Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry

, Volume 98, Issue 1, pp 177–182 | Cite as

Differential scanning calorimetric examination of the human skeletal muscle in a compartment syndrome of the lower extremities

  • N. Wiegand
  • L. Vámhidy
  • B. Patczai
  • E. Dömse
  • L. Kereskai
  • D. Lőrinczy
Article
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

The compartment syndrome—conditions of elevated intramuscular pressure—is one of the most serious complications of the injuries of the lower extremities. Early diagnosis is important, as delayed treatment leads to significant complications. The diagnosis of compartment syndrome is most commonly made by clinical examination and direct measurement of the intra-compartmental pressure. Our hypothesis was that in different stages of compartment syndrome there is a clear pathological abnormality in the tissue elements of the affected muscles, which is responsible for seriousness of the disease, and could be monitored besides the classical histological methods by differential scanning calorimetry. The thermal denaturation of different parts of human samples was monitored by a SETARAM Micro DSC-II calorimeter. All the experiments were performed between 0 and 100 °C. The heating rate was 0.3 K/min. DSC scans clearly demonstrated significant differences between the different types and conditions of samples (control: Tm = 55.5; 59.9 °C and ΔHcal = 0.52 J/g, Gr. I.: Tm = 58.1; 62.2 °C and ΔHcal = 0.28 J/g, Gr. II.: Tm = 57.45; 61.5 °C and ΔHcal = 0.24 J/g, Volkmann’s ischemic contracture Tm = 57.75; 61.8; 65.8 °C and ΔHcal = 0.74 J/g). These observations could be explained with the structural alterations caused by the biochemical processes. The heat capacity change between native and denatured states of muscle samples was significant, indicating significant water loosing during denaturation, but independent from the structural alterations.

Keywords

Compartment syndrome Ischemic contractures DSC 
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Notes

Acknowledgment

The SETARAM Micro DSC-II was purchased with a grant (CO-272) from the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (Dénes Lőrinczy).

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Copyright information

© Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary 2009

Authors and Affiliations

  • N. Wiegand
    • 1
  • L. Vámhidy
    • 1
  • B. Patczai
    • 1
  • E. Dömse
    • 1
  • L. Kereskai
    • 2
  • D. Lőrinczy
    • 3
  1. 1.Department of Traumatology, Faculty of MedicineUniversity of PécsPécsHungary
  2. 2.Department of Pathology, Faculty of MedicineUniversity of PécsPécsHungary
  3. 3.Department of Biophysics, Faculty of MedicineUniversity of PécsPécsHungary

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