Shriners Hospitals for Children - Galveston

About: Shriners Hospitals for Children - Galveston is a healthcare organization based out in Galveston, Texas, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Burn injury & Lean body mass. The organization has 249 authors who have published 420 publications receiving 15311 citations.

Effects of Exercise Training on Resting Energy Expenditure and Lean Mass During Pediatric Burn Rehabilitation

Abstract: Severe burns cause profound hormonal and metabolic disturbances resulting in hypermetabolism, reflected in extreme elevation of resting energy expenditure (REE) and extensive skeletal muscle catabolism. Aerobic and resistive exercise programs during rehabilitation have shown substantial benefits, although whether such training potentially exacerbates basal metabolism is unknown. Therefore, the effects of exercise training on REE during the rehabilitation of severely burned pediatric patients were examined. Children with 40% total body surface area burns and greater were enrolled at admission to the burn intensive care unit to participate in a 12-week, hospital-based exercise program (EX) or a home-based standard of care program (SOC), commencing 6 months after injury. Twenty-one patients (aged 7-17 years) were enrolled and randomized to SOC (n = 10) or EX (n = 11). Age, sex, and total body surface area burned were similar. Mean change (+/-standard deviation) in REE, normalized to individual lean body mass, was almost negligible between SOC and EX group patients (SOC, 0.03 +/- 17.40% vs EX, 0.01 +/- 26.38%). A significant increase in lean body mass was found for EX patients (SOC, 2.06 +/- 3.17% vs EX, 8.75 +/- 5.65%; P = .004), which persisted when normalized to height (SOC, 0.70 +/- 2.39% vs EX, 6.14 +/- 6.46%; P = .02). Peak torque also improved significantly more in EX patients (SOC, 12.29 +/- 16.49% vs EX, 54.31 +/- 44.25%; P = .02), reflecting improved strength. Exercise training significantly enhanced lean mass and strength, without observed exacerbation of postburn hypermetabolism. Therefore, the use of exercise conditioning as a safe and effective component of pediatric burn rehabilitation is advocated.

Liposomal IGF-1 gene transfer modulates pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine mRNA expression in the burn wound.

Abstract: Liposomal IGF-1 gene transfer modulates pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine mRNA expression in the burn wound

Time-Dependent and Organ-Specific Changes in Mitochondrial Function, Mitochondrial DNA Integrity, Oxidative Stress and Mononuclear Cell Infiltration in a Mouse Model of Burn Injury.

Abstract: Severe thermal injury induces a pathophysiological response that affects most of the organs within the body; liver, heart, lung, skeletal muscle among others, with inflammation and hyper-metabolism as a hallmark of the post-burn damage. Oxidative stress has been implicated as a key component in development of inflammatory and metabolic responses induced by burn. The goal of the current study was to evaluate several critical mitochondrial functions in a mouse model of severe burn injury. Mitochondrial bioenergetics, measured by Extracellular Flux Analyzer, showed a time dependent, post-burn decrease in basal respiration and ATP-turnover but enhanced maximal respiratory capacity in mitochondria isolated from the liver and lung of animals subjected to burn injury. Moreover, we detected a tissue-specific degree of DNA damage, particularly of the mitochondrial DNA, with the most profound effect detected in lungs and hearts of mice subjected to burn injury. Increased mitochondrial biogenesis in lung tissue in response to burn injury was also observed. Burn injury also induced time dependent increases in oxidative stress (measured by amount of malondialdehyde) and neutrophil infiltration (measured by myeloperoxidase activity), particularly in lung and heart. Tissue mononuclear cell infiltration was also confirmed by immunohistochemistry. The amount of poly(ADP-ribose) polymers decreased in the liver, but increased in the heart in later time points after burn. All of these biochemical changes were also associated with histological alterations in all three organs studied. Finally, we detected a significant increase in mitochondrial DNA fragments circulating in the blood immediately post-burn. There was no evidence of systemic bacteremia, or the presence of bacterial DNA fragments at any time after burn injury. The majority of the measured parameters demonstrated a sustained elevation even at 20–40 days post injury suggesting a long-lasting effect of thermal injury on organ function. The current data show that there are marked time-dependent and tissue-specific alterations in mitochondrial function induced by thermal injury, and suggest that mitochondria-specific damage is one of the earliest responses to burn injury. Mitochondria may be potential therapeutic targets in the future experimental therapy of burns.