Local Anesthetics Overview Flashcards
What do local anesthetics produce?
a class of drugs that produce transient, reversible loss of sensory, motor, and autonomic function when exposed to neural tissue, specifically central and peripheral nerve pathways
LA uses: what type of block is produced?
central or peripheral nerves (for anesthesia and/or analgesia)
LA uses: what is the MOA of local anesthetic nerve blocks?
(regional anesthesia): target specific nerve regions of the body for reversible loss of sensation (spinal, epidural, caudal, major nerve blocks)
What are some alternative uses for LA?
- Topical application to skin/mucous membranes
- Infiltration into the tissue
- IV infusions (lidocaine) for cardiac dysrhythmias
What is the origin of local anesthetics?
Erythroxylon coca, leaves of the cocoa shrub
Who was the first to use a version of local anesthetics?
Native Peruvians would chew an alkali abstract of these leaves for its stimulant and euphoric effects
What is Erythroxylon coca an ancestor to?
modern day cocaine
What is the history of LA in 1860?
Albert Niemann, a chemist, the first to isolated cocaine
What is the history of LA in 1884?
Karl Koller introduced cocaine as an ophthalmologic anesthetic
What is true about early use of cocaine?
- Widely used despite strong addictive properties (1884)
- Only available local anesthetic for 30 years
What is the history of LA in 1905?
Albert Einhorn synthesized procaine, an ester, which replaced cocaine as the only available local anesthetic for the next 50 years
What is the history of LA in 1943?
Nils Lofgren synthesized lidocaine, an amide, considered to be the standard to which all other local anesthetics are compared
Define epineurium.
the external connective-tissue sheath of a nerve trunk
Define perineurium,
the sheath of connective tissue surrounding a bundle (fascicle) of nerve fibers within a nerve.
Define endoneurium.
the delicate connective tissue network holding together the individual fibers of a nerve trunk.
What are the major type of nerve fibers layers?
epineurium, perineurium and endoneurium
What is unique about nerve tissues?
that it possesses membrane bound, voltage gated sodium and potassium channels
What do nerve tissues produce?
membrane depolarization following chemical, mechanical, or electrical stimuli
What do neurons maintain?
a resting membrane potential by active transport and passive diffusion of ions, particularly Na+ and K+
What is the Na/K pump?
pump (via active transport) modulates the transport of 3 Na+ ions that move extracellularly for every 2 K+ ions that move intracellularly
What does the cell membrane create?
creates a concentration gradient that preferentially favors the extracellular diffusion of K+ and the intracellular diffusion of Na+
What controls ion influx and efflux?
Membrane bound voltage gates
What is true about the membrane bound voltage gates?
assume a conformational change, allowing sodium and potassium to move across a cell membrane
What does the cell membrane consist of?
of a lipid bilayer, lipophilic, hydrophobic
What is the cell membrane impermeable to?
to charged ions, only uncharged forms can get through
What is the alpha subunit?
Nerve cell membrane contains special Na+ channels with a large conducting pore known
What is the site that local anesthetics target? (2)
- The alpha subunit is the site of ion conduction and is the binding site of local anesthetics
- There are also smaller adjacent beta subunits
What are the three functional states of sodium channel?
- Activated-open
- Resting-closed
- Inactivated-closed
What type of sodium channels to LA preferentially bind to?
activated-open or inactivated-closed states, but not to the resting-closed state
What do LA do at the sodium channel?
local anesthetics prevent the channel from opening and prevent action potential propagation
What is true about all LAs but benzocaine?
are tertiary amines and when injected will exist in BOTH unionized (lipid soluble) and ionized (water soluble) forms according to their particular pKa value
What is the diffusion of the LA look like?
The uncharged, lipid-soluble (unionized portion) of the local anesthetic must first diffuse through the neuron cell membrane and then gain access to the interior of the neuron sodium channel and bind to their receptor inside the sodium channel
What happens once the LA is inside the neuron?
a new equilibrium forms between ionized & unionized fractions and the ionized fraction binds to the receptor on the inside of the sodium channel
What is the MOA of LA?
block action potential generation within nerves by binding to and inactivating the sodium channels within nerve tissue
LA: Bind to sodium channels to receptors ________ the channel
within
What does LA binding prevent?
influx of Na+ & slows rate of depolarization of nerve action potential so that threshold potential is not reached
LA: Does NOT _________
alter membrane resting potential
What produces the myelin sheath?
produced by the Schwann cell
What is the myelin sheath?
wraps around each axon
Lipid-rich substance that insulates nerves- ⬆️ nerve conduction
Where do myelinated nerves extend?
discontinuously from the roots of the spinal cord to near the entry of the target organ
What are the nodes of raniver?
”myelin sheath gaps” that facilitate rapid conduction of nerve impulses (saltatory conduction)
What moves freely at the nodes?
drugs and ions pass freely
What is the typical molecular structure of LA?
Aromatic ring> hydropcarbon bond (Ester or amide) and tertiary amine.
What is the lipophilic part of the LA molecular part?
Aromatic Ring: Enhances diffusion across membrane
What classifies the LA?
Hydrocarbon bond (Ester or amide)
What is Hydrophillic part o the LA?
On/off switch: whether molecule exists as a quaternary water soluble form or tertiary lipid soluble form (pKa/pH)
What is the onset of LA related to?
pKa (pKa = speed of onset)
What is true about LA near physiologic pH?
have the most rapid onset of action