Articles from Anesthesia and analgesia 2019 December

Anesthesia and analgesia · Dec 2019

Minocycline Relieves Depressive-Like Behaviors in Rats With Bone Cancer Pain by Inhibiting Microglia Activation in Hippocampus.

Pain and depression are highly prevalent symptoms in cancer patients. They tend to occur simultaneously and affect each other and share biological pathways and neurotransmitters. In this study, we investigated the roles of microglia in the hippocampus in the comorbidity of bone cancer pain and depressive-like behaviors in an animal model of bone cancer pain. ⋯ The results suggest that the activation of microglia in the hippocampus plays an important role in the development of pain and depressive-like behaviors in bone cancer condition.

National Institutes of Health-Funded Anesthesiology Research and Anesthesiology Physician-Scientists: Trends, Promises, and Concerns.

With a difficult National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding climate, the pipeline of physician-scientists in Anesthesiology is continuing to get smaller with fewer new entrants. This article studies current NIH funding trends and offers potential solutions to continue the historical trend of academic innovation and research that has characterized academic Anesthesiology. Using publicly available data, specifically the NIH REPORTeR and Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, we examined NIH trends in funding in academic Anesthesiology departments that have Anesthesiology residency training programs. ⋯ This trend has remained relatively constant for the 9-year period we studied (2009-2017). There is an inequitable distribution of NIH funding to Anesthesiology departments. Arguably, this may be a case of the "rich get richer," but the implications for those who are trying to become or remain NIH-funded investigators are that success may depend, in part, on securing a faculty position in one of these well-funded departments.

Dexmedetomidine Pharmacokinetics and a New Dosing Paradigm in Infants Supported With Cardiopulmonary Bypass.

Dexmedetomidine is increasingly used off-label in infants and children with cardiac disease during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and in the postoperative period. Despite its frequent use, optimal dosing of dexmedetomidine in the setting of CPB has not been identified but is expected to differ from dosing in those not supported with CPB. This study had the following aims: (1) characterize the effect of CPB on dexmedetomidine clearance (CL) and volume of distribution (V) in infants and young children; (2) characterize tolerance and sedation in patients receiving dexmedetomidine; and (3) identify preliminary dosing recommendations for infants and children undergoing CPB. We hypothesized that CL would decrease, and V would increase during CPB compared to pre- or post-CPB states. ⋯ CPB is associated with lower CL during CPB in infants and young children compared to those not undergoing CPB. Further study should more closely investigate CPB-related factors that may influence CL.