To corroborate thiopental protection from cerebral anoxia after cardiopulmonary arrest, 23 sedated, curarized, adult dogs were asphyxiated by plugging the endotracheal tube. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was started 7 minutes after electrocortical silence. Twelve animals received no other treatment (controls), 10 regained consciousness and spontaneous respirations, but remained decerebrat...

Myotonic dystrophy is a rare genetic disorder characterized by muscle atrophy and weakness. Surgical treatment of this condition poses various problems for the anesthesiologist. We describe the anesthetic management of a 10-month-old infant with congenital myotonic dystrophy, who was scheduled for endoscopic third ventriculostomy under general anesthesia. Anesthesia was induced with thiopental ...

Huntington's disease is a dominantly inherited progressive autosomal disease that affects the basal ganglia. Symptoms appear later in life and manifest as progressive mental deterioration and involuntary choreiform movements. Patients with Huntington's disease develop a progressive but variable dementia. Dysphagia, the most significant related motor symptom, hinders nutrition intake and places ...

In vitro effects of dihydroergotoxine, dihydroergosine, dihydroergotamine, alpha-dihydroergocriptine (ergot alkaloids), diazepam, methyl-beta-Carboline-3-carboxilate (beta-CCM), flumazenil (benzodiazepines), gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) and thiopental (barbiturate) were studied on mouse brain (cerebrum minus cerebral cortex) benzodiazepine binding sites labeled with 3H-flunitrazepam. Specifi...

Thiopental, monosodium 5-ethyl-5(1-methylbutyl) -thiobarbiturate, is extensively used in clinical anesthesia either as a primary anesthetic agent for short surgical procedures or as a supplementary drug in conjunction with other anesthetics. Fatalities have been attributed to its use (1, 2) and cardiac arrest has occurred following its administration to patients under spinal anesthesia (3). Mos...

An accurate, sensitive, and specific gas-liquid-chromatographic procedure is described for determining concentrations of thiopental in human plasma. After a double extraction of 0.2 or 1.0 mL of plasma containing phenobarbital as an internal standard, thiopental and the internal standard are derivatized in a polar non-aqueous solvent system with iodomethane. The reaction mixture is then evapora...