beta-endorphin and Death--Sudden--Cardiac

To investigate the possible participation of endogenous opioids in the cerebral events that take place at the moment of death we studied brain, cerebrospinal fluid and serum contents of beta-endorphin in dogs that were either conscious or unconscious at the moment of sudden death induced by cardiac arrest. Although with great interindividual variations, the animals that were conscious at the moment of cardiac arrest, presented a significant increase in beta-endorphin when compared with their own previous values (p < 0.05) or with the values found in animals that were deeply anaesthetized at the time of cardiac arrest. There seems to be a sudden increment of beta-endorphin in brain tissue and body fluids of dogs who are conscious at the moment of sudden death, this change was not observed in dogs that were anaesthetized prior to death. Brain opioids could participate in the sensations narrated by subjects in the so called near-death experience.

Topics: Animals; beta-Endorphin; Brain; Brain Chemistry; Death, Sudden, Cardiac; Dogs; Heart Arrest

Using male and female Wistar rats, pituitary response to cardiac and respiratory failure type (CFT and RFT) sudden death caused by the intravenous administration of KC1 and SCC, respectively, was examined by analyzing variation in pituitary immunoreactive beta-endorphin (IR-beta-EP) levels determined by radioimmunoassay after death and in circulating IR-beta-EP levels during periods of agony. In the pituitary gland of both sexes which differed significantly in ratio of the organ weight to body weight for CFT and RFT (CFT greater than RFT), IR-beta-EP was significantly less in RFT than in CFT (p less than 0.05). No variation in plasma IR-beta-EP was noted during short periods of agony in CFT, but it markedly increased during long periods of agony in RFT. The highest elevation at 2 or 4 minutes after SCC administration was about 3 times the preadministration value for IR-beta-EP in males (p less than 0.01). But elevation in females was lower than in males. Rise plasma IR-beta-EP during agony of RFT is regarded to be of pituitary origin due to dexamethasone treatment. The pituitary was thus concluded to respond more to the fatal agony in RFT than in CFT.

Topics: Animals; beta-Endorphin; Death, Sudden; Death, Sudden, Cardiac; Female; Male; Pituitary Gland; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Respiratory Insufficiency