Description

ABSTRACT

Last years a large number of clinical reports about water intoxication with detailed description of its symptoms. Undoubtedly, water intoxication leads to remodeling of the heart. However, the features of structural and functional changes of the heart are not fully understood. Prolonged hypoosmolar overhydration causes a volume overload necessitating cardioprotectors together with a complex of measures aimed at stabilizing the water and electrolyte balance. Our research is aimed to study the characteristics of the heart restructuring, changes of its chemical composition at severe hypoosmolar overhydration and attempt to correct the identified changes with derivative meldonium.

The experiment involved 36 white laboratory rats. We simulated severe overhydration during 25 days by the introduction of 10 ml distilled water three times a day and synthetic analogue of antidiuretic hormone “Minirin” (Ferring) 2 times a day at a dose 0.01 mg without cardioprotector (first experimental series) and with the parallel introduction of cardioprotector (second experimental series). To study the morphological and functional changes of the heart, we analyzed organometric, light microscopic, histomorphometric and spectrophotometric data.

The investigation showed that the meldonium slows the increasing of right ventricular weight and dilatation of its cavity, reduces the effects of cardiomyocytes ischemic damage, stabilizes the ratio of myocardial structural components, minimizes changes in the heart chemical composition.

Key words: overhydration, heart remodeling, cardiomyocite, cardioprotector