Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 28, 2026
Study of Experimental Organ Donation Models for Lung Transplantation
Published on: March 15, 2024
Altered sympathetic and parasympathetic activity in lung transplantation patients at rest and following autonomic
Amy Berakis1, Trevor J Williams, Mathew T Naughton
1Clinical Pharmacology Unit, Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University Medical School, Alfred Hospital, Prahran, Victoria 3181, Australia.
Study Objectives:
To investigate the nature and extent of the alteration in autonomic function following heterotopic lung transplantation.
Design:
Measures of cardiac parasympathetic nervous system activity (PNSA) and systemic sympathetic nervous system activity (SNSA) were compared in lung transplant patients and age-matched healthy subjects, both at rest and following autonomic perturbation.
Setting:
Lung transplantation service of a university teaching hospital.
Patients And Participants:
Twenty-two lung transplant patients (mean [+/- SEM] age, 50.5 +/- 2.4 years) and 13 healthy subjects (mean age, 48.2 +/- 3.7 years).
Measurements And Results:
Lung transplant patients had decreased baseline time and frequency domain measures of heart rate variability compared to healthy subjects (root mean square of successive differences in R-R intervals, 11.2 +/- 1.1 vs 30.3 +/- 4.5 ms, respectively [p < 0.005]; LnHP, 2.4 +/- 0.2 vs 4.8 +/- 0.4 ms(2), respectively [p < 0.005]). In addition, lung transplant patients demonstrated an attenuated reduction in LnHP/LnTP following head-up tilt in comparison to healthy subjects (p < 0.05). The baseline recumbent plasma norepinephrine level was increased in lung transplant patients compared to healthy subjects (3.25 +/- 0.43 vs 2.00 +/- 0.27 nmol/L, respectively; p < 0.05), and levels increased in both groups with upright head-up tilt. There were no differences between the two groups in heart rate or mean systolic BP responses to both the Valsalva maneuver and cold pressor testing.
Conclusions:
Lung transplant patients have both reduced PNSA and increased SNSA at rest. Furthermore, these patients appear to have a preserved capacity to respond to autonomic perturbation by increasing SNSA. The mechanisms underlying these observations and their prognostic implications remain to be determined.
