Anesthesiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Neosaxitoxin as a local anesthetic: preliminary observations from a first human trial.
Neosaxitoxin is a phycotoxin that reversibly blocks the voltage-gated sodium channels at the neuronal level. Its activity results in blocking the axonal conduction, stopping the propagation of the nerve impulse. The objective of the present work was to evaluate neosaxitoxin as a local anesthetic in a human trial. ⋯ Neosaxitoxin showed an effective local anesthetic effect when injected in the subcutaneous plane. The efficacy of a 50-microg dose of neosaxitoxin was shown. This is the first report of neosaxitoxin as a local anesthetic in a human trial.