Anesthesia

The human body may use the cannabinoid pathway to make placebos effective, according to a Wired report based on a study from Nature Medicine.

Chicago-based anesthesiologist Eugene Lipov, MD, has developed a drug that could treat post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a Stars and Stripes report.

Sevoflurane anesthesia does not increase the risk of cancer in cancer-free patients who undergo surgery, according to a Doctors Lounge report.

Anesthesiologists and other physicians are worried that stricter requirements for maintaining board certification may influence requirements for maintaining state licensure, making voluntary efforts mandatory for practicing medicine, according to an Anesthesiology News report.

A University of Pennsylvania study has found that anesthesia and surgery may be associated with the progression of chronic brain diseases, particularly Alzheimer's, according to a Health News report.

Researchers at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., have found a link among children undergoing multiple surgeries requiring general anesthesia before age 2 and learning disabilities later in childhood, according to a MarketWatch report.

In an interview with Scientific American, Harvard anesthesiologist Beverly Philip explained the lethal potential behind propofol, the drug blamed for the death of pop superstar Michael Jackson.

A Bellevue, Wash.-based surgeon has been suspended for 30 days over the death of a liposuction patient, according to a Seattle Post-Intelligencer report.

The Division of Pain Medicine and its Pain Management Center at the University of Virginia continues to advance the pain management specialty, continuing a tradition started by anesthesiologist Harold Carron, MD, in 1970, according to a Pain Medicine News report.

Anesthesiologist David L. Dugan, MD, has been named to the board of directors of Providence Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., and Saint John Hospital in Leavenworth, Kan., according to a news release.