Presenter: Prof. Igor Konstantinov, A/Prof. Yves D’Udekem and Salvatore Pepe

Synopsis:

Remote ischemic preconditioning, or the phenomena that cells can be protected from ischaemia and the consequences of lack of oxygen or tissue reperfusion by prior ischaemia in a remote site. Professor Igor Konstantinov will describe his work on remote ischemeic preconditioning and particularly his demonstration of a “protective factor”: a transferable plasma-borne factor that protected mitochondrial structure and function.

Aortic valve surgery:Although the timing of aortic valve surgery is well defined in the paediatric population, the choice of technique is still debated. Several techniques for aortic valve repair have been developed at the Royal Children’s Hospital in the past 15 years. Associate Prof Yves d’Udekem will present the result of our policy of primary aortic valve repair in the three main groups of paediatric patients: Neonates, young children and late teenagers with three different anatomical challenges and three different strategies.

Autologous cord blood stem cells in neonatal cardiac surgery

In 2007 The Cardiac Surgery Unit initiated a research program to utilize the potential of autologous cord blood stem cells in neonatal cardiac surgery. The objective is to reinforce the function of the heart (the pump function) using the paracrine and other properties of stem cells. Salvatore Pepe runs the molecular cardiology laboratory within the Heart Research Group of the MCRI. His previous research has focused on adaptive metabolic and contractile processes in ischaemia-reperfusion injury, heart failure and heart transplantation.

Grand Round presented on 30 May 2012