How does xenon produce anaesthesia?

N. P. Franks (), R. Dickinson, S. L. M. de Sousa, A. C. Hall and W. R. Lieb
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N. P. Franks: Biophysics Section, The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine
R. Dickinson: Biophysics Section, The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine
S. L. M. de Sousa: Biophysics Section, The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine
A. C. Hall: Biophysics Section, The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine
W. R. Lieb: Biophysics Section, The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine

Nature, 1998, vol. 396, issue 6709, 324-324

Abstract: Abstract Since the discovery that the gas xenon can produce general anaesthesia1 without causing undesirable side effects, we have remained surprisingly ignorant of the molecular mechanisms underlying this clinical activity of an ‘inert’ gas. Although most general anaesthetics enhance the activity of inhibitory GABAA (γ-aminobutyric acid type-A) receptors2,3, we find that the effects of xenon on these receptors are negligible. Instead, xenon potently inhibits the excitatory NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor channels, which may account for many of xenon's attractive pharmacological properties.

Date: 1998
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DOI: 10.1038/24525

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