Aiming to determine the delayed cardiac effects of sarin, researchers studied mice injected with sarin - at doses too low to produce visible symptoms - 10 weeks after the exposure.
"The two-month period was used to simulate the late onset effect of sarin/nerve agents in gulf war veterans," said Mariana Morris, director of the research program. "There are suggestions that gulf war illness; in which symptoms are long-lasting, may be related to exposure to low-dose chemical warfare agents."
Cardiac damage detected in sarin-exposed mice at 10 weeks, but not earlier, included:
- Left ventricular dilation, meaning the heart's left ventricle is larger.
- Prolonged ventricular repolarization, an electrical conduction anomaly that could lead to heart rhythm abnormalities.
- Reduction in contractility, the extent of ventricular contraction and hence the amount of blood pumped from the ventricle when it contracts.
Note:
Presentation Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2010, Abstract P125
Source:
Darcy Spitz
American Heart Association