Abstract
HYPOTHESIS:
That skeletal muscle, throughout the body, can be preconditioned to better withstand
prolonged periods of ischaemia, by first subjecting a remote muscle to brief, non-invasive and sub-lethal, cycles of ischaemia and reperfusion, using a hindlimb
tourniquet.
AIMS:
The aims of the project were:
1) To test the hypothesis, using porcine Latissimus Dorsi, Rectus Abdominis and
Gracilis muscle flaps.
2) To define the potency and time course of the protective effect of remote
ischaemic preconditioning in this model.
3) To assess the physiological effects of remote ischaemic preconditioning both in
terms of energy metabolism during subsequent prolonged ischaemia, and postischaemic blood flow
4) To investigate the mechanism of remote ischaemic preconditioning in this model.
