Mutations in the skeletal muscle RyR1 isoform of the ryanodine receptor (RyR) Ca2+-release channel confer susceptibility to malignant hyperthermia, which may be triggered by inhalational anesthetics such as halothane. Using immunoblotting, we show here that the ryanodine receptor, calmodulin, junctin, calsequestrin, sarcalumenin, calreticulin, annexin-VI, sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPas...

General anesthesia affects the expression of clock genes in various organs. Expression of Per2, a core component of the circadian clock, is markedly and reversibly suppressed by sevoflurane in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), and is considered to be a biochemical marker of anesthetic effect in the brain. The SCN contains various types of neurons, and this complexity makes it difficult to inve...

INTRODUCTION With the AnaConDa™ system, inhalational sedation in the intensive care unit has become popular. The device can be used with common intensive care unit ventilators and is inserted between the Y-piece and the patient. Liquid isoflurane or sevoflurane are delivered by a syringe pump. 90 % of anesthetic exhaled by the patient is absorbed by a reflector and resupplied during the next in...

Status epilepticus (SE) is defined as a seizure lasting longer than 5 min, or at least two seizures without full recovery of consciousness between them. Early emergent medical management consists of life support and an etiology survey, and subsequent treatment can be classified into 4 stages: (1) early SE, (2) established SE, (3) refractory SE, and (4) super-refractory SE. For early SE, benzodi...

Gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA), the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system, plays a key role in the regulation of neuronal transmission throughout the brain, affecting numerous physiological and psychological processes. Changes in GABA levels provoke disbalance between excitatory and inhibitory signals, and are involved in the development of numerous neuropsy...

BACKGROUND Intraoperative high inspired oxygen fraction (FIO2) is thought to reduce the incidence of surgical site infection (SSI) and postoperative nausea and vomiting, and to promote postoperative atelectasis. METHODS The authors searched for randomized trials (till September 2012) comparing intraoperative high with normal FIO2 in adults undergoing surgery with general anesthesia and report...

ablation, autonomic nervous system depression, amnesia, and rapid emergence with minimal to no untoward effects. In the past, both the patient and the anesthetist were at risk because of the explosive properties associated with inhaled anesthetics, most notably with cyclopropane and diethyl ether. Patients continue to experience prolonged nausea and/or vomiting from the modern anesthesia arsena...

BACKGROUND For ophthalmic surgery anesthesia, it is vital that intraocular pressure (IOP) is controlled. Most anesthetic drugs affect IOP dose-dependently, and inhalational anesthetics dose-dependently decrease IOP. In this study, we compared the effects of desflurane and sevoflurane on IOP and hemodynamics in pediatric ophthalmic surgery. METHODS Thirty eight pediatric patients from the age ...

Introduction: While cardiac mechanical functional studies initially focused on large mammals and the human, the mouse emerged as the preferred animal species for research in recent years [1]. Albeit evidence supports that bioenergetically and hemodynamically the mouse scales linearly with larger mammals and humans [2; 3], important physiological questions still remain for the appropriateness of...

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) neurons from the mouse and rat rostral medulla are stimulated by increased CO2 when studied in culture or brain slices. However, the response of 5-HT neurons has been variable when animals are exposed to hypercapnia in vivo. Here we examined whether halogenated inhalational anesthetics, which activate TWIK-related acid-sensitive K(+) (TASK) channels, could ...