Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow E-Letters: Submit a response to the article
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (1)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Firestone, L. L.
Right arrow Articles by Quinlan, J. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Firestone, L. L.
Right arrow Articles by Quinlan, J. J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

British Journal of Anaesthesia, 2000, Vol. 85, No. 5 757-762
© 2000 The Board of Management and Trustees of the British Journal of Anaesthesia

Halothane and desflurane requirements in alcohol-tolerant and -nontolerant rats{dagger}

L. L. Firestone1,*, E. R. Korpi2, L. Niemi3, P. H. Rosenberg3, G. E. Homanics1 and J. J. Quinlan1

1Anesthesiology Research Laboratories, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. 2Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland. 3Department of Anaesthesia, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland, and Biomedical Research Center, Alko Group, Ltd, Helsinki, Finland

{dagger}Presented in part to the 1995 annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience (November 12 – 16, 1995, San Diego, CA).

On the basis of data implicating GABAA receptors in the effects of volatile general anaesthetics, we hypothesized that alcohol-, barbiturate-, and benzodiazepine-sensitive alcohol-nontolerant (ANT) rats would also be more sensitive than alcohol-tolerant (AT) rats to two clinical general anaesthetics with differing potencies, halothane and desflurane. The obtunding effect of halothane and desflurane on mature ANT (n=17) and AT (n=16) rats was assessed by the loss-of-righting reflex endpoint. ANT rats were significantly (P<0.0001) more sensitive to the obtunding effects of both halothane and desflurane (ED50=0.45±0.03% atm for ANT vs 0.95±0.04% atm for AT and 2.16±0.17 vs 3.69±0.13% atm, respectively). The immobilization effect of halothane and desflurane was assessed with the tail clamp/withdrawal endpoint. ANT rats were more sensitive to the effects of halothane (ED50=1.10±0.08% atm for ANT vs 1.72±0.09% atm for AT; P<0.0001) but not desflurane (ED50=6.25±0.25% atm for ANT vs 5.85±0.21% atm for AT). The data presented support the hypothesis that volatile anaesthetics interact with specific neuronal proteins (possibly GABAA receptors) and agree with recent hypotheses that different elements of the anaesthetic state are produced by separate sites or mechanisms.

Br J Anaesth 85; 2000: 757–62

* Corresponding author: Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, A1305 Scaife Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Hum Mol GenetHome page
J. A. Humphrey, M. M. Sedensky, and P. G. Morgan
Understanding anesthesia: making genetic sense of the absence of senses
Hum. Mol. Genet., May 15, 2002; 11(10): 1241 - 1249.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.