Best of Abstracts: Basic Science
Sunday, 1 to 3 p.m.
Upper Level 4
David J. Clark, M.D., Ph.D.
Nine abstracts chosen as the best basic science papers submitted for the ANESTHESIOLOGY™ 2015 annual meeting will be presented Sunday. They address pulmonary physiology, the molecular mechanisms of anesthetic function, neuroprotection, the consequences of pain and burn injuries. These presentations complement Saturday’s more clinically oriented Best of Abstracts session.
“These are a range of abstracts that show excellence, innovation and diversity, and there should be something of interest for everybody. People who attend the session might be pleasantly surprised that there are some very interesting findings in a field they had not considered focusing on when they came to the meeting,” said David J. Clark, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Vice Chair for Research, Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University.
Dr. Clark is co-moderator of “Best of Abstracts: Basic Science,” which features oral presentations of abstracts from 1 to 3 p.m. today in Upper Level 4. The presentations were chosen from among hundreds submitted for the conference.
Two presentations involve using different methods in pulmonary physiology research to look at the functioning of the lungs and the pulmonary vasculature.
“One abstract looks at a set of novel compounds that may serve as bronchodilators,” Dr. Clark said. “The second uses sophisticated genetic techniques to examine the basis of pulmonary hypertension.”
Other abstracts study the molecular mechanisms governing anesthetic function.
“There will be presentations both on inhalational anesthesia and intravenous anesthesia that use advanced electrophysiological techniques to examine how the drugs work and what parts of the brain are affected by the drugs,” Dr. Clark said.
Other presentations examine the neuroprotective and neurotoxic effects of anesthetic agents and what can be done to improve neuroprotection.
“In one set of investigations, the investigators depleted microglia cells and found an improved outcome in mice when they used a model of cardiac arrest. A second study looked at the neurotoxic effects of propofol,” Dr. Clark said.
The last two presentations apply tests of pain and functioning that can be used to better estimate the consequences of pain in animal models, and a set of studies where a drug was used to prevent the muscle-wasting syndrome related to burn injuries, he said.
“These Best of Abstract sessions are often considered some of the best at the conference,” Dr. Clark said. “They generate a good deal of excitement and open peoples’ eyes to new directions anesthesia research is taking.”
