose: Electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities are universal in infantile Pompe disease or glycogen storage disease type II, a fatal genetic muscle disorder caused by deficiency of acid ␣-glucosidase (GAA). Hallmarks of this disease include a shortened PR interval, an increased QT dispersion (QTd), and large left ventricular (LV) voltages.We evaluated the effect of recombinant human GAA (rhGAA) enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) on these ECG

Prolonged exposure of postnatal day (PND) 7 rat pups to anesthetics, which act via N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonism and/or gamma-amino butyric acid enhancement, causes neurodegeneration and persistent behavioral deficits. We studied these findings in vitro and determined whether the age of rat pups used for study or duration of anesthetic exposure modulates resultant neurodegeneration. Organotypic hippocampal slices (OHSs) were prepared from rat pups on PNDs 4, 7, and 14 and cultured 7 or 14 days in vitro. The slices were exposed to 1.5% isoflurane or fresh gas for durations of 1, 3, or 5 h. Hippocampal CA1, CA3, and dentate gyrus neuronal survival was assessed 3 days later. Neuronal cell death was greatest in OHSs prepared from PND 7 rat pups (P < 0.001) and was most evident after 5 h exposure to isoflurane (P < 0.001). By eliminating variables such as hemodynamics, nutrition, oxygenation, and carbon dioxide elimination, this in vitro investigation supports both an age- and duration-dependent relationship between 1.5% isoflurane exposure and perinatal neuronal death.

These data are encouraging for the development of a low-prime, mobile neonatal extracorporeal membrane oxygenation circuit using centrifugal pump technology.