Is triiodothyronine administration beneficial in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery?

Article Abstract:

Two studies from 1995 and 1996 indicate that triiodothyronine (T3) should not be administered to people having coronary artery bypass surgery. Coronary artery bypass surgery and various illnesses are associated with decreases in T3, which is produced by the thyroid gland. It is unclear whether decreases in T3, which slow catabolism in the body, are helpful or harmful when the body is subject to different stressors. Some studies suggested that T3 could be administered following heart surgery in order to improve function of the heart muscle. The 1995 and 1996 studies are important in that they, unlike previous studies, involved a large number of patients and they were double-blind and randomized. Both studies showed that T3 administration following coronary artery bypass surgery did not significantly change most blood flow variables, the need for intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation, or the need for drugs that improve heart muscle function.

Health aspects, Editorial, Coronary artery bypass, Triiodothyronine

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Intestinal permeability, gastric intramucosal pH, and systemic endotoxemia in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass

Article Abstract:

The increase in the permeability of the intestines that can lead to the release of bacterial endotoxin into the circulation does not appear to be caused by intestinal ischemia. Ischemia is a condition in which the blood supply to an organ is reduced. Researchers measured intestinal pH as a measure of ischemia, intestinal permeability and the release of endotoxin in 50 patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Patients undergoing CPB often experience intestinal ischemia. Intestinal permeability increased during CPB, and endotoxin was released into the blood following one hour of CPB. However, intestinal pH remained stable during CPB and dropped only after CPB when the heart began circulating blood again. This indicates that the greatest period of intestinal permeability and endotoxin release occurred when the intestine was not ischemic.

Endotoxins, Permeability, Cardiopulmonary bypass, Intestinal ischemia

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Proliferation Happens

Article Abstract:

Anatomic biomarkers will probably not be useful in assessing the effect of diet in preventing colon cancer. A 1998 study found that increased dietary intake of low-fat dairy foods reduced cell proliferation in the intestinal mucosa, which is a commonly used biomarker of colon cancer risk. However, cell proliferation can be a normal process and is not always a sign of cancer. Even the measurement of proliferation is unreliable. If dietary calcium does play a role in preventing colon cancer, it is probably less important than the role played by fruits and vegetables, low-fat diets and smoking cessation.

Calcium (Nutrient), Cell proliferation, Calcium, Dietary

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