title: Mechanism of action of general anaesthetics--new information from molecular pharmacology.
abstract: Major progress in our understanding of the mechanisms of anaesthesia has been made during the past year. Several key advances in defining very specific sites of action on ligand-gated ion channels have been described. Furthermore, new techniques have become available for addressing the identification of binding sites and transduction mechanisms on these receptors. The discovery that anaesthetics affect a recently identified family of potassium channels could also lead to major new findings in the next few years.
authors.affiliation: Merck, Sharp & Dohme Research Laboratories, Harlow, Essex, UK.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wafford
mesh_terms: D000438:Alcohols / Q000494:pharmacology; D018681:Anesthetics, General / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018686:Anesthetics, Intravenous / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D009446:Neurobiology; D011963:Receptors, GABA-A / Q000187:drug effects; D018009:Receptors, Glycine / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000438:Alcohols; D018681:Anesthetics, General; D018686:Anesthetics, Intravenous; D011963:Receptors, GABA-A; D018009:Receptors, Glycine