Resuscitation Fluids

About

Description Decades of cardiac research have resulted in understanding several cardiac diseases and developing therapeutic options. Despite this advance in cardiac research, cardiovascular diseases remain the leading global cause of death suggesting the lack of a crucial piece of the puzzle. Our recent work have identified a new form of electrical coupling in the heart - Ephaptic coupling - that is dependent on electric fields that develop in extracellular nanodomains. The volume and ionic composition of these nanodomains can either reveal or conceal arrhythmogenic symptoms in a variety of cardiac diseases like Brugada's syndrome, myocardial inflammation, Long QT3 syndrome and cardiac diseases associated with reduced gap junctional coupling. Physiologic modulation of extracellular ion composition to enhance ephaptic coupling can preserve electrical impulse conduction and reduce incidences of arrhythmias. Alternatively, this invention also provides a means to clinically manifest otherwise asymptomatic diseases for diagnostic purposes. The effects of this invention was tested in guinea pig disease models. Based on these results, we can develop resuscitation fluids that are optimized for human cardiac diseases.