Anesthetics News and Research

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Limited use of general anesthesia does not cause developmental problems for children

An international team of researchers that includes a pediatric anesthesiologist from the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children's Hospital Colorado is reporting that limited use of general anesthesia with an infant does not cause developmental problems for the child.

27 Oct 2015

Discovery may provide noninvasive approach to assessing toxic effects of anesthetic agents in children

Could looking at the eyes provide a new way of studying how anesthesia affects the developing brain? The retinas of immature mice exposed to one widely used general anesthetic show evidence of "programmed cell death," or apoptosis, reports a study in Anesthesia & Analgesia.

19 Oct 2015

Innovative technologies offer hope to people living with chronic pain

More than 100 million people in this country have pain that won't go away. Many of these chronic pain sufferers fail to get relief from pills, shots and even surgery, while others temporarily trade the pain for side effects such as drowsiness or digestive problems.

11 Sep 2015

Repeated exposure to anesthesia early in life causes long-term behavioral changes

Repeated exposure to anesthesia early in life causes alterations in emotional behavior that may persist long-term, according to a study from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in collaboration with the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, and published in the Online First edition of Anesthesiology, the official medical journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

4 Sep 2015

Volatile anesthetics may combat viral and bacterial infections in the lung

In use for more than a century, inhaled anesthetics like nitrous oxide and halothane have made modern surgery possible. Now, in experiments in mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere have added to evidence that certain so-called "volatile" anesthetics -- commonly used during surgeries -- may also possess powerful effects on the immune system that can combat viral and bacterial infections in the lung, including influenza and pneumonia.

2 Sep 2015

Research reveals why older adults who undergo general anesthesia experience postoperative delirium

Newly published research from the Department of Geriatrics and Gerontology at the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine explains why up to half of older adults who undergo general anesthesia develop postoperative delirium - the sudden onset of confusion, aggression or agitated behavior that could progress to dementia. The findings indicate that older patients who are undergoing surgery may benefit from a less-potent, slower-acting anesthetic.

26 Aug 2015

MGH papers reveal the way anesthetics affect brains of older patients and children

Recent Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigations into the neurobiology underlying the effects of general anesthesia have begun to reveal the ways different anesthetic agents alter specific aspects of the brain's electrical signals, reflected by EEG (electroencephalogram) signatures. While those studies have provided information that may lead to improved techniques for monitoring the consciousness of patients receiving general anesthesia, until now they have been conducted in relatively young adult patients.

14 Aug 2015

New review points to most promising areas for liposomes' further development

An international group of scientists, including Vladimir Chupin, head of the Biophysics Section at MIPT, and Vladimir Torchilin (Northeastern University, the USA), one of the world's leading experts in pharmacology, recently presented a review of liposomes, microscopic capsules widely used all over the world in the development of new drugs.

11 Aug 2015

Screening questionnaire helps anesthesia professionals identify SDB symptoms in children prior to surgery

Knowing which risks may come into play before or during surgery is especially important where children are concerned.

11 Aug 2015

RepliCel Life Sciences announces final design specifications for next-generation dermal injector

RepliCel Life Sciences Inc., a clinical stage regenerative medicine company, is pleased to announce that the final design specifications of its next-generation dermal injector (RCI-02) have been locked. Prototypes for industrial and regulatory testing will now be built to prepare for an application for CE mark clearance to market the injector in Europe in 2016.

29 Jul 2015

CU research suggests safe, lower-cost way to treat upper gastrointestinal tract problems in children

Physicians at the University of Colorado School of Medicine on the Anschutz Medical Campus have published research that suggests a safe and lower-cost way to diagnose and treat problems in the upper gastrointestinal tract of children.

16 Jul 2015

Innovation in anaesthesia: an interview with Matti Lehtonen, GE Healthcare

The spectrum of patients seen today, from pre-term infants to the morbidly obese to the longer living elderly, is wider than ever before and increasingly more challenging with patients often presenting with multiple co-morbidities. This puts a huge strain on healthcare providers who are facing increasing challenges such as cost pressure and staff shortages.

14 Jul 2015

MIT researchers reveal key brainwave changes among patients receiving nitrous oxide

Nitrous oxide, commonly known as "laughing gas," has been used in anesthesiology practice since the 1800s, but the way it works to create altered states is not well understood. In a study published this week in Clinical Neurophysiology, MIT researchers reveal some key brainwave changes among patients receiving the drug.

7 Jul 2015

Young children who receive surgical anesthesia have diminished brain function

Children who received general anesthesia for surgery before age 4 had diminished language comprehension, lower IQ and decreased gray matter density in posterior regions of their brain, according to a new study in the journal Pediatrics.

8 Jun 2015

New compound offers longer lasting painkilling effects

Medications have long been used to treat pain caused by injury or chronic conditions. Unfortunately, most are short-term fixes or cause side effects that limit their use. Researchers at the University of Missouri have discovered a new compound that offers longer lasting painkilling effects, and shows promise as an alternative to current anesthetics.

7 May 2015

Anesthetics interfere with certain proteins in excitatory neurons that transmit signals

Anesthetics have been used in surgical procedures for more than 150 years, but the mechanisms by which inhaled anesthesia actually work are poorly understood. Now, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine have discovered that anesthetics bind to and interfere with certain proteins in excitatory neurons, which are necessary for these neurons to transmit signals involved in anesthesia and the perception of pain.

18 Mar 2015

Investigators caution parents, health care providers about use of general anesthetics in children

A group of anesthesiologists and toxicologists today issued a caution to parents and health care professionals about the use of general anesthetics in children.

27 Feb 2015

Penn researchers make breakthrough on novel anesthetics

Penn Medicine researchers, in a continuation of their groundbreaking work to better understand how anesthesia works in the body, have found the first new class of novel anesthetics since the 1970s. Their findings, published in February issue of Anesthesiology, detail the processes through which the group uncovered these compounds.

21 Jan 2015

Despite forced-air warming, hypothermia affects patients undergoing surgery

Body temperature decreases during the first hour of surgery, even when patients are actively warmed with forced air, reports a new study published in the February issue of Anesthesiology, the official medical journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.