Liposome bupivacaine in peripheral nerve blocks and epidural injections to manage postoperative pain

IntroductionThe duration of postsurgical pain greatly outlasts the duration of analgesia (typically < 12 h) following single administration of traditional formulations of local anesthetics. Bupivacaine , one of the most widely studied and extensively used local anesthetics, is now available in a liposomal formulation that has shown promise of providing postsurgical analgesia for a duration of up to 72 h when administered as part of a peripheral (e.g., femoral) or neuraxial (e.g., epidural) nerve block. However, it is currently approved for administration in the surgical site.Areas coveredThis publication provides an overview of liposome bupivacaine and its potential utility in peripheral nerve blocks and epidural administration.Expert opinionThe potential to provide postoperative analgesia lasting 3 days with a single administration at the time of surgery holds considerable promise. This modality could have distinct advantages over currently available techniques, such as continuous perineural local anesthetic infusion, as it would preclude the need for a catheter and pump. However, potential risks and benefits of liposome bupivacaine in peripheral and neuraxial nerve blocks must be further elucidated in surgical populations, and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval must be granted for these indications. Until FDA approval is provided, the use of liposome bupivacaine in peripheral and neuraxial nerve blocks must be considered investigational

Plant lectins: the ties that bind in root symbiosis and plant defense

Lectins are a diverse group of carbohydrate-binding proteins that are found within and associated with organisms from all kingdoms of life. Several different classes of plant lectins serve a diverse array of functions. The most prominent of these include participation in plant defense against predators and pathogens and involvement in symbiotic interactions between host plants and symbiotic microbes, including mycorrhizal fungi and nitrogen-fixing rhizobia. Extensive biological, biochemical, and molecular studies have shed light on the functions of plant lectins, and a plethora of uncharacterized lectin genes are being revealed at the genomic scale, suggesting unexplored and novel diversity in plant lectin structure and function. Integration of the results from these different types of research is beginning to yield a more detailed understanding of the function of lectins in symbiosis, defense, and plant biology in general

Lebensrettende Maßnahmen bei Kindern („paediatric life support“): Kapitel 6 der Leitlinien zur Reanimation 2015 des European Resuscitation Council

SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe