Anesthetics News and Research

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Research into anesthesia neurotoxicity in the developing brain

Several studies have found evidence that children who undergo repeated surgical operations with general anesthesia before the age of 4 may be at an increased risk for learning disabilities.

28 Jan 2013

Neuromuscular blockade (NMB) reversal

General anesthesia is made up of three components: hypnotic medicines, to induce sleep; analgesics, or medicines to inhibit pain; and NMB agents that induce muscle relaxation. Anesthesiology professionals use NMB to relax a patient’s muscles and prevent involuntary movement that could impact surgery.

24 Jan 2013

Merck’s resubmission of the NDA for suggammadex sodium injection accepted for review by the FDA

Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced that the resubmission of the New Drug Application (NDA) for sugammadex sodium injection has been accepted for review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Merck expects the FDA’s review to be completed in the first half of 2013.

7 Jan 2013

Administration of N2O + ISO appears to have negative effect on fetal development

An anesthetic regimen typically used during surgery on pregnant mothers appears to have a negative effect on the development of the fetus, according to a new study on mice conducted by neurobiologists from the National Center for Toxicological Research, in Arizona.

14 Dec 2012

Spotlight on acute respiratory distress syndrome in low-risk surgery

Postoperative acute respiratory distress syndrome is rare in patients undergoing low-risk surgery, but still carries a very high mortality rate, a large study shows.

12 Dec 2012

No serious complications of regional nerve blocks in children

A review of more than 15,000 nerve block procedures performed in children at U.S. hospitals finds little or no risk of permanent complications or death, reports a study in the December issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

6 Dec 2012

Anesthetics can help reduce risk of cardiac surgery drug-associated seizures

Two drugs commonly given during cardiac surgery can lead to convulsive seizures, but anesthetics can help cut the risk, according to new research from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.

27 Nov 2012

Somnogen induces sleep in patients with primary hypersomnia

Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have discovered that dozens of adults with an elevated need for sleep have a substance in their cerebrospinal fluid that acts like a sleeping pill.

22 Nov 2012

Metabolomics clue to postoperative delirium

The choice of general anesthetic in children influences their cerebral metabolism, which in turn affects their risk for postoperative delirium, an imaging study shows.

21 Nov 2012

Anesthetic choice may not be critical in noncardiac surgery

The choice of general anesthetic does not appear to influence the risk for myocardial infarction in patients undergoing noncardiac surgery, report researchers.

14 Nov 2012

Communications down in anesthetized brain

Two studies indicate that inhaled anesthetics disrupt communication between distant cortical areas before directly activating sleep-inducing neuronal circuitry.

8 Nov 2012

Study shows how local anesthetics can improve motor skills of patients after stroke

Painkilling drugs that make many therapies possible are a blessing for patients. Thanks to modern anesthetics, not only can surgical operations be conducted without causing pain, they are also used for various diagnostic procedures. Anesthetics can be very useful in therapies for stroke patients, as psychologists and physicians of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany) and the University Hospital Jena are now able to prove.

6 Nov 2012

Researchers find that children's brains are more affected by inhaled anesthetic

Stony Brook University School of Medicine researchers have found that children's brains are more affected by an inhaled anesthetic than an intravenous anesthetic with increased levels of brain lactate.

29 Oct 2012

Sevoflurane, propofol produce different metabolic patterns in brains of unconscious children

Two commonly used anesthetics produce different metabolic patterns in the brains of unconscious children, according to a study from the November issue of a Anesthesiology.

26 Oct 2012

Maintain dogs’ presurgery warmth to avoid hypothermia

Hypothermia is common in dogs after undergoing surgery under anesthetic, especially for diagnostic procedures and when the animal is in poor condition, research indicates.

17 Oct 2012

Anesthetic-loaded liposomes can delay onset of neuropathic pain

Using tiny spheres filled with an anesthetic derived from a shellfish toxin, researchers at Boston Children's Hospital and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a way to delay the rise of neuropathic pain, a chronic form of pain that arises from flawed signals transmitted by damaged nerves.

10 Oct 2012

Anesthetics and protein interactions: an interview with José A. Fernández

For a long time there was a controversy about how anesthetics work. The large number of molecules that have anesthetic properties (from benzodiazepines to nitrous oxide) and their very different structures...

8 Oct 2012

Orexin-A hormone also affects emergence after anesthesia

A neuropeptide hormone called orexin-A—which plays an important role in regulating the normal sleep-wake cycle—also affects emergence (waking up) after anesthesia, reports an experimental study in the October issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

26 Sep 2012

Anesthetics and proteins: understanding the interactions

Spanish scientists at the University of the Basque Region and the University of La Rioja have combined mass-resolved electronic spectroscopy and ab initio calculations to model the interactions of anesthetics with proteins.

24 Sep 2012

Worldwide improvements in survival rates after general anesthetic

Survival after a general anaesthetic and within 48 hours of surgery has greatly improved worldwide over the past 50 years, according to the second Article in The Lancet surgery-themed issue.

21 Sep 2012