Programmed electrical stimulation

Sotalol (13) is a racemic mixture, and its two enantiomers have been studied extensively [47-51]. As expected from studies with other ff-blocking agents, the Class II activity resides predominantly in only one enantiomer [(-)-sotalol] while the Class III activity can be found equally in both enantiomers. Therefore, the (-I-)-enantiomer, which is essentially devoid of P-blocking activity, has been studied as one of the few early examples of a selective Class III agent. Both sotalol [52-55] and its enantiomer, (-l-)-sota-lol [56-58], have been shown to be clinically effective in the prevention of ventricular arrhythmias. The efficacy rate for suppression of inducible ventricular tachycardia during programmed electrical stimulation for both... 

Wood M, Stambler B, Ellenbogen K. Recent insights in programmed electrical stimulation for the management of sustained ventricular arrhythmias. Curr Opin Cardiol. Jan 1994 9(1) 3-11. 

In patients with sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia inducible by programmed electrical stimulation, who had previously been unsuccessfully treated with... 

Bourke, J.P, et al.. Routine programmed electrical stimulation in survivors of acute myocardial infarction for prediction of spontaneous ventricular tachyarrhythmias during follow-up results, optimal stimulation protocol and cost-effective screening. J Am CoU Cardiol, 1991. 18(3) p. 780-8. 

Kuck, K.H., et al.. Programmed electrical stimulation in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Results in patients with and without cardiac arrest or syncope. Eur Heart J, 1988. 9(2) p. 177-85. 

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a rehabilitation technique for the restoration of lost neurological function, resulting from conditions such as stroke, spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, head injuries, and multiple sclerosis. FES utilizes low-level electrical current applied in programmed patterns to different nerves or reflex centers in the central nervous system to produce functional movements. The stimulation may be triggered by a single switch (open-loop) or from sensor(s) or neuronal activity (closed-loop). 

Newsam CJ, Baker LL. Effect of electric stimulation facilitation program on quadriceps motor unit recruitment after stroke. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2004 85 2040-2045. 

Scremin AME, Kurta L, Gentili A, et al. Increasing muscle mass in spinal cord injured persons with a functional electrical stimulation exercise program. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 1999 80 1531-1536. 

Researchers at the MoneU Center (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) are using a variety of electrophysical and biochemical techniques to characterize the ionic currents produced in taste and olfactory receptor cells by chemical stimuli. These studies are concerned with the identification and pharmacology of the active ion channels and mode of production. One of the techniques employed by the MoneU researchers is that of "patch clamp." This method aUows for the study of the electrical properties of smaU patches of the ceU membrane. The program at MoneU has determined that odors stimulate intraceUular enzymes to produce cycUc adenosine 3, 5 -monophosphate (cAMP). This production of cAMP promotes opening of the ion channel, aUowing cations to enter and excite the ceU. MoneU s future studies wiU focus on the connection of cAMP, and the production of the electrical response to the brain. The patch clamp technique also may be a method to study the specificity of receptor ceUs to different odors, as weU as the adaptation to prolonged stimulation (3). 

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