%0 Journal Article
%T The effect of halothane and pentobarbital sodium on brain ependymal cilia
%A Chris O¡¯Callaghan
%A Kulvinder Sikand
%J Cilia
%D 2012
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/2046-2530-1-12
%X We used an ex vivo rat brain slice model to measure ependymal ciliary beat frequency by high speed video photography at 37¡ãC.Exposure to halothane caused a significant reduction in ciliary beat frequency of 2£¿% (P£¿=£¿0.006), 15.5£¿% (P£¿<£¿0.001), and 21.5£¿% (P£¿<£¿0.001) for halothane concentrations of 1.8£¿%, 3.4£¿% and 4.4£¿%, respectively, compared to controls. Following a one-hour wash-out period, there was no significant difference between control samples and cilia that had been exposed to 1.8£¿% (P£¿=£¿0.5) and 3.4£¿% (P£¿=£¿0.3) halothane. The beat frequency of cilia exposed to 4.4£¿% halothane had increased following the wash-out period but cilia were still beating significantly more slowly than cilia from the control group (P£¿=£¿<0.001).Pentobarbitone at concentrations of 25 and 50£¿¦Ìg/ml had no effect on ciliary beat frequency compared to controls (P£¿=£¿0.6 and 0.4 respectively). A significant (P£¿=£¿0.002) decrease in ciliary beat frequency was seen following incubation with a pentobarbitone concentration of 250£¿¦Ìg/ml (mean (SD) frequency, 24(8) Hz compared to controls, 38(9) Hz).Halothane reversibly inhibits the rate at which ependymal cilia beat. Pentobarbitone has no effect on ciliary activity at levels used for anesthesia. It is unclear whether the slowing of ependymal ciliary by halothane is responsible for some of the secondary central nervous system effects of volatile anesthetic agents.Ciliated ependymal cells line the ventricular system of the brain [1]. They have approximately 40 rapidly beating cilia that move the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) immediately adjacent to the ventricular surface [2,3]. The function of ependymal cilia is still unclear; however, there is good evidence that abnormal ependymal ciliary function during development is associated with the development of hydrocephalus [4-10]. It has been shown that toxic insults, such as exposure to bacteria and bacterial toxins, can adversely affect ependymal ciliary function, both in vitro[11-13] and in vivo.We w
%K Cilia
%K Ciliary beat frequency
%K Ependyma
%K Ependymal cilia
%K Cerebrospinal fluid
%K CSF
%K CSF flow
%K Halothane
%K Volatile anesthetics
%K Brain cilia
%K Sodium pentobarbitone
%U http://www.ciliajournal.com/content/1/1/12