Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Nov 2015
Anesthesia-Induced Neuronal Apoptosis in the Developing Retina: A Window of Opportunity.
Anesthetics cause widespread apoptosis in the developing brain, resulting in neurocognitive abnormalities. However, it is unknown whether anesthesia-induced neurotoxicity occurs in humans because there is currently no modality to assess for neuronal apoptosis in vivo. The retina is unique in that it is the only portion of the central nervous system that can be directly visualized noninvasively. Thus, we aimed to determine whether isoflurane induces apoptosis in the developing retina. ⋯ These findings indicate that isoflurane-induced neuronal apoptosis occurs in the developing retina and lays the groundwork for development of a noninvasive imaging technique to detect anesthesia-induced neurotoxicity in infants and children.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Nov 2015
Neuropeptide VF Enhances Cannabinoid Agonist WIN55,212-2-Induced Antinociception in Mice.
Cannabinoids produce analgesia in several pain models, but the undesirable side effects from high doses of cannabinoid drugs limit their clinic use. Our recent results indicate that cannabinoid-induced antinociception was enhanced by neuropeptide VF (NPVF). Here, we investigate whether low-dose cannabinoid agonists combined with NPVF can produce effective antinociception with limited side effects. ⋯ These data suggest that the cannabinoid agonist combined with NPVF produces effective antinociception-lacking tolerance via both cannabinoid receptor type 1 and neuropeptide FF receptors in the brain.