Effect of emitted qi on reprefusion injury of myocardium

Reperfusion injury of myocardium means that instead of benefiting from reperfusion, the ischemic and anoxic myocardium dies off as a consequence of reperfusion. The clinical significance of reperfusion injury has attracted people's attention, but its mechanism is not quite clear. We understand that in many diseases. in which recovery is impossible by various therapeutic methods, qigong proves to be highly effective. The present study is to find out whether the emitted qi has a beneficial effect on reperfusion injury to ischemic myocardium.

Seventeen New Zealand rabbits undergoing operation for reperfusion of myocardium by 60 min. ligation and 20 min. re-clysis of the left lateral branch of the coronary artery were investigated in two randomized groups. The qigong group of 10 rabbits received the emitted qi for half an hour every morning for 20 days before the operation and received the emitted qi on the operation table when the operation was going on. The control group of 7 rabbits as operated on in the same way but without the emitted qi treatment. The EGG was taken. Blood samples were obtained for biochemical assay before and after ligation and at the end of re-clysis. Then the animals were killed, heart was inspected and pieces of ischemic myocardium from the left ventricular wall were sectioned and prepared for microscopic examination. The serum level of creatine phosphate kinase (CPK), glutamic-oxaloacetic aminotransfrnase (GOT), lactate dehydroqenase (LDH) and its isoenzymes LDHl, LDH2 were determined.

The experimental results showed that the reperfusion injury model was successful. Immediately after ligation of the left lateral branch of the coronary artery, there appeared an elevation of the S-T segment of leads Il and III in the electrocardiogram; the left ventricular wall distal to the ligation became pale in color, contracting weakly and bulging out slightly through the 60 minutes duration of ischemia. During the stage of re-clysis, the ischemic myocardium returned to a somewhat deeper color and showed a slight decline of the elevated. S-T segment in the electrocardiogram. It was found that the enzymes determined increased in the serum at the time of myocardial ischemia and reached a high level during reperfusion. This was especially marked in LDH 1. The mean LDH 1 content in the qigong group was significantly (P<O.05) lower than that of the control group. The mean TDP content was significantly (P<O.05) lower in the qigong group (12.75 m mol/mg) than in the control group (97.98 mmol/mg) . Thus the mean ATP/ADP quotient (qigong group 0.088, control group 0.056) was significantly higher in the qigong group (P<0.05) Microscopic examination of the myocardium revealed that most muscle fibers appeared to be swollen with hydropic degeneration, and some muscle fibers appeared to be acidophilic and necrotic with foci of leucocytic infiltration scattered here and there. Occasionally necrosis of the contraction band of muscle fibers could be observed. Histochemical analysis of the myocardium revealed that the LDH concentration in the ischemic region was much lower than that of the non ischemic region of the same heart. In comparison, the above mentioned pathologic changes were less severe in the qigong group than in the control group. This shows that there is more severe damage of the myocardial cells in the control group and more leakage of enzyme, especially leakage of LDH 1 into the blood. At the same time, we found that the oxygen consumption of liver cells in the qigong group was much lower than that of the control group. This may suggest that the emitted qi could exert the same effect the myocardium, resulting in low oxygen consumption which itself is a protective mechanism of tolerance toward hypoxia. The same should be true for the lowered rate of platelet aggregation in the qigong grong.

It is concluded that the application of the emitted qi to animals may lead to a regulatory effect on internal environmental balance and adaptation during reperfusion. As a result, ischemic tolerance is enhanced and myocardial protection is improved.