Combination of nerve blockade and intravenous alfentanil is better than single treatment in relieving postoperative pain.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Multimodal analgesia can improve perioperative analgesia but knowledge of combination protocols is still incomplete. This study was designed to evaluate whether the combination of sciatic nerve blockade (SNB) and intravenous alfentanil (IVA) is more effective than either single treatment in relieving postoperative pain in rats. METHODS: In a plantar incision model, withdrawal thresholds were evaluated by von Frey test before incision as baselines and for 7 days after incision. The animals were randomly allocated into various groups to receive SNB with 1% or 2% lidocaine, IVA of 50 or 150 µg/kg, or combined treatments (SNB 1% + 50 µg/kg IVA or SNB 2% + 150 µg/kg IVA) before incision. The results were compared with those of sham procedures--i.e., injections of peri-sciatic or intravenous saline, or a combination of both. RESULTS: Plantar incision caused postoperative allodynia for 3 days. SNB with 2% lidocaine reduced allodynia at 1 hour, 3 hours, day 1, and day 2, but not at postoperative 5 hours or days 3-7, whereas 150 µg/kg IVA produced short analgesia for only 3 hours after surgery. Neither low-dose SNB nor low-dose IVA had a significant effect. When high-dose SNB and high-dose IVA were combined, a strong antiallodynic effect was shown in an additive manner. No synergism was evidently displayed by the combination. CONCLUSION: Our results indicated that in an incisional pain model, multimodal analgesia is superior to single or no pretreatment; however, the combination of multimodal analgesic treatments should be individually discerned depending on nociceptive types and analgesic mechanisms.

The effectiveness of a magnetic nanoparticle-based delivery system for BCNU in the treatment of gliomas.

This study describes the creation and characterization of drug carriers prepared using the polymer poly[aniline-co-N-(1-one-butyric acid) aniline] (SPAnH) coated on Fe(3)O(4) cores to form three types of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs); these particles were used to enhance the therapeutic capacity and improve the thermal stability of 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU), a compound used to treat brain tumors. The average hydrodynamic diameter of the MNPs was 89.2 ± 8.5 nm and all the MNPs displayed superparamagnetic properties. A maximum effective dose of 379.34 µg BCNU could be immobilized on 1 mg of MNP-3 (bound-BCNU-3). Bound-BCNU-3 was more stable than free-BCNU when stored at 4 °C, 25 °C or 37 °C. Bound-BCNU-3 could be concentrated at targeted sites in vitro and in vivo using an externally applied magnet. When applied to brain tumors, magnetic targeting increased the concentration and retention of bound-BCNU-3. This drug delivery system promises to provide more effective tumor treatment using lower therapeutic doses and potentially reducing the side effects of chemotherapy.