Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Aug 2011
Intrathecal administration of the cannabinoid 2 receptor agonist JWH015 can attenuate cancer pain and decrease mRNA expression of the 2B subunit of N-methyl-D-aspartic acid.
Cannabinoids bind to cannabinoid receptors type 1 and 2 and produce analgesia in several pain models, but central side effects from cannabinoid 1 receptors limit their clinical use. Because of the pain-relieving effects of cannabinoid 2 (CB2) receptor agonists in inflammation pain, incision pain, and neuropathic pain models, we tested whether spinal CB2 receptor activation would induce antihyperalgesia in cancer pain. Our previous study showed that the 2B subunit of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NR2B) receptor in the spinal cord participates in bone cancer pain in mice. In the present study, we also tested the cannabinoid effect on the expression of NR2B. ⋯ These data indicated that intrathecal administration of cannabinoid receptor agonists might relieve cancer pain, probably by reducing NR2B-dependent activity in the spinal cord. These results also suggested that cannabinoids might be a useful alternative or adjunct therapy for relieving cancer pain.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Aug 2011
The effects of dexmedetomidine on regional cerebral blood flow and oxygen consumption during severe hemorrhagic hypotension in rats.
We performed this study to determine how dexmedetomidine would affect regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and microregional O(2) consumption during nonhemorrhagic normovolemia and during severe hemorrhagic hypotension in rats. ⋯ Our data showed that in normovolemia, dexmedetomidine produced a proportionate decrease of rCBF and O(2) consumption. Hemorrhage decreased rCBF more than O(2) consumption. Dexmedetomidine prevented rCBF and O(2) consumption from decreasing after hemorrhage. Our data suggest that dexmedetomidine may help provide optimal O(2) supply and consumption balance during hemorrhage.