News tagged with anesthetics

New findings awaken age-old anesthesia question

(PhysOrg.com) -- Why does inhaling anesthetics cause unconsciousness? New insights into this century-and-a-half-old question may spring from research performed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Mar 21, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (7) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

How cobras form hood flares

(PhysOrg.com) -- Cobras, and several other groups of unrelated snakes, form a menacing hood flare by expanding the sides of their necks as part of a defensive display. Now scientists in the US have identified ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Apr 20, 2010 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (9) | comments 0 | with audio podcast report

Study uncovers clues to what makes anesthetics work

Physicians use inhalation anesthetics in a way that is incredibly safe for patients, but very little is known about the intricacies of how these drugs actually work in children and adults. Now, researchers have uncovered ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Dec 22, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Sniff of local anesthetic in the dentist's chair could replace the needle

Modern dentistry has eliminated much of the "ouch!" from getting a shot of local anesthetic. Now a new discovery may replace the needle used to give local anesthetic in the dentist's chair for many procedures. ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created May 13, 2010 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (4) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Novel contact lenses provide extended pain relief to laser eye surgery patients

Scientists are reporting development of contact lenses that could provide a continuous supply of anesthetic medication to the eyes of patients who undergo laser eye surgery — an advance that could relieve ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Jan 18, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Long-lasting nerve block could change pain management

(PhysOrg.com) -- Harvard researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston have developed a slow-release anesthetic drug-delivery system that could potentially revolutionize treatment of pain during and after surgery, ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Apr 14, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 0

Researchers Demonstrate a New Model for Drug Discovery With a Fluorescent Anesthetic

(PhysOrg.com) -- A collaboration of University of Pennsylvania and University of Wisconsin chemists and anesthesiologists have identified a fluorescent anesthetic compound that will assist researchers in obtaining ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Apr 03, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Scientists model the pathways of pain-blocking meds

Benzocaine, a commonly used local anesthetic, may more easily wiggle into a cell's membrane when the membrane is made up of compounds that carry a negative charge, a new study shows. The finding could help scientists piece ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Sep 26, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

New long-acting local anesthetic derived from algae effectively blocks pain in surgical patients

A U.S.-Chile collaboration is bringing surgical patients closer to having a long-acting local anesthetic. In a randomized, double-blind trial, patients given neosaxitoxin, a new local anesthetic derived from algae, had significantly ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Feb 23, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Study sheds light on how the brain shifts between sleep/awake states under anesthesia

Despite the fact that an estimated 25 million patients per year in the U.S. undergo surgeries using general anesthesia, scientists have only been able to hypothesize exactly how anesthetics interact with the central nervous ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Aug 26, 2010 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (4) | comments 0

Bigger molecular-sized anesthetics do not promote amyloid beta peptide micro-aggregation

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder affecting millions of people worldwide and has become a major global concern. Uncontrolled oligomerization (aggregation) of Aβ peptide is the hallmark of AD and ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Apr 21, 2010 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Discovery of 'alert status' area in brain opens door to treatment of impaired consciousness disorders

A new understanding of how anesthesia and anesthesia-like states are controlled in the brain opens the door to possible new future treatments of various states of loss of consciousness, such as reversible coma, according ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Sep 14, 2009 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Finding of genetic region controlling cardiovascular sensitivity to anesthetic propofol

Researchers at The Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee have identified the genetic region in rats responsible for cardiovascular collapse during anesthesia. While it is well known that people have different cardiovascular ...

Medicine & Health / Genetics

created Sep 10, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Propofol poses low risk in pediatric imaging studies, but risk increases with anesthesia duration

A new study finds that propofol, a well-known anesthesia medication, has a low occurrence of adverse events for children undergoing research-driven imaging studies. The study, led by a pediatric anesthesiologist now at Children's ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Jun 09, 2010 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

General anesthetics lead to learning disabilities in animal models

Studies by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine have shown that blocking the NMDA receptor in immature rats leads to profound, rapid brain injury and disruption of auditory function as the animals mature.

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Oct 22, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Anesthetic

An anesthetic (or anaesthetic, see spelling differences) is a drug that causes anesthesia—reversible loss of sensation. They contrast with analgesics (painkillers), which relieve pain without eliminating sensation. These drugs are generally administered to facilitate surgery. A wide variety of drugs are used in modern anesthetic practice. Many are rarely used outside of anesthesia, although others are used commonly by all disciplines. Anesthetics are categorized into two classes: general anesthetics, which cause a reversible loss of consciousness, and local anesthetics, which cause a reversible loss of sensation for a limited region of the body while maintaining consciousness. Combinations of anesthetics are sometimes used for their synergistic and additive therapeutic effects. Adverse effects, however, may also be increased.

For more information about Anesthetic, read the full article at Wikipedia.
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