JOURNAL HOME CME HOME THIS MONTH PAST ISSUES ETOC COLLECTIONS
AUTHORS REVIEWERS EDITORIAL BOARD FEEDBACK RSS HELP
A&A International Anesthesia Research Society
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Anesth Analg 2007; 105:1287-1292
© 2007 International Anesthesia Research Society
doi: 10.1213/01.ane.0000282829.21797.97
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a colleague
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 Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Kelly, E. W.
Right arrow Articles by Raines, D. E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Kelly, E. W.
Right arrow Articles by Raines, D. E.
Related Collections
Right arrow Mechanisms
Right arrow Preclinical Pharmacology
Right arrow Pharmacology

ANESTHETIC PHARMACOLOGY

Volatile Aromatic Anesthetics Variably Impact Human {gamma}-Aminobutyric Acid Type A Receptor Function

Elizabeth W. Kelly, BA*{dagger}, Ken Solt, MD*{dagger}, and Douglas E. Raines, MD*{dagger}

From the *Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, Massachusetts General Hospital, and {dagger}Department of Anaesthesia, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Douglas E. Raines, MD, Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit St., Clinics Building 3, Boston, MA 02114. Address e-mail to draines{at}partners.org.

BACKGROUND: The {gamma}-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) and N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are important inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitter receptors, respectively, in the central nervous system. At the concentrations required to produce immobility in the face of a noxious stimulus, volatile aromatic anesthetics inhibit NMDA receptors to varying degrees, strongly suggesting that they also act at other targets to produce immobilization. In this study, we sought to assess the potential role that GABAA receptors play in mediating the behavioral actions of volatile aromatic anesthetics.

METHODS: Electrophysiological techniques were used to quantify the effects of eight volatile aromatic anesthetics and three clinical anesthetics on currents mediated by {alpha}1ß2{gamma}2L GABAA receptors expressed in Xenopus oocytes.

RESULTS: At equivalent minimal alveolar anesthetic concentration multiples, volatile aromatic anesthetics vary widely in the degrees to which they enhance GABAA receptor-mediated currents elicited by low concentrations of GABA. In general, anesthetics that inhibit NMDA receptors most, enhanced GABAA receptors least. This reciprocal relationship between anesthetic potency on GABAA versus NMDA receptors was also observed for the clinical anesthetics isoflurane, halothane, and cyclopropane. Studies using a range of GABA concentrations indicated that volatile aromatic anesthetics enhance GABAA receptor activity by shifting the open-close (gating) equilibrium towards the open channel state.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that GABAA receptors contribute variably to the behavioral actions of volatile anesthetics and imply that the molecular determinants of anesthetic action on NMDA and GABAA receptors are distinctly different.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Anesth. Analg.Home page
T. Horishita, E. I. Eger II, and R. A. Harris
The Effects of Volatile Aromatic Anesthetics on Voltage-Gated Na+ Channels Expressed in Xenopus Oocytes
Anesth. Analg., November 1, 2008; 107(5): 1579 - 1586.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Anesth. Analg.Home page
A. Jenkins, I. A. Lobo, D. Gong, J. R. Trudell, K. Solt, R. A. Harris, and E. I. Eger II
General Anesthetics Have Additive Actions on Three Ligand Gated Ion Channels
Anesth. Analg., August 1, 2008; 107(2): 486 - 493.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Anesth. Analg.Home page
A. Yao, J. Kim, R. Atherley, S. L. Jinks, E. Carstens, S. Shargh, A. Sulger, and J. F. Antognini
The Effects of Aromatic Anesthetics on Dorsal Horn Neuronal Responses to Noxious Stimulation
Anesth. Analg., June 1, 2008; 106(6): 1759 - 1764.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins Anesthesia & Analgesia® is published for the International Anesthesia Research Society® by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins with the assistance of Stanford University Libraries' HighWire Press®. Copyright 2006 by the International Anesthesia Research Society. Online ISSN: 1526-7598   Print ISSN: 0003-2999 HighWire Press
Copyright © 2007 by the International Anesthesia Research Society.