American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine August 2018 - 3
President's Message
The Widespread Impact of ASRA's Research
Grants Program
One of the most serious but
rare adverse events associated
with local anesthetics is local
anesthetic systemic toxicity
(LAST). As readers know, local
anesthetics aren't delivered just
by anesthesiologists; they may
be administered by a variety of
medical and surgical specialists as
well as dentists and paramedical
personnel. Therefore, education
must be readily available to all
Asokumar Buvanendran, MD
professionals who administer
ASRA President
these agents. Wouldn't it be great
if all health care providers could
use a simple tool to access instructions on what to do in a LAST
event? As you likely already know, we have such a tool...and an
app (Figure 1).
All of that came out of an ASRA research grant. In 2004, Dr Guy
Weinberg was awarded the Carl Koller Memorial Research Grant,
which he and his colleagues used to conduct a study of lipid
infusion in the removal of bupivacaine and bupivacaine toxicity in
Figure 1: ASRA LAST 2.0 is available for download from the App/iTunes
store for iOS devices.
the isolated rat heart to determine a mechanism of action related
to bupivacaine cardiac toxicity. Today, ASRA consistently receives
inquiries and requests to reprint the LAST checklist from across the
healthcare spectrum. The LAST guidelines were updated in April
2018, and the updated app, LAST 2.0, was made available almost
immediately thereafter.
ASRA's mission is to advance the science and practice of regional
anesthesia and pain medicine to improve patient outcomes through
research, education, and advocacy. Given that not all ASRA members
may be interested in conducting research, ASRA's research grants
program can be an overlooked benefit. However, the impact of the
program, as just described, is wide-reaching and affects all of us in
our daily practice. Studies conducted today may one day turn into
the seminal works that guide practice beyond just our specialty.
The 2018 ASRA Carl Koller Memorial
Research Grant recipient is Dr Gina
(Effrossyni) Votta-Velis, MD, PhD.
Dr Votta-Velis and colleagues are
studying "Lidocaine Infusions in
Pancreatic Cancer: Translational
Studies in a Preclinical Model and
Human Subjects". This study is
expected to elucidate the effect of
perioperative lidocaine infusions on
the biology of circulating tumor cells,
signaling mechanisms and gene
expression related to metastasis.
Gina Votta-Velis, MD, PhD
Dr Votta-Velis and her co-investigators hypothesized that lidocaine
infusion might control metastasis or recurrence by inhibiting specific
enzymatic activities in circulating cancer cells, signaling pathways
and gene expression that are associated with the metastatic process.
If their hypothesis proves to be correct, it would provide a sound
rationale for conducting a prospective, randomized, controlled clinical
trial evaluating the effect of perioperative lidocaine infusions in
preventing pancreatic cancer metastasis. Results of such a study
could have a potential impact on the anesthetic management of
cancer patients.
ASRA's last Chronic Pain Research Grant recipient, Shalini Shah,
MD, was awarded the grant in 2016 and is currently investigating
the effectiveness of onabotulinumtoxin A (Botox) in the treatment
of pediatric migraines. She provided an encouraging update at the
16th Annual Pain Medicine Meeting in November 2017.
Two newer grants implemented just this year are the Young
Investigator Award and the Graduate Student Award, providing
opportunities to those newer to the research field. Delara Brandal,
MD, received the first Young Investigator Award at the 2018 World
Congress on Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine for her project
American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
2018
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine August 2018
American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine August 2018 - 1
American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine August 2018 - 2
American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine August 2018 - 3
American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine August 2018 - 4
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http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/asra/18-04
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/asra/18-3
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/asra/18-2
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/asra/18-1
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/asra/17-4
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/asra/17-3
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/asra/17-2
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/asra/17-1
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/asra/16-4
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/asra/16-3
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/asra/16-2
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/asra/16-1
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/asra/15-4
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/asra/15-3
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/asra/15-2
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/asra/15-1
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