The Role of Oxygen Radicals in Cardiovascular Diseases, 1988 A Conference in the European Concerted Action on Breakdown in Human Adaptation — Cardiovascular Diseases, held in Asolo, Italy, 2–5 December 1986

Growing experimental evidence is beeing produced in support of the thesis that lipid pe,oxidation is an important mediator of both vascular and myocardial tissue derangement. Although the role of the free-radical system in human cardiovascular pathology remains speculative, nevertheless the potential implications of such a system in both pharmacological therapy and prevention of major cardiovascular diseases, such as myocardial infarction, cardiomyopathy and arrhythmias, justify the increasing interest of clinical cardiologists in this research area. Furthermore, present-day clinical cardiology permits to reproduce in man such experimental models as ischemia and reperfusion, e.g. during percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, and even to gain histological and histochemical access to byoptic myocardial tissue. Upon above premises the idea of a multidisciplinary discussion meeting was conceived, aimed to confront clinical expectations with acquired basic information, and to discuss the validity of experimental models in the light of pathological and clinical findings in man. To this purpose, a unique group of experts in the field of free-radicals, from all over the world, was asked to make the topic accessible to clinical cardiologists, with the primary aim of projecting results and ideas towards potential clinical research; this is, in fact, the object of the European Concerted Action "Breakdown in Human Adaptation - Cardiovascular Diseases", in the frame of which the meeting was held.

Oxygen Toxicity: Biochemical, Physiological And Pathological Aspects.- Morphologic Differences in Myocardial Necrosis and Atherosclerotic Plaque. What is Their Pathogenetic Meaning?.- Free Radicals and Circulatory Shock.- Reperfusion Arrhythmias: Do Free Radicals Play a Role?.- Diene Conjugation in the Clinical Measurement of Free-Radical Activity.- Conversion of RAT Xanthine Dehydrogenase to Xanthine Oxidase During Oxidative Stress.- Cardiac Cell Breakdown at Reoxygenation: Absence of Changes in Xanthine Oxidase and Effects of Calcium Concentration.- Oxidative Stress in the Myocardium: Relationship with Eicosanoid Biosynthesis and Tissue Damage.- The reaction Between Oxymyoglobin and Hydroperodixes. Formation of Electronically Excited States Detected by Low-Level Chemiluminescence.- The role of iron mobilization in ischemic tissue damage.- Role of Lipid Peroxidation in Increasing Calcium Permeability of Model and Natural Membranes.- Cytotoxic Mechanisms for Cholesterol Oxidation Products in Fibroblasts and Endothelial Cells.- Possible Importance of Proteolytic Systems as Secondary Antioxidant Defenses During Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury.- Inhibition by Some Synthetic Antioxidants of the Agonist-Induced Activation of Aspirinated Platelets and of the Depolarization-Induced Release of Neurotransmitter from Brain Synaptosomes.- Pulmonary Vascular Injury from Reactive Oxygen Species.- Changes of Activity of Intracellular Antioxidant Enzymes of Heart in Response to Ischemia-Reperfusion.- Enzymatic Defense Systems Against Hydroperoxides and Oxygen-Centered Radicals in Mammals: Glutathione Peroxidase and Superoxide Dismutases.- Antioxidant Mechanisms in the Heart: The Potential Involvement of Myoglobin.- The Cardiac Defense System Associated with Glutathione.- Lipid Peroxides as a Cause of Atherosclerosis.