Potential effect of lidocaine on ischemic myocardial injury: experimental and clinical observations

Anti-inflammatory properties of local anesthetics and their present and potential clinical implications

Development of new local anesthetic agents has been focused on the potency of their nerve-blocking effects, duration of action and safety and has resulted in a substantial number of agents in clinical use. It is well established and well documented that the nerve blocking effects of local anesthetics are secondary to their interaction with the Na+ channels thereby blocking nerve membrane excitability and the generation of action potentials. Accumulating data suggest however that local anesthetics also possess a wide range of anti-inflammatory actions through their effects on cells of the immune system, as well as on other cells, e.g. microorganisms, thrombocytes and erythrocytes. The potent anti-inflammatory properties of local anesthetics, superior in several aspects to traditional anti-inflammatory agents of the NSAID and steroid groups and with fewer side-effects, has prompted clinicians to introduce them in the treatment of various inflammation-related conditions and diseases. They have proved successful in the treatment of burn injuries, interstitial cystitis, ulcerative proctitis, arthritis and herpes simplex infections. The detailed mechanisms of action are not fully understood but seem to involve a reversible interaction with membrane proteins and lipids thus regulating cell metabolic activity, migration, exocytosis and phagocytosis.

Reduction of myocardial infarct size in rabbits and inhibition of activation of rabbit and human neutrophils by lidocaine

Myocardial reperfusion is associated with increased influx of activated neutrophils and intracellular accumulation of sodium in the ischemic zone. Lidocaine is a sodium channel blocker that also inhibits several neutrophil functions. We investigated the effect of lidocaine on infarct size in rabbits undergoing 30 minutes of ischemia and 48 hours of reperfusion. Animals randomly received lidocaine (10 mg/kg, n = 11) or saline (n = 11) during occlusion. The area of necrosis (AN) was measured histologically and expressed as a percentage of the area at risk (AR). Myocardial oxygen consumption and the perfusion bed at risk were similar in the two groups. Lidocaine reduced infarct size compared with control (AN/AR = 30% +/- 4% vs 61% +/- 5%, respectively; p = 0.0001). This reduction was associated with a significant decrease in neutrophil infiltration and in the degree of hemorrhage in the reperfused myocardium. Lidocaine also significantly inhibited superoxide anion production by rabbit and human neutrophils in whole blood. Therefore, lidocaine treatment results in a significant reduction in infarct size in the rabbit model, partly through reduction of neutrophil-mediated injury to viable cells, suggesting that lidocaine may be useful to enhance myocardial salvage in patients undergoing pharmacologic or mechanical reperfusion.

Lidocaine: a hydroxyl radical scavenger and singlet oxygen quencher

Lidocaine, a local anaesthetic, has been shown to reduce ventricular arrhythmias associated with myocardial infarction and ischemic myocardial injury and its protective effects has been attributed to its membrane stabilizing properties. Since oxygen radicals are known to be produced during ischemia induced tissue damage, we have investigated the possible antioxidant properties of lidocaine and found that lidocaine does not scavenge O2-. radicals at 1 to 20 mM concentrations. However, lidocaine was found to be a potent scavenger of hydroxyl radicals and singlet oxygen. Hydroxyl radicals were produced in a Fenton type reaction and detected as DMPO-OH adducts by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopic techniques. Lidocaine inhibited DMPO-OH adduct formation in a dose dependent manner. The amount of lidocaine needed to cause 50% inhibition of that rate was found to be approximately 80 microM and at 300 microM concentration it virtually eliminated the DMPO-OH adduct formation. The production of OH.-dependent TBA reactive products of deoxyribose was also inhibited by lidocaine in a dose dependent manner. Lidocaine was also found to inhibit the 1O2-dependent 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine N-oxyl (TEMPO) formation in a dose dependent manner. 1O2 was produced in a photosensitizing system using Rose Bengal or Methylene Blue as photosensitizers and was detected as TEMP-1O2 adduct by EPR spectroscopy. The amount of lidocaine required to cause 50% inhibition of TEMP-1O2 adduct formation was found to be 500 microM. These results suggest that the protective effect of lidocaine on myocardial injury may, in part, be due to its reactive oxygen scavenging properties.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Combined adenosine and lidocaine administration limits myocardial reperfusion injury

The endogenous compound adenosine may play a role in limiting myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury through its ability to cause vasodilation, modulate cardiac adrenergic responses, inhibit neutrophil function, or modulate energy supply and demand of the myocardium. The local anesthetic lidocaine has been shown to be protective against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury, although its mechanism of action remains unresolved. We hypothesized that administration of exogenous adenosine during reperfusion would limit the size of the infarct that results from a period of ischemia and reperfusion only when the animals are treated with lidocaine. Male, mongrel dogs (13.0-20.0 kg) were anesthetized (30 mg/kg i.v. sodium pentobarbital), and a left thoracotomy was performed. The left circumflex coronary artery (LCx) was isolated and instrumented with an electromagnetic flow probe, a 25-gauge nonobstructing intracoronary catheter, and a critical stenosis. The dogs were allocated randomly to one of four groups: 1) control, n = 13, (saline), 2) adenosine, n = 13, (0.15 mg/kg/ml/min i.c. for the first hour of reperfusion), 3) lidocaine, n = 9, (2.0 mg/kg i.v. given immediately before coronary artery occlusion and just before reperfusion), or 4) adenosine plus lidocaine, n = 11. The LCx was occluded for 90 minutes and reperfused for 6 hours. Regional myocardial blood flow (RMBF) was determined (n = 6 per group) at 80 minutes of occlusion and at 45 minutes of reperfusion with radiolabeled microspheres. RMBF determinations revealed an increase in blood flow to the inner two thirds of the myocardium at 45 minutes of reperfusion only in the presence of the combined treatment. Adenosine treatment alone or lidocaine treatment alone did not affect RMBF. Quantification of infarct size (triphenyltetrazolium method) expressed as a percent of the area at risk revealed a significant limitation of infarct size only in the group treated with both adenosine and lidocaine: control, 47.8 +/- 6.6%; adenosine, 45.0 +/- 3.2%; lidocaine, 46.9 +/- 6.0%; and adenosine and lidocaine, 20.8 +/- 5.6%. Statistical analyses were performed with two-way analysis of variance to account for the two individual drug treatments. The findings show that intracoronary administration of exogenous adenosine, at the dose used, is only effective at limiting myocardial infarct size when administered to lidocaine-treated animals.

Reduction of myocardial infarct size by neutrophil depletion: effect of duration of occlusion

Experiments were performed in the dog to examine the effects of neutropenia on ultimate infarct size resulting from short (90 minutes) or prolonged (4 hours) circumflex coronary artery occlusion. Sheep antiserum to canine neutrophils was used to produce neutropenia. Control animals received nonimmune serum. Neutrophil infiltration into myocardial infarcts was examined using histopathologic techniques and a semiquantitative scoring system. In 90-minute occlusions with 24-hour reperfusion, neutropenia was associated with the development of significantly smaller infarcts: normopenic group, 43.2% +/- 3.3% (n = 7) vs. neutropenic group, 26.6% +/- 3.7% (n = 10) of the area at risk, means +/- SEM. However, in 4-hour occlusion with 6-hour reperfusion experiments, the tendency of neutrophil depletion to reduce infarct size did not reach statistical significance (46.4% +/- 7.2% vs. 31.5% +/- 6.0% of the area at risk, normopenic vs. neutropenic) despite differences in neutrophil infiltration into the reperfused region. The observed differences in ultimate infarct size could not be attributed to differences in myocardial oxygen consumption. The results suggest that a significant amount of myocardial infarction induced by a limited duration of coronary artery occlusion followed by reperfusion is neutrophil dependent and appears to be less important in determining the fate of myocardium subjected to more prolonged periods of ischemia followed by reperfusion.

Platelet depletion in experimental myocardial infarction

Accumulation of platelets in the microvasculature after acute myocardial ischemia may exacerbate tissue injury through the formation of microthrombi and by the release of vasoactive substances. To assess the role of platelets in myocardial ischemic injury and infarction, circulating platelets were reduced by 94 +/- 2% (mean +/- S.E.M.) with sheep antiserum to canine platelets. Regional myocardial ischemia was produced by occlusion of the left circumflex coronary artery (LCCA) for 90 min followed by reperfusion for 5 hours. Infarct size did not differ significantly between antiplatelet serum and nonimmune serum groups: 36 +/- 8 vs. 43 +/- 4% of the area at risk, determined by a post-mortem dual staining technique (p greater than 0.05). A second occlusion-reperfusion control group, sacrificed at 24 hours, did not differ from 5 hr reperfused groups with regard to infarct size. Coronary sinus thromboxane B2 (TXB2) concentrations were not altered significantly by platelet depletion. Histopathologic examination confirmed the presence of necrosis in the infarcted myocardium and revealed substantial leukocytic infiltration in both groups. The results suggest that circulating platelets are not required for the full expression of myocardial ischemic injury resulting from temporary coronary artery occlusion followed by reperfusion.

Effect of BW755C in an occlusion-reperfusion model of ischemic myocardial injury

BW755C is a new antiinflammatory agent which predominantly inhibits lipoxygenase over cyclooxygenase. Effects of BW755C have been examined in a canine, occlusion-reperfusion, model of ischemic myocardial injury. In pentobarbital anesthetized open-chest dogs, the proximal left circumflex coronary artery (LCX) was occluded for 90 minutes and slowly reperfused using a micrometer-driven occluder. Thirty minutes before occlusion, animals randomly received BW755C, 3 mg/kg (n = 7), or 10 mg/kg (n = 8), or saline (n = 16) by intravenous infusion. The thoracotomy was closed and the animals subsequently were killed at 24 hours. Infarct size and anatomic area dependent on the occluded LCX were determined by a dual staining technique using triphenyltetrazolium and Evan's blue. Both doses of BW755C significantly reduced the ultimate extent of irreversible myocardial ischemic injury, whether results were expressed as grams of infarcted tissue or as percent of risk region infarcted. No difference in risk region size was observed between groups. No effects of BW755C on heart rate, arterial pressure, or left circumflex flow were observed. BW755C (10 mg/kg) did not significantly inhibit ex vivo platelet aggregation in response to collagen, adenosine diphosphate, or arachidonic acid. These results suggest that inhibition of lipoxygenase may reduce the extent of ischemic damage to the heart.

Myocardial protection by lidocaine during cardioplegia

This study was undertaken to examine the effects of lidocaine (L) (400 mg/liter) in a normokalemic crystalloid (S) (K +: 5 meq/liter, Na+: 120 meq/liter) and in a hyperkalemic crystalloid cardioplegic solution (K) (K+: 25 meq/liter, Na+: 120 meq/liter) during 90 min of hypothermic (28 degrees C) aortic occlusion followed by 45 min of reperfusion (R). Four groups of dogs were studied: group 1 (S), n = 6; group 2 (S + L), n = 6; group 3 (K), n = 6; group 4 (K + L), n = 6. Left ventricular (LV) function was defined as percentage changes in center of mass between pre- and postarrest function curves. Regional myocardial flow was measured with 9 mu radioactive microspheres and myocardial metabolism monitored by lactate and oxygen utilization. Ventricular biopsies were obtained for measurement of myocardial ATP, creatine phosphate, and water content. Percent recovery of LV function curves at the end of (R) was 59.2 +/- 3.9% in group 1, 85.0 +/- 4.3% in group 2, 71.5 +/- 4.9% in group 3, and 87.0 +/- 4.5 in group 4 (group 1 vs group 2, P less than 0.01; group 3 vs group 4, P less than 0.05). Metabolic recovery was evaluated at 5, 20, and 45 min of (R). Only group 3 (K) demonstrated persistent lactate production at 5 min of (R) (P less than 0.01). The hyperkalemic groups failed to return to control levels of oxygen utilization after 5 min of (R) (group 3, P less than 0.05; group 4, P less than 0.05). LV endocardial/epicardial myocardial blood flow ratio demonstrated greater increase in hyperkalemic groups (group 3, P less than 0.01; group 4, P less than 0.01) at 5 min of (R). ATP was significantly decreased in groups 1, 3 and 4, but not in group 2 at the end of ischemia (group 1, P less than 0.01; group 3, P less than 0.01; group 4, P less than 0.05) and after 45 min of (R) (group 1, P less than 0.05; group 3, P less than 0.01; group 4, P less than 0.01). These results demonstrate that lidocaine has a myocardial protective effect which is superior to standard hyperkalemic cardioplegia. Moreover, lidocaine has an additive salutary effect during potassium cardioplegia. Persistent metabolic derangements post reflow in the hyperkalemic groups suggest deleterious effects of hyperkalemia on subendocardial protection.

Effects of lidocaine and droxicainide on myocardial necrosis: a comparative study

Lidocaine has been shown to protect ischemic myocardium, but the degree of its effectiveness is not yet well established. Therefore, in this study, the effects of this drug on ultimate infarct size were examined quantitatively. Another member of the same class of drugs, droxicainide (ALS1249), DL-N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-pipecolinyl-2,6-dimethylanilide hydrochloride, is a new antiarrhythmic agent that has shown a good therapeutic index in the initial experimental studies. Accordingly, the effects of this drug on ultimate infarct size were examined and compared with those of lidocaine. Coronary artery occlusion was performed on 29 dogs. One minute later, technetium-99m labeled microspheres were injected into the left atrium for assessment of the hypoperfused zone (the zone at risk of infarction). Fifteen minutes after occlusion, the dogs were randomized into three groups: 9 dogs served as a control group, 10 were given lidocaine and 10 were given the same dosage of droxicainide. Six hours after occlusion, the dogs were sacrificed and the hearts cut into 3 mm thick slices and incubated in triphenyltetrazolium chloride to delineate the area of myocardial damage. Autoradiography of the same slices provided images of the areas of myocardial hypoperfusion. Thereafter, in each dog, the percent of hypoperfused area that evolved to necrosis was calculated. In control dogs, it was 85.6 +/- 2.0%; in lidocaine-treated dogs, 68.1 +/- 4.1% (p less than 0.01), a reduction of 20%; and in droxicainide-treated dogs, 50.1 +/- 5.3%, a reduction of 41% (p less than 0.001 versus control and p less than 0.005 versus lidocaine).

Preservation of oxidative phosphorylation by lidocaine in ischemic and reperfused myocardium

The effect of lidocaine (2 mg/kg bolus, 0.04 mg/kg per min infusion) on ischemic and reperfused myocardial respiration was assessed in 32 dogs, using indices of mitochondrial respiration (ADP:O ratio, state 3 and state 4 respiration, and respiratory control index). Heart rate, left ventricular (LV) pressure, LV dp/dt, cardiac index, epicardial ST segment, and regional myocardial blood flow, using 9 +/- 1 micron radiospheres, were measured after 40 min of constriction of the anterior descending coronary artery (N = 16) and after 20 min of reperfusion (N = 16). Results showed that lidocaine increased state 3 respiration and respiratory control in reperfused myocardium (P less than 0.05) with both glutamate and succinate-rotenone as substrate. It is concluded that lidocaine improves postischemic mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation independent of altered hemodynamics or change in myocardial blood flow.

Lidocaine-induced reduction in size of experimental myocardial infarction

In anesthetized open chest dogs, the effects of therapeutic doses of lidocaine on myocardial cell respiration, creatine kinase depletion, left ventricular stroke work and cardiac necrosis were assessed. The dogs were subjected to 40 minutes of occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery, followed by 5 hours of reperfusion. Group I (12 dogs) had infusion of saline solution; group II (8 dogs) had infusion of 0.2 mg/kg per min of lidocaine (serum level 16.8 +/- 1.4 microgram/ml); group III (5 dogs) had infusion of 0.04 mg/kg per min or lidocaine (serum level 3.6 micrograms/ml). Ischemic regional myocardial blood flow (measured by 9 micrometer spheres of strontium-85) was 6.34 +/- 1.62 ml/100 mg per min in group I, 1.48 +/- 0.59 in group II (p < 0.05) and 1.32 +/- 0.50 in group III (p < 0.05). Oxygen consumed during conversion of adenosine diphosphate to adenosine triphosphate in mitochondria from control and lidocaine-treated ischemic tissue was depressed (p < 0.05) and correlated (r = 0.63) with creatine kinase depletion. Left ventricular stroke work was not significantly different among the three groups. Infarct size (in percent of left ventricular weight) was 12.6 +/- 2.0 for group I, 4.8 +/- 1.2 for group II (p < 0.01) and 4.8 +/- 2.5 for group III (p < 0.05). The data suggest that the reduction of myocardial infarct size by lidocaine was not dependent on enhanced myocardial blood flow and was independent of left ventricular stroke work.

Lidocaine increases prostacyclin in the rat

In the rat, the effect of intravenous lidocaine was evaluated on plasma prostacyclin concentration as well as the concentration of prostacyclin in aortic ring incubation chambers and in the effluent of isolated perfused lungs. Prostacyclin was assayed using a radioimmunoassay for its stable product 6-Keto PGF1 alpha. Lidocaine in therapeutic doses (2 mg/kg) will significantly increase 6-Keto PGF1 alpha in plasma as well as in aortic ring incubation chambers and in the effluent of isolated perfused lungs when compared to saline treated controls.