This study aimed to compare the efficacy of intrathecal nalbuphine and buprenorphine as an adjuvant to heavy bupivacaine (0.5%) for spinal anesthesia in lower limb orthopedic surgeries to improve the quality of spinal anesthesia (onset, duration, and side effects) and prolongation of postoperative analgesia. Sixty patients were recruited into this single-centered, double-blinded, hospital-based, prospective, comparative study conducted in 2017–2018. They were randomly and equally (n = 30) allocated into two groups: nalbuphine group which received 0.5 mL (0.8 mg) of nalbuphine with 3 mL of heavy (0.5%) hyperbaric bupivacaine and buprenorphine group which received 0.5 mL (60 mg) of buprenorphine with 3 mL of heavy hyperbaric bupivacaine. Intraoperatively, onset and duration of blockade (motor and sensory), and time for first dose of rescue analgesia were recorded in both groups at regular intervals. Heart rate, blood pressure, Visual Analogue Scale score and side effects were also recorded postoperatively for 12 hours. The demographic parameters, time of onset of sensory block and motor block, and duration of motor block were comparable between nalbuphine and buprenorphine groups. The duration of sensory block in the buprenorphine group was longer than in the nalbuphine group. Time to the first dose of rescue analgesia was delayed in buprenorphine group as compared to nalbuphine group. In both groups maximum patients achieved maximum height of sensory block at 90 minutes. There were significant differences in the mean heart rate and blood pressure between buprenorphine and nalbuphine groups. Nalbuphine group patients achieved a Visual Analogue Scale score > 4 earlier as compared to buprenorphine group. Few side effects were observed in both groups. Intrathecal buprenorphine is a better adjuvant to 0.5% bupivacaine in the spinal anesthesia for lower limb orthopedic surgeries, as it provides longer sensory block and delayed administration of first dose of rescue analgesia with negligible side-effects. The study was approved by Institutional Ethics Committee of Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (approval number: KIMSDU/IEC/03/2017) on November 23, 2017.

In this blinded clinical trial, we attempted to compare the efficacy and safety of administering tranexamic acid, dexmedetomidine and nitroglycerin in preventing intraoperative bleeding and improving the quality of the surgical field during septorhinoplasty under general anesthesia. A total of 105 patients scheduled for septorhinoplasty were enrolled and randomly assigned into three groups based on the balanced-block randomization method. First group received 1 μg/kg intravenous injection dexmedetomidine, second group received 10 mg/kg intravenous injection tranexamic acid and third group received 0.5 μg/kg nitroglycerin, intravenously. The study sample was composed of 105 participants with the total mean age of 25.85 ± 6.52 years, and 59.05% of participants were female and the mean of body mass index was 24.34 ± 2.57 kg/m². The results showed that there was no statistically significant difference in terms of arterial oxygen saturation, mean arterial pressure, heart rate, bleeding rate, duration of surgery, and surgeon satisfaction among the three groups; however, there was a significant difference in the extubation time, recovery time and the dose of administered propofol among the three groups. Dexmedetomidine reduced the dose of administered propofol while increasing the extubation time and recovery time. In the tranexamic acid group compared with the other two groups, the recovery time was shorter. However, all the three drugs could reduce intraoperative bleeding and lead to surgeon satisfaction. It can be concluded that all these three drugs can be utilized to control bleeding and improve the quality of the surgical field but the ultimate decision lies with the anesthesiologist’s judgment and the conditions of the patient. The study protocol was registered in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (registration No. IRCT20141209020258N121) on September 24, 2019 and it was ethically approved by the Ethical Committee of Arak University of Medical Sciences (approval No. IR.ARAKMU.REC.1397.355) on February 24, 2019.

A relationship between Bifidobacterium and defecation has previously been reported. Our hypothesis on the effectiveness of alkaline electrolyzed water (AEW) proposes that ingestion of AEW, considered possessing antioxidative properties, increases the number of Bifidobacteria and improves stool hardness and gastrointestinal symptoms. A double-blind, randomized study was conducted to evaluate the connection between stool consistency and change in gut microbiota composition induced by drinking hydrogen-dissolved AEW. The participants drank 500 mL of purified tap water or AEW every day for 2 weeks. In this study, drinking AEW did not drastically change gut microbiota, but it appeared to act on a specific bacterial species. Drinking AEW was confirmed to cause an increase in Bifidobacterium. The AEW group also saw stool consistency significantly converge to Bristol stool scale Type 4 (“normal”). Therefore, it is highly likely that the gut microbiota will be changed by drinking AEW. This study was retrospectively registered in University Hospital Medical Information Network (UMIN) Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN ID: UMIN000039507) on February 18, 2020, and was approved by the Ethics Committee of University of Yamanashi (approval No. H30-25) on January 9, 2018.

Facet joint osteoarthritis is the most prevalent source of facet joint pain and represents a significant cause of low back pain. Oxygen-ozone therapy has been shown to have positive results in acute and chronic spinal degeneration diseases and it could be a safe and efficacious alternative to traditional facet joint conservative treatments. This review article explains the interventional facet joint management with ultrasound-guided oxygen-ozone therapy, providing an anatomy/sonoanatomy overview of lumbar facet joints and summarizing the potential mechanism of action of oxygen-ozone in the treatment of facet joint osteoarthritis, not yet fully understood.

Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is a phenomenon that the reperfusion of ischemic organs or tissues aggravates their damage, which poses a serious health threat and economic burden to the world. I/R gives rise to a series of physiological and pathological world, including inflammatory response, oxidative stress, brain edema, blood-brain barrier destruction, and neuronal death. Therefore, finding effective treatment measures is extremely important to the recovery of I/R patients and the improvement of long-term quality of life. Sevoflurane is an important volatile anesthetic which has been reported to reduce myocardial I/R damage and infarct size. Sevoflurane also has anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects. As reported sevoflurane treatment could reduce nerve function injury, cerebral infarction volume and the level of inflammatory factors. At the same time, there is evidence that sevoflurane can reduce neuron apoptosis and antioxidant stress. The protective effect of sevoflurane in brain injury has been proved to be existed in several aspects, so that a comprehensive understanding of its neuroprotective effect is helpful to exploit new treatment paths for I/R, provide clinicians with new clinical treatment decisions, contribute to the effective treatment of I/R patients and the improvement of quality of life after I/R healing.

Glioma is a kind of common malignant tumor in neurosurgery and has a high mortality and morbidity rate, which poses a serious threat to the health of people all over the world. Surgery is the preferred treatment for patients with glioma, radiotherapy or chemotherapy can be used after surgery. Although there are clear therapeutic protocols, the efficacy and safety of these protocols are clinically proven, a large number of patients are still dissatisfied with the treatment and the health of the patient remains unsatisfactory. Therefore, it is crucial to look for other treatments or complementary treatments. In the modern medical treatment, hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy is widely used in various kinds of pathological state of adjuvant therapy, and existing studies confirm the efficacy of HBO therapy in combination with surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and photodynamic therapy. Studies have shown that HBO can inhibit the growth of tumor tissue as an adjunctive therapy. This provides novel insights into the clinical treatment of glioma patients. Although HBO is not licensed for use in cancer treatment, as a kind of adjuvant therapy, the treatment effect of HBO can be accepted by the patients and its cost lower, which could be regarded as an ideal safe treatment.

Lactate, historically considered a waste product of anerobic metabolism, is a metabolite in whole-body metabolism needed for normal central nervous system (CNS) functions and a potent signaling molecule and hormone in the CNS. Neuronal activity signals normally induce its formation primarily in astrocytes and production is dependent on anerobic and aerobic metabolisms. Functions are dependent on normal dynamic, expansive, and evolving CNS functions. Levels can change under normal physiologic conditions and with CNS pathology. A readily combusted fuel that is sshuttled throughout the body, lactate is used as an energy source and is needed for CNS hemostasis, plasticity, memory, and excitability. Diffusion beyond the neuron active zone impacts activity of neurons and astrocytes in other areas of the brain. Barriergenesis, function of the blood-brain barrier, and buffering between oxidative metabolism and glycolysis and brain metabolism are affected by lactate. Important to neuroprotection, presence or absence is associated with L-lactate and heme oxygenase/carbon monoxide (a gasotransmitter) neuroprotective systems. Effects of carbon monoxide on L-lactate affect neuroprotection – interactions of the gasotransmitter with L-lactate are important to CNS stability, which will be reviewed in this article.

Among medical gases, including gases used therapeutically, this review discusses the comparative physiological activity of three gases – ozone (O₃), xenon (Xe) and molecular hydrogen (H₂), which together form representatives of three types of substances – typical oxidizing, inert, and typical reducing agents. Upon analysis of published and proprietary data, we concluded that these three medical gases can manipulate the neuroendocrine system, by modulating the production or release of hormones via the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal, hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid, hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axes, or the gastrointestinal pathway. With repeated administration of the gases over time, these modulations become a predictable consequence of conditioned homeostatic reflexes, resulting in regulation of physiological activity. For example, the regular activation of the unconditioned defense reflex in response to repeated intoxication by ozone leads to the formation of an anticipatory stable conditioned response, which counteracts the toxic action of O₃. The concept of a Pavlovian conditioned reflex (or hormoligosis) is a brief metaphor for the understanding the therapeutic effect of systemic ozone therapy.