Anesthetics Have Different Effects on the Electrocorticographic Spectra of Wild-type and Mitochondrial Mutant Mice.

What We Already Know About This Topic: WHAT THIS ARTICLE TELLS US THAT IS NEW: BACKGROUND:: Knockout of the mitochondrial protein Ndufs4 (Ndufs4[KO]) in mice causes hypersensitivity to volatile anesthetics but resistance to ketamine. The authors hypothesized that electrocorticographic changes underlying the responses of Ndufs4(KO) to volatile anesthetics and to ketamine would be similar in mutant and control mice.

Methods: Electrocorticographic recordings at equipotent volatile anesthetic concentrations were compared between genotypes.

Ketamine Anesthesia Does Not Improve Depression Scores in Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: Although interest in ketamine use during electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has increased, studies have been equivocal with regard to its efficacy. The aims of this clinical trial were to evaluate ketamine's antidepressive effects in ECT as a primary anesthetic, determine ketamine's tolerability when compared with standard anesthesia, and determine if plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is necessary for treatment response.

Materials And Methods: Adults meeting criteria for treatment-resistant depression undergoing index course ECT received either methohexital (1 to 2 mg/kg) or ketamine (1 to 2 mg/kg) anesthesia in this dual-arm double-blinded randomized clinical trial (NCT02752724).

Xenon Anesthesia and CT: Noninvasive Measures of Brain Anesthetic Concentration.

The existence of a barrier between anesthetic behavioral state transitions has been observed across phyla, but demonstrating that such a barrier exists and is not a pharmacokinetic artifact has not yet been possible in humans. Such an investigation requires temporally precise information regarding the brain concentration of anesthetic in order to demonstrate the specific pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic mismatch that is hysteresis. We propose a method to noninvasively determine brain tissue anesthetic concentration using computerized tomography and the radiopaque gaseous anesthetic xenon.

Angiopoietin-like proteins stimulate HSPC development through interaction with notch receptor signaling.

Angiopoietin-like proteins (angptls) are capable of ex vivo expansion of mouse and human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). Despite this intriguing ability, their mechanism is unknown. In this study, we show that angptl2 overexpression is sufficient to expand definitive HSPCs in zebrafish embryos.

Defective killing of Staphylococcus aureus in atopic dermatitis is associated with reduced mobilization of human beta-defensin-3.

Background: Individuals with atopic dermatitis (AD) have frequent colonization and infection with Staphylococcus aureus. Rapid elimination of S. aureus depends on constitutive synthesis and mobilization of human beta-defensin-3 (HBD-3).