Diaphragm Neurostimulation Mitigates Ventilation-Associated Brain Injury in a Preclinical Acute Respiratory Distress...

In a porcine healthy lung model, temporary transvenous diaphragm neurostimulation (TTDN) for 50 hours mitigated hippocampal apoptosis and inflammation associated with mechanical ventilation (MV).

Explore whether TTDN in combination with MV for 12 hours mitigates hippocampal apoptosis and inflammation in an acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) preclinical model.

Compare hippocampal apoptosis, inflammatory markers, and serum markers of neurologic injury between never ventilated subjects and three groups of mechanically ventilated subjects with injured lungs: MV only (LI-MV), MV plus TTDN every other breath, and MV plus TTDN every breath. MV settings in volume control were tidal volume 8 mL/kg and positive end-expiratory pressure 5 cm H₂O. Lung injury, equivalent to moderate ARDS, was achieved by infusing oleic acid into the pulmonary artery.

Hippocampal apoptosis, microglia, and reactive-astrocyte percentages were similar between the TTDN-every-breath and never ventilated groups. The LI-MV group had a higher percentage of these measures than all other groups (p < 0.05). Transpulmonary driving pressure at study end was lower in the TTDN-every-breath group than in the LI-MV group; systemic inflammation and lung injury scores were not significantly different. The TTDN-every-breath group had considerably lower serum concentration of homovanillic acid (cerebral dopamine production surrogate) at study end than the LI-MV group (p < 0.05). Heart rate variability declined in the LI-MV group and increased in both TTDN groups (p < 0.05).

In a moderate-ARDS porcine model, MV is associated with hippocampal apoptosis and inflammation, and TTDN mitigates that hippocampal apoptosis and inflammation.