Glucocorticoids prolong blockade from bupivacaine microspheres. The mechanism appears unrelated to the kinetics of bupivacaine release in vivo.

No abstract

Pseudomonas oleovorans was grown separately on 5-(4‘-tolyl)valeric acid, 5-(4‘-ethylphenyl)valeric acid, 5-(4‘-biphenyl)valeric acid, and 8-(4‘-tolyl)octanoic acid either as the sole carbon source or as a coefeed with either nonanoic acid or 5-phenylvaleric acid. For polymer production, 5-(4‘-tolyl)valeric acid was the most effective growth substrate of the five. It resulted in the production of poly-3-hydroxy-5-(4‘-tolyl)valerate, a crystalline polymer with a glass transition temperature of 18 °C and a melting transition of 95 °C. This poly(3-hydroxyalkanoate) (PHA) is apparently the first example of a crystalline aromatic-containing bacterial PHA. When P. oleovorans was cofed an equimolar mixture of 5-phenylvaleric acid and 5-(4‘-tolyl)valeric acid, the polymer produced contained 36 mol % of 3-hydroxy-5-phenylvalerate and 64 mol % of 3-hydroxy-5-(4‘-tolyl)valerate, and it did not crystallize.

Prolonged percutaneous blockade of peripheral nerves is feasible. The recovery from blockade is complete, and plasma bupivacaine levels are far below the range associated with systemic toxicity. The mechanisms underlying the dexamethasone block-prolonging effect are under investigation.