N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor agonists and antagonists partially affect the duration of ketamine anesthesia in the rat.

The effects of intracerebroventricular injection of excitatory amino acids which act on the N-Methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor complex on the duration of loss of righting reflex (DLRR) induced by intravenous injection to ketamine (20 mg/kg) were investigated in rats. Ketamine-induced DLRR was 10.3 min, but NMDA receptor agonistsD-alanine (200 μg) or NMDA (0.

Esmolol bolus and infusion attenuates increases in blood pressure and heart rate during electro-convulsive therapy.

To determine whether a standardized dose of esmolol can effectively attenuate the cardiovascular response to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), 17 ASA physical status I-II patients were studied in a randomized within-patient, crossover design. Each patient received "no esmolol" during one ECT and three to five days later crossed over to the alternative treatment receiving an esmolol 80 mg bolus followed by 24 mg · min infusion two minutes prior to induction of anaesthesia and continued for five minutes after induction. Esmolol blunted the maximum increases in heart rate (HR) by 26 per cent, mean arterial pressure (MAP) by 14 per cent, and rate pressure product by 37 per cent with significant differences (P < 0.