Noble path to oblivion: molecular and neurophysiological mechanisms of xenon.

971 May 2015 F OR chemists and physicists, xenon is a noble gas with 54 protons and low reactivity (or “inert”) due to an outer shell that is replete with electrons. For anesthesiologists, xenon is a drug with remarkable properties as a fast-acting anesthetic, analgesic, cardioprotectant, and neuroprotectant.1,2 But how does it work? In this issue of AnesthesIOlOgy, Mattusch et al.3 report an impressive study that provides insight into the molecular and neurophysiological mechanisms of xenon.