Current opinion in anaesthesiology
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To review novel procedures in interventional radiology and describe anesthetic implications. ⋯ As the complexity of procedures and patients increases, the demand for anesthesia support in interventional radiology rises. As novel techniques are being developed, anesthesiologists must be mindful of the increased complication rate in interventional radiology and work in a multidisciplinary approach to improve patient safety.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Aug 2018
ReviewAn overview of the cannabinoid type 2 receptor system and its therapeutic potential.
This narrative review summarizes recent insights into the role of the cannabinoid type 2 (CB2) receptor as potential therapeutic target in neuropathic pain and neurodegenerative conditions. ⋯ The functional involvement of CB2 receptor in neuropathic pain and other neuroinflammatory diseases highlights the potential therapeutic role of drugs acting at the CB2 receptor.
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Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) as a treatment option in psychiatry is advancing day by day. This review discusses new advancements in ECT with regards to anesthetic variables, stimulus, and response variables along with their impact on clinical outcomes. ⋯ Modern ECT is streamlined by augmentation with drugs, hyperventilation, optimizing anesthesia-ECT time interval, and various stimulus parameters guided by seizure adequacy markers.
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The current review examines the success and failures of the development of new hypnotic compounds for the human market. One of the important aspects is that one of the key present agents, propofol, is considered by many anaesthesiologists as 'the ideal'. However, all drugs have adverse or side-effects. ⋯ Studies of these three agents thus far have shown that none of them has any major adverse side-effects; all have properties which warrant further clinical evaluation.
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The field of epigenetics continues its influential rise as a means to better understand an organism's unique developmental identity over a lifespan. Whereas a genome is constant and unchanging, an epigenome is dynamic and alterable. Epigenetic changes are in response to innumerable internal and external influences including environmental changes such as diet, exercise, disease, toxins, and stress. Epigenetics is of particular interest in the medical research community both for the potential to cause disease and as a target for therapeutic interventions. This article provides a succinct explanation of the potential for epigenetics to influence the understanding of pain as well as a review of relevant research on the topic. ⋯ Both patients and providers recognize that novel medications for the treatment of both acute and chronic pain conditions are sorely needed. The understanding of epigenetics and its influence on nociception remains in relative infancy but early evidence is strong for potential therapeutic benefits to treat these conditions.