The acid-sensitive potassium channel TASK-1 in rat cardiac muscle.

Objective: The outward current flowing through the two-pore domain acid-sensitive potassium channel TASK-1 (I(TASK)) and its inhibition via alpha1-adrenergic receptors was studied in rat ventricular cardiomyocytes.

Methods: Quantitative RT-PCR experiments were carried out with mRNA from rat heart. Patch-clamp recordings were performed in isolated rat cardiomyocytes.

Physical therapy and active exercises--an adequate treatment for prevention of late whiplash syndrome? Randomized controlled trial in 200 patients.

The aim of this study was to compare the effect of a physical therapy regimen including active exercises with the current standard treatment on reduction of pain 6 weeks and 6 months after whiplash injury caused by motor vehicle collision. Two hundred patients were enrolled in a prospective randomized controlled trial. In the standard group, treatment consisted of immobilization with a soft collar over 7 days.

The stretch-activated potassium channel TREK-1 in rat cardiac ventricular muscle.

Objective: The biophysical properties and the regulation of the two-pore-domain potassium channel TREK-1 were studied in rat cardiomyocytes.

Methods: RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry and patch-clamp recording were performed in isolated rat ventricular cardiomyocytes. In some whole-cell-clamp experiments the myocytes were mechanically stretched using a glass stylus.

The reliability and validity of the upper lip bite test compared with the Mallampati classification to predict difficult laryngoscopy: an external prospective evaluation.

Recently, a new bedside screening test to predict the occurrence of a difficult laryngoscopy has been developed as a substitute for the Mallampati classification. The Upper-Lip-Bite test (ULBT) evaluated the patient's ability to reach or completely cover the upper lip with the lower incisors. It is often accepted that new predictive tools should undergo an external evaluation before the tool is used in clinical practice.

Cost analyses of remifentanil, mivacurium and ropivacaine - a systematic review.

Remifentanil, mivacurium and ropivacaine are the latest innovations in clinical anaesthesia and have gained increasing importance in daily practise due to their unique pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties. However, drug acquisition costs for these agents are considerably higher in most countries than for comparable substances. This review provides a systematic, critical appraisal of pharmacoeconomic studies with remifentanil, mivacurium and ropivacaine, primarily based on prospective, randomised trials.