Masui. The Japanese journal of anesthesiology
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A great deal of new information on alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonists has recently been accumulated in humans; alpha 2-agonists have several beneficial actions in clinical anesthesia including sedative, anxiolytic as well as analgesic effects, improved hemodynamic stability, and etc. In the first part of this review, we summarized the structure, signal transmission and basic pharmacology of alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonists (clonidine and dexamedetomidine), and evaluated their usefulness for premedication, and as anesthetic adjuvants as well as agents for stabilizing circulation in the clinical settings. In addition, we referred to practical problems associated with their use.