Articles: general-anesthesia.
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The role of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-channel complex in ketamine-induced anesthesia was examined in mice. General anesthetic potencies were evaluated on a rating scale, which provided the data for anesthetic scores, loss of righting reflex, sleeping time and recovery time. All drugs were administered intraperitoneally. ⋯ A dose of 300 mg/kg of NMDA significantly shifted the dose-response curve of ketamine for loss of righting reflex to the right. A high dose of D-cycloserine (200 mg/kg), an agonist at the glycine site on the NMDA receptor complex, slightly but significantly shortened the sleeping time caused by ketamine (100 mg/kg). However, neither a critical subconvulsive dose of kainate (15 mg/kg), a kainate receptor agonist, nor a subconvulsive dose of quisqualate (120 mg/kg), an alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid (AMPA) receptor agonist, reversed general anesthesia induced by 100 mg/kg of ketamine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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Of 684 parturients who underwent cesarean section between July 1985-August 1990, 371 (54.2%) were given epidural anesthesia; 50 (7.3%) required general anesthesia after a failed attempt at epidural anesthesia; and 5 (0.7%) underwent inadvertent spinal anesthesia because of dural penetration by the epidural needle. In 258 (37.7%) general anesthesia was decided on before operation. The intentional avoidance of spinal anesthesia for cesarean section in this university hospital is criticized.
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General pharmacology · Nov 1992
ReviewEvaluation of the actions of general anaesthetics in the human brain.
1. General anaesthesia is a state of analgesia and impaired cognitive function that results from the depressant effects of anaesthetics. 2. Graded increases in anaesthetic concentration cause a progressive impairment of cognitive function, the extremes of which are commonly described as "light" and "deep" anaesthesia. 3. ⋯ The auditory evoked potential measures the resulting effects of anaesthetic depression and surgical stimulation which is "depth of anaesthesia". 9. However it is not yet certain whether a particular feature e.g. Nb latency, or a collection of features between 20 and 80 msec gives the most reliable index of conscious awareness.