The neuromuscular effects of halothane, suxamethonium, and tubocurarine were observed in a female patient undergoing thymectomy because of myasthenia cUnically localized to extraocular muscles. The twitch response was compared with that obtained in a control group of five non-myasthenic patients. In the control non-myasthenic group, halothane 2 per cent increased the twitch response, suxamethon...

The pulmonary vascular response to alveolar hypoxia with and without halothane exposure was measured in dogs. Hypoxia increased pulmonary artery pressure (Ppa) and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) so that in each case inverse linear relationships were found with arterial oxygen saturation. These responses were highly significant and reproduceable but varied greatly between individuals. Halot...

The influence of spinal tetracaine on central nervous system (CNS) metabolism was determined during nociceptive stimulation. Rats were divided into a halothane group in which the sciatic nerve was stimulated during 0.5 per cent halothane anaesthesia, a tetracaine group in which the sciatic nerve was stimulated during a simultaneous tetracaine spinal and 0.5 per cent halothane anaesthetic, or an...

The effects of halothane on myocardial blood flow and myocardial oxygen balance were studied in seven male patients with stable angina and normal left ventricular function. Patients were receiving maintenance doses of beta-receptor antagonists and underwent coronary artery bypass surgery. Anaesthesia consisted of halothane and 50% nitrous oxide in oxygen. Halothane decreased myocardial blood fl...

Pain, analgesic requirements, mouth opening and emesis were assessed in 60 patients who received either piroxicam 40 mg or placebo before dental surgery under general anaesthesia which included breathing either halothane or isoflurane. Patients went home on the day after surgery and completed a questionnaire concerning pain and emesis. There were four groups of 15 subjects: piroxicam-halothane,...

Subclinical disturbance in hepatocellular integrity, indicated by glutathione transferase Alpha (GSTA), has been associated with halothane, sevoflurane and propofol, but not with isoflurane anaesthesia. We anaesthetized 82 patients with isoflurane or halothane at 1 MAC for superficial surgery. GSTA concentration were measured with a sensitive time-resolved immunofluorometric assay in serum samp...

The hypothesis that volatile anesthetics act directly on or bind specifically to membrane proteins remains controversial. In earlier in situ electron probe microanalysis studies in cardiac muscle we showed preferential partitioning of halothane into mitochondria. To determine whether partitioning represents saturable binding or simple solubility, a photoaffinity labeling method was developed fo...

To better understand the mechanisms and sites of anesthetic action, we determined the subcellular partitioning of halothane in a tissue model. A method was found to fix the in vivo distribution of halothane in rat atrial tissue for subsequent electron microscopy and x-ray microanalysis. Atrial strips were exposed to various concentrations of halothane, rapidly frozen, cryo-sectioned, and cryo-t...

Volatile anaesthetics inhibit endothelium-dependent relaxation, but the underlying mechanism(s) have not been clarified. In an attempt to elucidate the mechanism(s), we determined the effects of halothane, isoflurane and sevoflurane on relaxation induced by acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and the cGMP formation elicited by exogenous nitric oxide (NO) and SNP in rat aortas. Acetylch...