Study summary · research use only
Glutathione depletion following inhalation anesthesia
Plain-language summary
Paraphrased from the published abstract below — not a verdict on whether anything works.
This study examined glutathione depletion following inhalation anesthesia in mice, rats, and rhesus monkeys, as a possible mechanism of anesthesia-related toxic reactions. Reduced glutathione was measured in blood, liver, lung, and kidney of the mouse after anesthesia with enflurane, fluroxene, halothane, isoflurane, methoxyflurane, or trichloroethylene. Only fluroxene affected tissue glutathione; after two hours of fluroxene anesthesia, glutathione was depleted by 93, 85, 85, and 61 per cent in liver, lung, kidney, and blood, respectively, more so after phenobarbital pretreatment. Glutathione was also depleted in livers (60 per cent) and lungs (38 per cent) of rats given fluroxene, while in blood of rhesus monkeys given fluroxene, glutathione was depleted by only 13 per cent. The authors relate the extent of depletion to fluroxene toxicities across the three species studied.
Abstract
Glutathione depletion following inhalation of halogenated anesthetics was investigated as a possible mechanism of toxic reactions associated with anesthesia. Concentrations of reduced glutathione were measured in the blood, liver, lung and kidney of the mouse after anesthesia with enflurane, fluroxene, halothane, isoflurane, methoxyflurane, or trichloroethylene. The anesthetic had no effect on glutathione concentrations in tissues except when fluroxene was used. After two hours of fluroxene anesthesia, glutathione in liver, lung, kidney, and blood was depleted by 93, 85, 85, and 61 per cent, respectively. The depletion was dose-dependent and was more extensive in animals anesthetized after phenobarbital pretreatment. Glutathione was also depleted in livers and lungs of rats anesthetized with fluroxene (60 and 38 per cent, respectively). In blood of rhesus monkeys anesthetized with fluroxene, glutathione was depleted by only 13 per cent. Extents of glutathione depletion are related to fluroxene toxicities in the three species studied.
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