Anesthesiology
-
In imaging functional connectivity (FC) analyses of the resting brain, alterations of FC during unconsciousness have been reported. These results are in accordance with recent electroencephalographic studies observing impaired top-down processing during anesthesia. In this study, simultaneous records of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalogram were performed to investigate the causality of neural mechanisms during propofol-induced loss of consciousness by correlating FC in fMRI and directional connectivity (DC) in electroencephalogram. ⋯ The simultaneous propofol-induced suppression of frontal feedback connectivity in the electroencephalogram and of frontoparietal FC in the fMRI indicates a fundamental role of top-down processing for consciousness.
-
Next year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Foregger Company, an important manufacturer of anesthetic equipment in the first half of the 20th century. Founded by Richard von Foregger in a barn in Long Island, New York in 1914, the Foregger Company developed equipment in collaboration with anesthesiologists. Their first product was the Gwathmey machine, built around the rudimentary flowmeter designed by the anesthesiologist, James Tayloe Gwathmey. ⋯ As the company grew, von Foregger formed other liaisons, joining forces with Ralph Waters to create the Waters to-and-fro canister for carbon dioxide absorption, and with Arthur Guedel, a variety of nontraumatic airways. The combined creativity of these three men ultimately led to the Foregger Midget. This portable machine extended the reach of the Foregger Company well beyond the shores of America, as far away as the isolated west coast of Australia.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Intrathecal substance p-saporin in the dog: efficacy in bone cancer pain.
Substance P-saporin (SP-SAP), a chemical conjugate of substance P and a recombinant version of the ribosome-inactivating protein, saporin, when administered intrathecally, acts as a targeted neurotoxin producing selective destruction of superficial neurokinin-1 receptor-bearing cells in the spinal dorsal horn. The goal of this study was to provide proof-of-concept data that a single intrathecal injection of SP-SAP could safely provide effective pain relief in spontaneous bone cancer pain in companion (pet) dogs. ⋯ Intrathecal administration of SP-SAP in dogs with bone cancer produces a time-dependent antinociceptive effect with no evidence of development of deafferentation pain syndrome which can be seen with neurolytic therapies.