1
|
Kim MY, Nesbitt J, Koutsoftidis S, Brook J, Pitcher DS, Cantwell CD, Handa B, Jenkins C, Houston C, Rothery S, Jothidasan A, Perkins J, Bristow P, Linton NWF, Drakakis E, Peters NS, Chowdhury RA, Kanagaratnam P, Ng FS. Immunohistochemical characteristics of local sites that trigger atrial arrhythmias in response to high-frequency stimulation. Europace 2023; 25:726-738. [PMID: 36260428 PMCID: PMC9935019 DOI: 10.1093/europace/euac176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 08/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
AIMS The response to high frequency stimulation (HFS) is used to locate putative sites of ganglionated plexuses (GPs), which are implicated in triggering atrial fibrillation (AF). To identify topological and immunohistochemical characteristics of presumed GP sites functionally identified by HFS. METHODS AND RESULTS Sixty-three atrial sites were tested with HFS in four Langendorff-perfused porcine hearts. A 3.5 mm tip quadripolar ablation catheter was used to stimulate and deliver HFS to the left and right atrial epicardium, within the local atrial refractory period. Tissue samples from sites triggering atrial ectopy/AF (ET) sites and non-ET sites were stained with choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), for quantification of parasympathetic and sympathetic nerves, respectively. The average cross-sectional area (CSA) of nerves was also calculated. Histomorphometry of six ET sites (9.5%) identified by HFS evoking at least a single atrial ectopic was compared with non-ET sites. All ET sites contained ChAT-immunoreactive (ChAT-IR) and/or TH-immunoreactive nerves (TH-IR). Nerve density was greater in ET sites compared to non-ET sites (nerves/cm2: 162.3 ± 110.9 vs. 69.65 ± 72.48; P = 0.047). Overall, TH-IR nerves had a larger CSA than ChAT-IR nerves (µm2: 11 196 ± 35 141 vs. 2070 ± 5841; P < 0.0001), but in ET sites, TH-IR nerves were smaller than in non-ET sites (µm2: 6021 ± 14 586 vs. 25 254 ± 61 499; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS ET sites identified by HFS contained a higher density of smaller nerves than non-ET sites. The majority of these nerves were within the atrial myocardium. This has important clinical implications for devising an effective therapeutic strategy for targeting autonomic triggers of AF.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Min-Young Kim
- Myocardial Function Section, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK.,Department of Cardiology, Hammersmith Hospital, 72 Du Cane Rd, London, W12 0HS, UK.,Imperial Centre for Cardiac Engineering, Imperial College London, Level 2, Faculty Building, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - James Nesbitt
- Myocardial Function Section, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK.,Department of Cardiology, Hammersmith Hospital, 72 Du Cane Rd, London, W12 0HS, UK
| | - Simos Koutsoftidis
- Imperial Centre for Cardiac Engineering, Imperial College London, Level 2, Faculty Building, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Joseph Brook
- Myocardial Function Section, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK.,Imperial Centre for Cardiac Engineering, Imperial College London, Level 2, Faculty Building, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - David S Pitcher
- Myocardial Function Section, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK.,Imperial Centre for Cardiac Engineering, Imperial College London, Level 2, Faculty Building, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Chris D Cantwell
- Myocardial Function Section, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK.,Imperial Centre for Cardiac Engineering, Imperial College London, Level 2, Faculty Building, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Balvinder Handa
- Myocardial Function Section, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK.,Department of Cardiology, Hammersmith Hospital, 72 Du Cane Rd, London, W12 0HS, UK.,Imperial Centre for Cardiac Engineering, Imperial College London, Level 2, Faculty Building, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Catherine Jenkins
- Myocardial Function Section, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK.,Imperial Centre for Cardiac Engineering, Imperial College London, Level 2, Faculty Building, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Charles Houston
- Myocardial Function Section, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK.,Imperial Centre for Cardiac Engineering, Imperial College London, Level 2, Faculty Building, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Stephen Rothery
- Myocardial Function Section, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK.,Imperial Centre for Cardiac Engineering, Imperial College London, Level 2, Faculty Building, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK.,The Facility for Imaging by Light Microscopy, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, South Kensington Campus, Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Anand Jothidasan
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust, 1 Manresa Rd, London SW3 6LR, UK
| | - Justin Perkins
- Royal Veterinary College, 4 Royal College St, London NW1 0TU, UK
| | - Poppy Bristow
- Royal Veterinary College, 4 Royal College St, London NW1 0TU, UK
| | - Nick W F Linton
- Myocardial Function Section, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK.,Department of Cardiology, Hammersmith Hospital, 72 Du Cane Rd, London, W12 0HS, UK.,Imperial Centre for Cardiac Engineering, Imperial College London, Level 2, Faculty Building, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Emm Drakakis
- Imperial Centre for Cardiac Engineering, Imperial College London, Level 2, Faculty Building, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Nicholas S Peters
- Myocardial Function Section, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK.,Department of Cardiology, Hammersmith Hospital, 72 Du Cane Rd, London, W12 0HS, UK.,Imperial Centre for Cardiac Engineering, Imperial College London, Level 2, Faculty Building, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Rasheda A Chowdhury
- Myocardial Function Section, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK.,Imperial Centre for Cardiac Engineering, Imperial College London, Level 2, Faculty Building, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Prapa Kanagaratnam
- Myocardial Function Section, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK.,Department of Cardiology, Hammersmith Hospital, 72 Du Cane Rd, London, W12 0HS, UK.,Imperial Centre for Cardiac Engineering, Imperial College London, Level 2, Faculty Building, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Fu Siong Ng
- Myocardial Function Section, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK.,Department of Cardiology, Hammersmith Hospital, 72 Du Cane Rd, London, W12 0HS, UK.,Imperial Centre for Cardiac Engineering, Imperial College London, Level 2, Faculty Building, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Bashford J, Wickham A, Iniesta R, Drakakis E, Boutelle M, Mills K, Shaw CE. Preprocessing surface EMG data removes voluntary muscle activity and enhances SPiQE fasciculation analysis. Clin Neurophysiol 2019; 131:265-273. [PMID: 31740273 PMCID: PMC6941467 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2019.09.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2019] [Revised: 09/03/2019] [Accepted: 09/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
A novel preprocessing step removes the need for manual selection of relaxed surface EMG data. SPiQE provides reliable fasciculation analysis from raw thirty-minute recordings in ALS. This paves the way for clinical calibration of a potential novel biomarker of disease progression.
Objectives Fasciculations are a clinical hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The Surface Potential Quantification Engine (SPiQE) is a novel analytical tool to identify fasciculation potentials from high-density surface electromyography (HDSEMG). This method was accurate on relaxed recordings amidst fluctuating noise levels. To avoid time-consuming manual exclusion of voluntary muscle activity, we developed a method capable of rapidly excluding voluntary potentials and integrating with the established SPiQE pipeline. Methods Six ALS patients, one patient with benign fasciculation syndrome and one patient with multifocal motor neuropathy underwent monthly thirty-minute HDSEMG from biceps and gastrocnemius. In MATLAB, we developed and compared the performance of four Active Voluntary IDentification (AVID) strategies, producing a decision aid for optimal selection. Results Assessment of 601 one-minute recordings permitted the development of sensitive, specific and screening strategies to exclude voluntary potentials. Exclusion times (0.2–13.1 minutes), processing times (10.7–49.5 seconds) and fasciculation frequencies (27.4–71.1 per minute) for 165 thirty-minute recordings were compared. The overall median fasciculation frequency was 40.5 per minute (10.6–79.4 IQR). Conclusion We hereby introduce AVID as a flexible, targeted approach to exclude voluntary muscle activity from HDSEMG recordings. Significance Longitudinal quantification of fasciculations in ALS could provide unique insight into motor neuron health.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- J. Bashford
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, UK
- Corresponding author. https://spiqe.co.uk
| | - A. Wickham
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, UK
| | - R. Iniesta
- Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics, King’s College London, UK
| | - E. Drakakis
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, UK
| | - M. Boutelle
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, UK
| | - K. Mills
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, UK
| | - CE. Shaw
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, UK
| |
Collapse
|