Anesthesiology
-
Volatile general anesthetics continue to be an important part of clinical anesthesia worldwide. The impact of volatile anesthetics on the immune system has been investigated at both mechanistic and clinical levels, but previous studies have returned conflicting findings due to varied protocols, experimental environments, and subject species. While many of these studies have focused on the immunosuppressive effects of volatile anesthetics, compelling evidence also exists for immunoactivation. ⋯ This review provides a balanced perspective on the anesthetic modulation of innate and adaptive immune responses as well as indirect effectors of immunity. Potential mechanisms of immunomodulation by volatile anesthetics are also discussed. A clearer understanding of these issues will pave the way for clinical guidelines that better account for the impact of volatile anesthetics on the immune system, with the ultimate goal of improving perioperative management.
-
Limited information exists on the effects of temporary functional deafferentation (TFD) on brain activity after peripheral nerve block (PNB) in healthy humans. Increasingly, resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) is being used to study brain activity and organization. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that TFD through PNB will influence changes in RSFC plasticity in central sensorimotor functional brain networks in healthy human participants. ⋯ This pilot study provides evidence that PNB has features consistent with other models of deafferentation, making it a potentially useful approach to investigate brain plasticity. The findings provide insight into RSFC of sensorimotor functional brain networks during PNB and PNB recovery and support modulation of the sensory-motor integration feedback loop as a mechanism for explaining the behavioral correlates of peripherally induced TFD through PNB.