Analogy between classical Yoga/Zen breathing and modern clinical respiratory therapy.

Anesthesiologists and intensivists are modern-day professionals who provide appropriate respiratory care, vital for patient survival. Recently, anesthesiologists have increasingly focused their attention on the type of spontaneous breathing made by non-intubated patients with pulmonary disease cared for in an intensive care unit, and also patients with chronic pain receiving cognitive behavioral therapy. Prior to our modern understanding of respiratory physiology, Zen meditators recognized that breathing has a significant impact on a person's mental state and general physical well-being. Examples of this knowledge regarding respiration include the beneficial effects of deep inhalation and slow exhalation on anxiety and general wellness. The classical literature has noted many suggestions for breathing and its psycho-physical effects. In the present review, we examine the effect of classical breathing methods and find an analogy between typical Yoga/Zen breathing and modern clinical respiratory therapy. Evidence is increasing about historical breathing and related meditation techniques that may be effective in modern clinical practice, especially in the field of anesthesiology, such as in improving respiratory function and reducing chronic pain. Clarification of the detailed mechanisms involved is anticipated.

The history and progress of local anesthesia: multiple approaches to elongate the action.

Analgesia and temporary inhibition of motor activity without interfering with central nervous function have been the essential merits of local anesthesia. Local anesthetics originated from cocaine have played a major role in local analgesia. However, the relatively short duration of action of local anesthetics has been a concern in intra- and post-operative analgesia. From the early age of modern local anesthesia, physicians and medical scientists had been struggling to control the active duration of local anesthetics. Such approach includes: development of long-acting local anesthetics, with physical tourniquet techniques, co-administration of other medicines such as vaso-constrictive agents or analgesics, development of mechanical devices to continuously or intermittently administer local anesthetics, and utilization of pharmaceutical drug delivery systems. In this review, the historical sequence of studies that have been performed in an effort to elongate the action of local anesthetics is presented, referring to epoch-making medical and scientific studies.

History of T-cain: a local anesthetic developed and manufactured in Japan.

In many anesthesia textbooks written in English, lidocaine, tetracaine, bupivacaine, ropivacaine, and chloroprocaine are listed as useful local anesthetics for spinal anesthesia. In contrast, T-cain is not included in these lists, even though it has been reported to be suitable for spinal anesthesia in Japan. T-cain was developed as a local anesthetic in the early 1940s by Teikoku Kagaku Sangyo Inc. in Itami, Japan, by replacing a methyl group on tetracaine (Pantocaine(®)) with an ethyl group. T-cain was clinically approved for topical use in Japan in November 1949, and a mixture of dibucaine and T-cain (Neo-Percamin S(®)) was approved for spinal use in May 1950. Simply because of a lack of foreign marketing strategy, T-cain has never attracted global attention as a local anesthetic. However, in Japan, T-cain has been used topically or intrathecally (as Neo-Percamin S(®)) for more than 60 years. Other than the side effects generally known for all local anesthetics, serious side effects have not been reported for T-cain. In fact, several articles have reported that T-cain decreases the neurotoxicity of dibucaine. In this historical review, the characteristics of T-cain and its rise to become a major spinal anesthetic in Japan are discussed.