The Safar Center for Resuscitation Research: Searching for Breakthroughs in the New Millennium

Abstract

This review, written on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Institute for General Reanimatology of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, provides an update of recent research in the field of resuscitation medicine carried out at the Safar Center for Resuscitation Research at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Current and recent studies describing bench to bedside investigation in the areas of traumatic brain injury (TBI), cardiopulmonary arrest, hemorrhagic shock, and ultra-novel approaches to resuscitation are discussed. Investigation in TBI across a variety of topics by many investigators including mechanism of neuronal death, oxidative and nitrative stress, proteomics, adenosine, serotonin, novel magnetic resonance imaging application, inflicted childhood neurotrauma, and TBI rehabilitation is addressed. Research discussed in the program of cardiopulmonary arrest includes optimization of the use of mild hypothermia and novel investigation in experimental asphyxial cardiac arrest. In the program on hemorrhagic shock, our recent work on the application of mild hypothermia to prolong the «golden hour» is presented. Finally, a brief overview of our studies of a novel approach to the resuscitation of exsan-guination cardiac arrest using emergency preservation for resuscitation (EPR) is provided.

Keywords

• traumatic brain injury
• resuscitation
• child abuse
• inflicted childhood neurotrauma
• hemorrhagic shock
• emergency preservation and resuscitation
• apoptosis
• adenosine
• proteomics