Anesthesiology
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Clinical Trial
Effects of propofol sedation on seizures and intracranially recorded epileptiform activity in patients with partial epilepsy.
Case reports suggesting both pro- and anticonvulsant effect(s) of propofol have been published in recent years. The effects of sedative doses of propofol on epileptiform activities in patients suffering from intractable partial epilepsy were systematically investigated. ⋯ We were unable to demonstrate a significant change in epileptiform activity with sedative doses of propofol in patients suffering from complex partial epilepsy.
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The analgesic and sedative-hypnotic utility of the alpha 2 agonists clonidine and dexmedetomidine are currently being investigated. Both compounds exert their behavioral responses by activating central alpha 2 adrenoceptors, albeit with different selectivities and efficacies. Furthermore, the analgesic and hypnotic behavioral responses are produced at different sites and may be affected independently of one another. A series of studies was conducted in rats to determine (1) whether tolerance and cross-tolerance develop to the analgesic actions of clonidine or dexmedetomidine; (2) how the number of available alpha 2 adrenoceptors affects the analgesic response to dexmedetomidine and clonidine; and (3) how the number of available alpha 2 adrenoceptor affects the hypnotic response to dexmedetomidine. ⋯ Fewer alpha 2 adrenoceptors need to be available for analgesia to be produced by dexmedetomidine compared with the number required for analgesia by clonidine. This difference should result in less tolerance in the analgesic response to dexmedetomidine than to clonidine with chronic use. Dexmedetomidine requires fewer alpha 2 adrenoceptors to elicit an analgesic response than it does to elicit a hypnotic response. Thus the analgesic properties of alpha 2-adrenergic agonists persist after the hypnotic response has been attenuated after chronic alpha 2 agonist administration.
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Comparative Study
Abnormal action potential responses to halothane in heart muscle isolated from malignant hyperthermia-susceptible pigs.
During human and porcine malignant hyperthermia (MH), cardiac dysrhythmias and altered myocardial function can be observed. It is unknown whether a primary abnormality in cardiac muscle contributes to the cardiac symptoms during MH. An abnormal response to halothane has recently been demonstrated in action potentials (APs) from MH-susceptible (MHS) human skeletal muscles. We investigated the electrophysiologic properties in trabeculae isolated from the right ventricles of normal (MHN) and MHS pigs. ⋯ This in vitro study demonstrates that halothane produces abnormal alterations in the dynamic electric properties of the ventricular excitable membrane from MHS pigs. These results suggest a latent defect in the myocardium of MHS pigs that becomes apparent in the presence of MH-triggering agents.
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Comparative Study
Microcirculatory perfusion during volume therapy. A comparative study using crystalloid or colloid in awake animals.
Because of the passage of water and salt molecules into the interstitial space, volume replacement with crystalloid solutions requires an amount at least four times that of lost blood. The resulting tissue edema may interfere with nutritive capillary perfusion and oxygen delivery. To prove this hypothesis, the effects of isovolemic hemodilution (hematocrit 30%) with Ringer's lactate solution or dextran 60 on tissue perfusion and oxygenation were investigated in awake Syrian golden hamsters. ⋯ In this model, volume replacement with artificial colloids yielded hemodynamic stability and adequate tissue oxygen supply, whereas administration of crystalloids alone jeopardized tissue perfusion and oxygenation.