This study aimed to illustrate the dose-response relationships of direct scavenging activity amide-based local anesthetics against multiple free radicals in vitro. We have demonstrated that amide-type selectively and directly scavenge some radicals. Three kinds were eliminated by all four examined. Mepivacaine, lidocaine, bupivacaine, dibucaine scavenged hydroxyl dose-dependent manners. Ascorby...

INTRODUCTION: Manganese is a useful contrast agent for MRI of animals [1], which utilizes the fact that paramagnetic manganese ions (Mn) enter synaptically activated neurons through voltage-gated calcium channels [2], resulting in enhancement on T1-weighted MRI images. Although much progress has been made deciphering the effects of anesthetics upon individual ion channels, we are only beginning...

Meperidine (Demerol) has local anesthetic properties separate from its opioid receptor agonist effect. Unlike morphine, meperidine is structurally similar to local anesthetics. Therefore, it is not surprising that it possesses some characteristics of local anesthetics. If meperidine acts like a local anesthetic, binding to the same receptor sites and inhibiting nerve conduction, then drugs that...

Halothane was introduced as an anesthetic in the 1950s and was considered a revolutionary agent in the field of anesthesia. Soon after, halothane-induced hepatitis became a concern, leading to the development of less toxic gases that induced a lower incidence of side effects. Two types of halothane-related hepatotoxicity have been described: type 1, or mild hepatitis, is associated with elevate...

General anesthetics have been shown to perturb the membrane properties of excitable tissues. Due to their lipid solubility, anesthetics dissolve in every membrane, penetrate into organelles and interact with numerous cellular structures in multiple ways. Several studies indicate that anesthetics alter membrane fluidity and decrease the phase-transition temperature. However, the required concent...

FUNCTIONAL INTEGRATION IN THE CORTICAL NEURONAL NETWORK OF CONSCIOUS AND ANESTHETIZED ANIMALS Jeannette A. Vizuete Marquette University, 2012 General anesthesia consists of amnesia, analgesia, areflexia and unconsciousness. How anesthetics suppress consciousness has been a mystery for more than one and a half centuries. The overall goal of my research has been to determine the neural correlates...

Background: Our previous microarray study showed that sevoflurane anesthesia affects the expression of rat genes in multiple organs including the liver. In this study, we investigated whether liver protein expression was altered after propofol, sevoflurane, or isoflurane anesthesia. We also investigated differences in the time course of each drug 24 and 72 h after anesthesia. Methods: Rats were...

Innate and acquired immunity play a pivotal role in the host defense response. Pain, surgical stress, tissue injury and invasive micro-organisms are known to modulate complex immune responses in patients undergoing major surgery, which can lead to subsequent increased susceptibility to postoperative infections. Anesthetics may influence the immune response indirectly through modulation of the n...

BACKGROUND The endocannabinoid system includes G-protein-coupled cannabinoid receptors, the endocannabinoids N-arachidonoylethanolamine (anandamide) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol, and multiple enzymes involved in the biosynthesis and degradation of endocannabinoids, including the anandamide metabolizing enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase. Endocannabinoids play an important role in the physiologic c...