Effects of anaesthetics and analgesics on different human tissues

Rat alveolar epithelial cells (AECs) before exposure to Ropivacaine

Body tissues are exposed to different drugs mainly during regional anaesthesia, infiltration and continuous wound infusions. But also intravenous or even transcutaneous application can lead to accumulation of different drugs in body tissues. Because of the wide-spread use of regional anaesthesia and the increasing use of continuous wound infusion techniques it is mandatory for us to investigate the reactions of the different body tissues to the most commonly used drugs.

Ongoing Projects

• The effect of local anaesthetics on fibroblasts, osteoblasts, chondrocytes and myocytes

1^st prize for the best free paper presentation at the ESRA Congress 2008: In vitro exposure of human fibroblasts to local anaesthetics is cytotoxic. C. Fedder, B. Beck-Schimmer, J. Aguirre, M. Hasler, B. Roth-Z’graggen, K. Grätz, A. Borgeat

• The effect of different analgesics on fibroblasts, osteoblasts, chondrocytes and myocytes

2nd prize for the best poster presentation at the ESRA Congress 2009:In vitro exposure of human fibroblasts and osteoblasts to diclofenac is cytotoxic at clinically used concentrations. José Aguirre, Alain Borgeat, Melanie Hasler, Caroline Fedder, Beatrice Beck-Schimmer

• The effect of different analgesics and local anaesthetics on peripheral nerves
• The effect of local anaesthetics on lung tissue after acute inflammatory reaction

1st prize for the best free paper presentation at the ESRA Congress 2009: ICAM-1 independent anti-inflammatory effect of ropivacaine in the double-hit mouse model of acute inflammation. S. Voigtsberger, G. Votta-Velis, J. Aguirre, B. Beck-Schimmer, R. Koshy, M. Castellon, DE. Schwartz,  RD. Minshall, A. Borgeat