SIR,-I have repeatedly suggested"-3 that though an emotional faint can occur in the horizontal position fainting would not be a hazard to life if dental patients were anaesthetized lying down. There are, however, disturbing reports suggesting that even in this position should fainting happen to coincide with the administration of an intravenous agent such as methohexitone or diazepam (Valium) t...

The effects of intravenous anesthetics on myocytes have not been fully elucidated. To investigate the effects of various intravenous anesthetics such as fentanyl, morphine, ketamine, diazepam, midazolam, thiamylal, and thiopental on the beta-adrenergic signaling pathway, we measured isoproterenol-stimulated cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) production in freshly isolated rat ventricular myo...

We examined the current stimulus threshold in rats with the Neurometer, a device used clinically for measuring perception and pain thresholds. Although many studies have indicated the usefulness of this device in the quantification of nerve dysfunction in patients, we have found no published reports on the use of the Neurometer in animals. Transcutaneous nerve stimuli of the three sine-wave pul...

Organophosphorous compounds have been employed as pesticides and chemical warfare nerve agents. Toxicity of organophosphorous compounds is a result of excessive cholinergic stimulation through inhibition of acetyl cholinesterase. Clinical manifestations include cholinergic syndromes, central nervous system and cardiovascular disorders. Organophosphorous pesticide poisonings are common in develo...

BACKGROUND Status epilepticus (SE) is a serious neurological condition and requires prompt treatment. Sodium valproate has been used to treat SE successfully but its role as the first-line antiepileptic drug (AED) is still controversial. This study evaluated the efficacy of intravenous sodium valproate to determine if it is non-inferior to intravenous phenytoin in SE treatment. METHODS Patien...

 Abstract Background: Providing better surgical conditions with meticulous control of Intraocular Pressure (IOP) is one of the most important factors that affect the success rate in ophthalmic surgery. Clonidine is a selective central α2 agonist with analgesic, antianxiety and sedative effects which makes it a good choice in premedication recently. In this study, we compared the effects of oral...

The dose of intravenous diazepam required for sedation was estimated in a series of 78 patients aged 17-85 years given the drug for dental and endoscopic procedures. Multiple regression analysis showed a significant correlation (r = 0.71; p less than 0.001) between dose and age, body weight, the taking of regular sedation, and the taking of more than 40 g alcohol daily, but there were no differ...