Anesthetics News and Research

RSS

Anesthetics can cause long-term memory loss, reveal University of Toronto researchers

Researchers at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Medicine have shown why anesthetics can cause long-term memory loss, a discovery that can have serious implications for post-operative patients.

4 Nov 2014

Epidural and spinal anesthesia safe for relieving pain during childbirth

Women seeking pain relief during childbirth should be comforted to know that epidural and spinal anesthesia are extremely safe, suggests a study of more than 80,000 women that reviewed anesthesia complications during obstetrical care.

16 Oct 2014

Caltech researcher explores link between variable heart rate, health and fitness

Although the heart beats out a very familiar "lub-dub" pattern that speeds up or slows down as our activity increases or decreases, the pattern itself isn't as regular as you might think. In fact, the amount of time between heartbeats can vary even at a "constant" heart rate-and that variability, doctors have found, is a good thing.

23 Sep 2014

Review of clinical trials based on administering antidepressants for chronic postsurgical pain

After a systematic review of clinical trials based on administering antidepressants for acute and chronic postsurgical pain, researchers have concluded that more trials are needed to determine whether these drugs should be prescribed for postsurgical pain on a regular basis.

30 Aug 2014

Doctors test device designed to 'turn off' cluster headaches

For those suffering excruciating pain from cluster headaches, relief may soon be available from an investigational device being studied in a national multicenter clinical trial. Recently, doctors at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center performed the first surgery in the United States to insert a neurostimulator to provide relief from cluster headaches, which are more painful than migraines.

19 Aug 2014

FDA approves Ryanodex for treatment of malignant hyperthermia linked with anesthesia

Eagle Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Ryanodex® (dantrolene sodium) for injectable suspension indicated for the treatment of malignant hyperthermia (MH), along with the appropriate supportive measures.

24 Jul 2014

Stimulating specific brain pathway may induce active emergence from anesthesia

Researchers may be one step closer to better understanding how anesthesia works. A study in the August issue of Anesthesiology, the official medical journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists- (ASA-), found stimulating a major dopamine-producing region in the brain, the ventral tegmental area (VTA), caused rats to wake from general anesthesia, suggesting that this region plays a key role in restoring consciousness after general anesthesia.

23 Jul 2014

MedicAlert Foundation announces free medical IDs for individuals living with Malignant Hyperthermia

MedicAlert Foundation is pleased to announce that individuals living with Malignant Hyperthermia (MH) are now eligible to receive free medical IDs and live 24/7 emergency response services as the result of a grant obtained through the Sandi Ida Glickstein Fund at the Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the United States.

28 Jun 2014

Geoff Keller Group of MHAUS hosts fundraising event to promote MH awareness

The Geoffrey Keller Memorial Open Water Swim held in honor of the late son of Curt and Kathy Keller to raise funds to research better ways of managing Malignant Hyperthermia during surgery, to improve methods of detecting MH, and for MH awareness.

5 Jun 2014

Storing dantrolene can save 33 lives per year, say MH experts

MH experts say Storing dantrolene would save 33 lives per year at an incremental cost effectiveness ratio of nearly $200,000 (in 2010 dollars) per life saved, indicating that storing dantrolene at ambulatory surgical centers is very cost effective say, Malignant Hyperthermia Experts: Taiwo Aderibigbe, BS; Barbara H. Lang, BS; Henry Rosenberg, MD; Guohua Li, MD, PhD, Columbia University, New York who authored the article "Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Stocking Dantrolene in Ambulatory Surgery Centers" that was recently published in the latest official journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, Anesthesiology.

5 Jun 2014

SYNERA can help prevent needle stick pain associated with superficial IVs

Galen US Incorporated today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved a labeling change that allows SYNERA® (lidocaine and tetracaine) topical patch to be used at home.

4 Jun 2014

IV-administered ketamine effective in patients with chronic PTSD

For the first time, evidence that a single dose of IV-administered ketamine was associated with the rapid reduction of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in patients with chronic PTSD was demonstrated in a proof-of-concept, randomized, double blind crossover study, undertaken by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. These findings, according to Mount Sinai researchers, could be the first step toward developing new interventions for PTSD.

21 Apr 2014

Researchers develop novel assay to identify genes controlling pharynx regeneration in flatworms

As multicellular creatures go, planaria worms are hardly glamorous. To say they appear rudimentary is more like it. These tiny aquatic flatworms that troll ponds and standing water resemble brown tubes equipped with just the basics: a pair of beady light-sensing "eyespots" on their head and a feeding tube called the pharynx (which doubles as the excretory tract) that protrudes from a belly sac to suck up food.

11 Apr 2014

Ketamine offers novel treatment for patients with severe depression

New data show ketamine (a drug widely used for anaesthesia and pain relief) has a rapid antidepressant effect in some patients with severe depression. The first UK study of ketamine intravenous infusions in people with treatment-resistant depression was conducted by the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Oxford.

3 Apr 2014

FDA approves additional manufacturing suite for Pacira’s EXPAREL

Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved an additional bulk manufacturing suite, referred to as Suite C, for EXPAREL (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension). The suite is housed at the company's Science Center Campus in San Diego, where EXPAREL is currently manufactured.

31 Mar 2014

Baxter plans to create two independent global healthcare companies

Baxter International Inc. today announced plans to create two separate, independent global healthcare companies -- one focused on developing and marketing innovative biopharmaceuticals and the other on life-saving medical products. Both will be global leaders in their respective markets.

From Baxter International Inc. 27 Mar 2014

Patients with congenital disorders are urged to register with CMDIR to advance clinical trials

If you are affected by Malignant Hyperthermia, Congenital Muscular Dystrophies or Congenital Myopathy Subtypes, the Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the United States and the Cure Congenital Muscle Disease organization are asking for your help to enable research and clinical trials by registering with the Congenital Muscle Disease International Registry (CMDIR).

13 Mar 2014

Pacira Pharmaceuticals initiates Phase 3 clinical trial of EXPAREL in femoral nerve block

Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCRX) today announced that the Phase 3 clinical trial assessing the safety and efficacy of EXPAREL® (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension) in femoral nerve block for total knee arthroplasty met its primary efficacy endpoint.

27 Feb 2014

Viewpoints: 'Sham Surgery' for research; bigger hospitals may not bring better care

In a landmark study of a new cardiovascular device unveiled last month, patients received anesthetics, had a large-bore catheter inserted through a cut into one of their major arteries, and had dye injected into their bloodstream.

20 Feb 2014

New treatments for depression on the horizon

New insights into the physiological causes of depression are leading to treatments beyond common antidepressants such as Prozac and Zoloft, researchers are reporting in the in the journal Current Psychiatry.

15 Feb 2014