A Comparison of the Effects of Dexmedetomidine and Propofol in Controlling the Hemodynamic Responses after Intubation: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Clinical Trial Study.

AIM: This study aimed to compare the effects of dexmedetomidine and propofol in controlling the hemodynamic response following intubation of patients' candidate intubation in the emergency department. METHODS: A total of 114 patients were randomly assigned to one of 2 groups to receive one of the following treatments: dexmedetomidine 0.4 µg/kg (Group D, n = 57) and propofol 1-1.5 mg/kg/h (Group P, n = 57). Hemodynamic data such as the systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, arterial oxygen saturation and heart rate (HR) were recorded from the entrance to operation room to 5, 10 and 15 min after tracheal intubation. RESULTS: Compared with group D, group P exhibited increases in mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), and systolic blood pressure significantly at all times and immediately after the endotracheal intubation. Moreover, the mean diastolic blood pressure changes due to tracheal intubation in group P were significantly more than group D immediately after the intubation. Furthermore, the mean heart rate changes immediately and 5 min after tracheal intubation was significantly higher in group P. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that the benefits of dexmedetomidine more than propofol in hemodynamic stability because propofol was associated with more variability in systolic/diastolic blood pressure, HR and MAP after endotracheal intubation.

Comparison of the Adulthood Chronic Stress Effect on Hippocampal BDNF Signaling in Male and Female Rats.

Studies show that gender plays an important role in stress-related disorders, and women are more vulnerable to its effect. The present study was undertaken to investigate differences in the change in expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and its tyrosine intracellular kinase-activating receptor (TrkB) genes in the male and female rats' hippocampus (HPC) under chronic mild repeated stress (CMRS) conditions. In this experiment, male and female Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups: the CMRS and the control group. To induce stress, a repeated forced swimming paradigm was employed daily for adult male and female rats for 21 days. At the end of the stress phase, elevated plus maze (EPM) was used for measuring the stress behavioral effects. Serum corticosterone level was measured by ELISA. BDNF and TrkB gene methylation and protein expression in the HPC were detected using real-time PCR and Western blotting. Chronic stress in the adolescence had more effects on anxiety-like behavior and serum corticosterone concentration in female rats than males. Furthermore, stressed female rats had higher methylation levels and following reduced protein expression of BDNF but not TrkB compared to stressed male rats. These findings suggest that in exposure to a stressor, sex differences in BDNF methylation may be root cause of decreased BDNF levels in females and may underlie susceptibility to pathology development.