Multilevel local anesthetic nerve blockade for the treatment of generalized vulvodynia: a pilot study.

Introduction: Vulvodynia is a common pain disorder among women with a major impact on sexual functioning and quality of life. There are few published studies addressing the treatment of the pain of generalized vulvodynia or of generalized vulvodynia accompanying localized pain in the region of the vulvar vestibule.

Aim: A prospective, noncontrolled pilot study was conducted to assess the efficacy of a novel treatment using caudal epidural, pudendal nerve block, and vulvar infiltration of local anesthetic agents.

Estradiol attenuates the adenosine triphosphate-induced increase of intracellular calcium through group II metabotropic glutamate receptors in rat dorsal root ganglion neurons.

Estradiol attenuates the ATP-induced increase of intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) in rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons by blocking the L-type voltage gated calcium channel (VGCC). Because ATP is a putative nociceptive signal, this action may indicate a site of estradiol regulation of pain. In other neurons, 17β-estradiol (E(2)) has been shown to modulate L-type VGCC through a membrane estrogen receptor-group II metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR(2/3)).

Monitoring the conjunctiva for carbon dioxide and oxygen tensions and pH during cardiopulmonary bypass.

The purpose of this study was to measure, for the first time, multiple physiologic parameters of perfusion (pH, PCO2, PO2, and temperature) from the conjunctiva of adult patients during cardiopulmonary bypass while undergoing cardiothoracic surgery. Ten patients who underwent either intracardiac valve repair, atrial septal defect repair, or coronary artery bypass graft surgery had placement of a sensor which directly measured pH, PCO2, PO2, and temperature from the conjunctiva. Data were stratified into seven phases (0-5 minutes prior to bypass; 0-5, 6-10, and 11-15 minutes after initiation of bypass; 0-5 minutes prior to conclusion of bypass; and 0-5 and 6-10 minutes after bypass) and analyzed using a mixed model analysis.

Multilevel local anesthetic nerve blockade for the treatment of vulvar vestibulitis syndrome.

Objective: Vulvar vestibulitis syndrome is a major cause of dyspareunia. This pilot study was designed to evaluate a novel treatment approach.

Study Design: This is a prospective study of 27 women with vulvar vestibulitis.

The burning mouth.

Burning in the mouth in and of itself is not all that uncommon. It may result from a variety of local or generalized oral mucosal disorders, or may be secondary to referred phenomena from other locations. Primary burning mouth syndrome, on the other hand, is relatively uncommon.

Anesthesiology Point of Care project.

We are developing a dynamic prototype visual communication system for the operating room environs. This has classically been viewed as an isolated and impenetrable workplace. All medical experiences and all teaching remain in a one to one closed loop with no recall or subsequent sharing for the training and education of other colleagues.

nm23-H1 Expression in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck.

Archival material from 47 patients with primary squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) was studied immunohistochemically for the presence of nm23-H1 protein. Our data indicate that nm23-H1 protein expression is a common event in SCCHN and that there is a trend toward correlation of increased expression of nm23-H1 with increasing tumor size (p = 0.072).

Immunohistochemical Expression of N-ras Oncogene is a Late Event in Head and Neck Carcinomas.

This study investigated the expression of the N-ras oncogene in routinely processed tissue sections from 133 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) by immunohistochemistry using anti-N-ras monoclonal antibody. N-ras expression was present in 67 of 133 (49.6%) cases.