Plasma catecholamine concentrations in acute states of stress and trauma.

Abstract

Plasma catecholamine concentrations in acute states of stress and trauma Sir Plasma catecholamine concentrations may provide an index of sympathoadrenal activity, plasma noradrenaline reflecting 'spill-over' from sympathetic nerve terminals, plasma adrenaline arising from the adrenal medulla (Cryer, 1980). However, it is not clear how useful such measurements might be clinically. We have measured plasma catecholamine concentrations in volunteers and patients in a variety of acute 'stressful' and 'traumatic' conditions as part of our studies on metabolic and physiological control in such states (Table 1). In these studies the overall concentration ranges of noradrenaline (0 21-213 nmol/1) and adrenaline (0 03-230 nmol/1) covered more than three orders of magnitude, enabling us to look at relationships with 'severity' of the condition over a very wide spectrum. The estimations were made by HPLC with electrochemical detection after preparation on cation-exchange resin and alumina (Frayn & Maycock, 1983).Venepuncture alone significantly elevated concentrations of both noradrenaline (NA) and adrenaline (A). In patients with post-operative sepsis, levels were increased, and similar to those in patients soon after minor and moderate injuries. After severe injuries,

An Effect of Injury on Thermoregulation in Man

“…Loss of fluid and other features of injury will increase sympathetic outflow and this is reflected in an increase in the plasma catecholamine concentrations. The increase after removal of 500 ml blood from a transfusion donor is less than that found after fractures of the type studied here (Little, Frayn, Randall, Stoner & Maycock, 1985). However, it is doubtful if this would explain the effects.…”

Catecholamine Stress Hormones Regulate Cellular Iron Homeostasis by a Posttranscriptional Mechanism Mediated by Iron Regulatory Protein

“…These stress hormones, more commonly known as catecholamines, trigger a series of biological reactions, including increased rate of energy metabolism (10,11), to prepare the organism to overcome or to adapt to the stressful events. During chronic or acute stress, EPI/NE concentration could be elevated up to 80 -100 times in plasma as compared with 3-5 nM EPI/NE in normal condition (12)(13)(14). Skeletal muscle cells may be exposed to a far higher concentration of catecholamines as they are present abun-dantly in neuromuscular junctions that connect the nervous system to the muscular system.…”

Crosstalk Between Adrenergic and Toll-Like Receptors in Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Keratinocytes: A Recipe for Impaired Wound Healing

“…Furthermore, our results may explain findings in other inflammatory disease processes. For example, an increase in BARK‐1 expression was observed in neutrophils obtained from septic humans relative to those of healthy individuals [78], sepsis being a condition associated with activation of both TLRs and ARs [79, 80] by high systemic levels of stress catecholamines and bacterial derived ligands [8–10, 34, 79, 80]. These results support our hypothesis that a combination of catecholamine stress and signaling through the innate immune intracellular transduction pathway results in an exaggerated inflamed local environment, characteristic of chronic wounds.…”