10 March 2010
Launch of Institute of Academic Anaesthesia
The University of Dundee has created a new Institute of Academic Anaesthesia to raise the profile of research and education in a key area of medical science.
Anaesthesia affects everyone. Most people have received local anaesthetic injections at the dentist, many will also have been subjected to full scale general anaesthesia in preparation for surgery and some rely on long-term medication for the treatment of persistent pain.
Despite this, existing anaesthetics are far from ideal and a lack of research in the area has been identified, most notably in a 2005 report from the Royal College of Anaesthetists.
'People expect safe and effective pain relief,' said Professor Tim Hales, Director of the new Institute. “However, all anaesthetics have deficiencies, which is not surprising given that most entered clinical use through a process of trial and error.
'Local anaesthetics in the dental setting not only kill pain but leave the face numb and partially paralysed. General anaesthetics, such as the intravenous agent propofol (the drug responsible for Michael Jackson’s untimely death) are lethal at doses slightly higher than those used for surgical anaesthesia. Opioid analgesic drugs commonly used to treat long-term pain are structurally related to heroin and become less effective with prolonged use, leading to physical and sometimes psychological dependence.
'There is a pressing need for research leading to improved anaesthetics.'
The Royal College of Anaesthetists report prescribed measures to help reinvigorate the academic mission of university departments of anaesthesia. The University of Dundee, working with partners in NHS Tayside, has responded to this challenge by appointing Professor Hales from a prominent position in the United States. It marks a return to Dundee, where he studied for his PhD 20 years ago.
£500,000 has been invested in refurbishing laboratories and office space at the School of Medicine at Ninewells Hospital to accommodate the Institute, which will work closely alongside the University’s Centre for Neuroscience.
The Centre for Neuroscience is already known internationally for work in the laboratories of Professor Jeremy Lambert and Dr Delia Belelli on the mechanism of general anaesthetics.
'The arrival of Professor Hales and his research team from Washington greatly strengthens this area and establishes a new research focus aimed at understanding the mechanisms underpinning tolerance and addiction to pain killers such as morphine,' commented Professor Lambert. 'For the research to be truly translational and indeed for the future of academic anaesthesia in the UK, it will be essential to engage clinicians in such cutting edge studies. Professor Hales has extensive experience in both Washington and Los Angeles of involving anaesthetists in his research.'
Professor Hales expressed his enthusiasm for the challenges posed by the new position. 'Bringing my lab to Dundee will strengthen ongoing collaborations with Professor Lambert and others in the Centre for Neuroscience while establishing new collaborations with clinical investigators within the department.
'The generous support of the University and several local charities has enabled us to create a fully equipped Institute of Academic Anaesthesia comprised of a suite of laboratories and office space. This is a facility in which basic scientists and anaesthetists will work together. Bringing clinical investigators and experts in imaging, electrophysiology and behavioural neuroscience together will accelerate progress in the development of safer and more effective anaesthetics'.
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