Asher Mendelson

University of Manitoba | UMN · Department of Internal Medicine

Abstract Background Preclinical sepsis models have been criticized for their inability to recapitulate human sepsis and suffer from methodological shortcomings that limit external validity and reproducibility. The National Preclinical Sepsis Platform (NPSP) is a consortium of basic science researchers, veterinarians, and stakeholders in Canada unde...

Skeletal muscle dysfunction after critical illness, defined as ICU-acquired weakness (ICU-AW), is a complex and multifactorial syndrome that contributes significantly to long-term morbidity and reduced quality of life for ICU survivors and caregivers. Historically, research in this field has focused on pathological changes within the muscle itself,...

Background The importance of investigating sex- and gender-dependent differences has been recently emphasized by major funding agencies. Notably, the influence of biological sex on clinical outcomes in sepsis is unclear, and observational studies suffer from the effect of confounding factors. The controlled experimental environment afforded by prec...

Sepsis, a medical emergency, is the overwhelming host response to infection leading to organ failure. The pathophysiology of this heterogenous disease includes an inflammatory response that stimulates a complex interaction between endothelial and complement with associated coagulation abnormalities. Despite a more comprehensive understanding of sep...

Background Small hyperbranched polyglycerol (HPG) has been recently of interest for peritoneal dialysis, but its pharmacokinetics is barely understood. This study investigated the absorption, distribution and excretion of 1 and 3 kDa HPG. Methods Rats (naive, 5/6 nephrectomy (5/6 Nx) or bilateral nephrectomy (BNx)) received a single dose of ³ H-la...

Older adults often experience episodes of a sudden drop in blood pressure when standing, known as orthostatic hypotension (OH). OH is associated with an increased risk of life-threatening health problems, falls, and death. Although OH has been studied in older adults, the integrated dynamic autonomic and cardiovascular regulation during postural tr...

Introduction Medical advancements are slow to reach the patient bedside due to issues with knowledge translation from preclinical studies. Multi-laboratory preclinical studies are a promising strategy for addressing the methodological deficiencies that weaken the translational impact of single laboratory findings. However, multi-laboratory preclini...

Red cell transfusion is an extremely common medical intervention. This chapter reviews the current knowledge about red cell transfusion, their risks and benefits, risk posed by anemia, at what hemoglobin concentration a transfusion will mitigate the effects of anemia and result in improved outcomes. It also shows clinical recommendations are largel...

Background: We have sought to develop methodology for deriving optimal bispectral index (BIS) values (BISopt) for patients with moderate/severe traumatic brain injury, using continuous monitoring of cerebrovascular reactivity and bispectral electroencephalography. Methods: Arterial blood pressure, intracranial pressure, and BIS (a bilateral meas...

Key points: The capillary module (CM), consisting of parallel capillaries from arteriole to venule, is classically considered the building block of capillary networks in skeletal muscle. Detailed evaluation of module hemodynamics may provide insight into mechanisms of blood flow regulation in the microcirculation. Using experimental data from rest...

Purpose: There is a need for bedside methods to monitor oxygen delivery in the microcirculation. Near-infrared spectroscopy commonly measures tissue oxygen saturation, but does not reflect the time-dependent variability of microvascular hemoglobin content (MHC) that attempts to match oxygen supply with demand. The objective of this study is to det...

Despite decades of preclinical research, no experimentally derived therapies for sepsis have been successfully adopted into routine clinical practice. Factors that contribute to this crisis of translation include poor representation by preclinical models of the complex human condition of sepsis, bias in preclinical studies, as well as limitations o...

Multimodal monitoring has been gaining traction in the critical care of patients following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Through providing a deeper understanding of the individual patient’s comprehensive physiologic state, or “physiome,” following injury, these methods hold the promise of improving personalized care and advancing precision medicine...

Background: 'Patient engagement' involves meaningful collaboration between researchers and 'patient partners' to co-create research. It helps ensure that research being conducted is relevant to its ultimate end-users. Although patient engagement within clinical research has been well documented, the prevalence and effects of patient engagement in...

Preclinical studies provide an opportunity to evaluate the relationship between sex and sepsis, and investigate underlying mechanisms in a controlled experimental environment. The objective of our systematic review was to assess the impact of biological sex on treatment response to fluid and antibiotic therapy in animal models of sepsis. Furthermor...

An opportunity exists to advance our understanding of the microcirculation and capabilities to therapeutically manipulate it by connecting clinicians with basic science researchers. This special topic issue emphasizes the impacts of the microcirculation on different aspects of clinical medicine and showcases how microvascular research might bridge...

The past few decades have seen an explosion in the development and use of methods for imaging the human microcirculation during health and disease. The confluence of innovative imaging technologies, affordable computing power and economies of scale have ushered in a new era of "translational" imaging that permit us to peer into blood vessels of var...

Key points: The capillary module - consisting of parallel capillaries from arteriole to venule - is classically considered the building block of complex capillary networks. In skeletal muscle, this structure fails to address how blood flow is regulated along the entire length of the synchronously contracting muscle fibres. Using intravital videomi...

In this mini-review we provide an overview of sex- and gender-dependent issues in both clinical and preclinical sepsis. The increasing recognition for the need to account for sex and gender in biomedical research brings a unique set of challenges and requires researchers to adopt best practices in conducting and communicating sex- and gender-based...

Introduction: Preclinical sepsis research has been frequently criticized for shortfalls that limit translational impact. These can broadly be classified into problems with construct validity and preclinical methodology, whereby small animal models inadequately recapitulate the complex human condition of sepsis and experimental design contains numer...

Outcomes reported in randomized controlled trials in peritoneal dialysis (PD) are diverse, are measured inconsistently, and may not be important to patients, families, and clinicians. The Standardized Outcomes in Nephrology-Peritoneal Dialysis (SONG-PD) initiative aims to establish a core outcome set for trials in PD based on the shared priorities...

Background Recognition of the discrepancy between the research priorities of patients and health professionals has prompted efforts to involve patients as active contributors in research activities, including scientific conferences. However, there is limited evidence about the experience, challenges, and impacts of patient involvement to inform bes...

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is commonly observed among peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients, and hyperbranched polyglycerol (HPG) is a promising glucose‐sparing osmotic agent for PD. However, the biocompatibility of a HPG‐based PD solution (HPG) in subjects with MetS has not been investigated. This study compared the local and systemic effects of a HPG...

Analyzed ICU patient data by deriving trends to determine the accuracy of Hyperspectral NIRS (H-NIRS) device in measuring local tissue oxygenation.

Background Replacing glucose with a better biocompatible osmotic agent in peritoneal dialysis (PD) solutions is needed in PD clinic. We previously demonstrated the potential of hyperbranched polyglycerol (HPG) as a replacement for glucose. This study further investigated the long-term effects of chronic exposure to HPG as compared to a glucose-base...

Glucose is a common osmotic agent for peritoneal dialysis (PD), but has many adverse side effects for patients with end-stage renal disease. Recently, hyperbranched polyglycerol (HPG) has been tested as an alternative osmotic agent for PD. This study was designed to further examine the efficacy and biocompatibility of HPG over a range of different...

RE: Intracranial Pressure Monitors in Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review. Can J Neurol Sci. 2013;40: 433-434. - Volume 40 Issue 3 - Donald E.G. Griesdale, Asher A. Mendelson, Chris Gillis, William R. Henderson, Juan J. Ronco, Vinay Dhingra

RE: Intracranial Pressure Monitors in Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review. Can J Neurol Sci. 2013;40: 433-434 - Volume 40 Issue 3 - Donald E. G. Griesdale, Asher A. Mendelson, Chris Gillis, William R. Henderson, Juan J. Ronco, Vinay Dhingra

To enhance the effectiveness of peritoneal dialysis (PD), new biocompatible PD solutions may be needed. The present study was designed to test the efficacy and biocompatibility of hyperbranched polyglycerol (HPG)-a nontoxic, nonimmunogenic water-soluble polyether polymer-in PD. ♢ Adult Sprague-Dawley rats were instilled with 30 mL HPG solution (mol...

We conducted a systematic review to examine the relationship between intracranial pressure monitors (ICP) monitors and mortality in traumatic brain injury (TBI). We systematically searched for articles that met the following criteria: (1) adults patients, (2) TBI, (3) use of an ICP monitor, (4) point estimate for mortality with ICP monitoring (5) a...

We conducted a systematic review to examine the relationship between intracranial pressure monitors (ICP) monitors and mortality in traumatic brain injury (TBI). We systematically searched for articles that met the following criteria: (1) adults patients, (2) TBI, (3) use of an ICP monitor, (4) point estimate for mortality with ICP monitoring (5) a...

Sclerosing mucoepidermoid carcinoma (SMEC) is an extremely rare variant of mucoepidermoid carcinoma with unique histologic features. To the best of our knowledge, only 14 cases of salivary gland SMEC have been previously reported in the English-language literature since it was discovered in 1987. We report a new case of salivary gland SMEC, and we...

To evaluate the incidence and nature of thyroid gland invasion (TGI) in laryngeal carcinoma at the head and neck centres at McGill University. A retrospective case series was undertaken of 74 total laryngectomies performed at both McGill head and neck centres from 2001 to 2006. Thirteen specimens were excluded because thyroidectomies were not perfo...

To determine whether preoperative variables can be used to predict malignancy for thyroid nodules with follicular, Hürthle, or nondiagnostic cytology on fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB). Retrospective analysis of 77 consecutive patients selected for total or subtotal thyroidectomy for follicular, Hürthle, or nondiagnostic lesions of the thyroid...

1) Review the incidence of thyroid gland invasion by squamous cell laryngeal carcinoma reported in the literature. 2) Assess the association between thyroid gland invasion and anatomical characteristics of the laryngeal tumor. MEDLINE (1967-2007) and EMBASE (1980-2007). These databases were supplemented with 61 patients from McGill University who u...

Objective 1. Review the incidence of thyroid gland invasion by squamous cell laryngeal carcinoma in the literature. 2. Correlate thyroid gland invasion with anatomical characteristics of the laryngeal tumor. Do laryngeal tumors which invade the thyroid gland share certain characteristics which can aid in determing the management of the thyroid glan...