Among anesthesiologists, it is widely believed that people with red hair react differently to drug therapy than those with a different hair color. Now there are data that in this bike there is some truth. The study, published in the August issue of Anesthesiology, attempts to test this paradigm.

Researchers from the University of Louisville (Kentucky) studied the reaction to anesthesia in red-haired women. The control group was the dark-haired ladies. Twenty healthy volunteers (ten redheads and ten brunettes) underwent standard inhalation anesthesia with desflurane (desflurane).

Only women were examined in order to exclude the influence of gender factors on anesthesia. Moreover, all women were in the same phase of the menstrual cycle to exclude the influence of hormonal factors on the sensitivity to anesthetics. After a stable level of anesthesia was achieved, a dosed electrical discharge was applied to the leg region. According to the researchers, the intensity of the electric shock was insufficient to wake up or disturb the patient. In the event that movement was noted, the dose level of the inhalation anesthetic was increased until the reaction to the electrical discharge disappeared. Scientists have noticed that the dose of anesthetic in redheads to obtain an effect was 20% higher than for women with a different hair color. The data obtained had a high statistical significance.

The authors emphasize that the red hair color is associated with a specific genetic mutation, which leads not only to a violation of the regulation of melanogenesis, but also to changes in the properties of the central nervous system. The relationship between hair color and sensitivity to anesthesia is also confirmed in an animal experiment. White mice required a smaller dose of anesthetics than their counterparts with normal skin color. The authors plan to continue their interesting studies.

Medicus. En.

Keywords:.