Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to The New Coffee Room. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Why Surgeons Dread Redheads
Topic Started: Dec 13 2010, 07:41 PM (273 Views)
George K
Member Avatar
Finally
Why Surgeons Dread Redheads

Quote:
 
As the authors of a recent study published in BMJ attest, society's red-haired members don't always get a fair shake. Hoary stereotypes, such as the idea that redheads are also hot heads, are mixed together with actual physiological differences — such as a heightened sensitivity to pain. Now science is getting a better understanding of redheaded physiology than ever before.

In numerical terms, people with red hair are a decided minority. They comprise just 2-6% of the population of the northern hemisphere and 1-2% worldwide. It's genetics that make them such rare birds. (More on Time.com: How to Keep Surgeons From Leaving Things Behind)

The carrot-top coloration is caused by a gene on chromosome 16 that affects the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) protein, which often leads to the redheads' characteristic pale skin and light eyes, as well as a sensitivity to ultraviolet light — which is why they must slather on the sunscreen when they go outside. Because the gene is recessive, both parents must carry it in order for a red-haired child to be born. That's not difficult — 80% of the global population carries the redheaded gene even most if they do so invisibly. (More on Time.com: The Top 10 Redheads)

For those few who do have the redhead phenotype, the physical challenges go beyond the occasional sunburn — something that surgeons well know. And that's what the BMJ authors sought to explore in their meta-analysis, or survey of the existing scientific literature

Operating room docs, for example, have long reported that redheads appear to need more anesthetic than others. The new study suggests that that observation is an accurate one — mostly. Those with the MC1R mutation are more sensitive to opiate pain killers — which means they'd actually need less — but less sensitive to other types, most notably lidocaine injections. One study which used heat-related pain as its litmus of overall sensitivity showed that redheads indeed felt things more acutely and unpleasantly, probably because the MC1R mutation releases a hormone that stimulates a brain receptor associated with pain regulation. (More on Time.com: Study: Researchers Identify Hundreds of Gene Variants That Contribute to Height)

Redheads are also said — anecdotally at least — to be more susceptible to hernias. The study did not establish that conclusively, but it did find a tangential link between chromosome 16 and a condition called brittle cornea syndrome, the sufferers of which have a slightly elevated hernia risk.

Less substantiated by the study was the belief that people with red hair are more susceptible to hemorrhages. A survey of tonsillectomy patients found that about 7% of both red-haired and control patients experienced post-surgical bleeding. And in a study of the blood coagulation of 50 women, half of whom were redheads, there was no difference in clotting.

Overall, the researchers concluded that even if redheads require a little extra handling on the operating table, trepidation among surgeons had more to do with stereotypes than with clinical evidence."It would seem that the reputation of people with red hair for having increased perioperative risk is without any basis in fact and should only be used as an excuse of last resort by surgeons defending problematic bleeding or recurrent hernias," concluded authors, Andrew L Cunningham and Christopher P Jones. Take that, blonds and brunettes!

"redheads appear to need more anesthetic than others."

I remember hearing about this back in the late 70's as an anecdote and dismissing it. Then, when studies came out, I was humbled.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1362956/

From 2006:

Background: Age and body temperature alter inhalational anesthetic requirement; however, no human genotype is associated with inhalational anesthetic requirement. There is an anecdotal impression that anesthetic requirement is increased in redheads. Furthermore, red hair results from distinct mutations of the melanocortin-1 receptor. We thus tested the hypothesis that the requirement for the volatile anesthetic desflurane is greater in natural redhead than in dark-haired women.

Methods: We studied healthy women with bright red (n=10) or dark (n=10) hair. Blood was sampled for subsequent analyses of melanocortin-1 receptor alleles. Anesthesia was induced with sevoflurane and maintained with desflurane randomly set at an end-tidal concentration between 5.5 and 7.5%. After an equilibration period, a noxious electrical stimulation (100 Hz, 70 mA) was transmitted through bilateral intradermal needles. If the volunteer moved in response to stimulation, desflurane was increased by 0.5%; otherwise it was decreased by 0.5%. This was continued until volunteers “crossed-over” from movement to non-movement (or vice versa) four times. Individual logistic regression curves were used to determine desflurane requirement (P50). Desflurane requirements in the two groups were compared using Mann-Whitney nonparametric two-sample test; P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: The desflurane requirement in redheads (6.2 volume-percent [95% CI, 5.9 - 6.5]) was significantly greater than in dark-haired women (5.2 volume-percent [4.9 – 5.5], P = 0.0004). Nine of 10 redheads were either homozygous or compound heterozygotes for mutations on the melanocortin-1 receptor gene.

Conclusions: Red hair appears to be a distinct phenotype linked to anesthetic requirement in humans that can also be traced to a specific genotype.
A guide to GKSR: Click

"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... "
- Mik, 6/14/08


Nothing is as effective as homeopathy.

I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles.
- Klaus, 4/29/18
Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Larry
Member Avatar
Mmmmmmm, pie!
Quote:
 
"redheads appear to need more anesthetic than others."



I can attest to that.

Blondes require two glasses of wine. Brunettes require around 4 tequilas. Redheads require a bottle of wine, a fifth of tequila, and 3 taps on the head with a stick...
Of the Pokatwat Tribe

Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
George K
Member Avatar
Finally
See?

SEE????
A guide to GKSR: Click

"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... "
- Mik, 6/14/08


Nothing is as effective as homeopathy.

I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles.
- Klaus, 4/29/18
Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
bachophile
Member Avatar
HOLY CARP!!!
never noticed this.

but i did once have a female redheaded resident whom i wanted to strangle on countless occasions.
"I don't know much about classical music. For years I thought the Goldberg Variations were something Mr. and Mrs. Goldberg did on their wedding night." Woody Allen
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
apple
one of the angels
i always wanted red hair
it behooves me to behold
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
RosemaryTwo
Member Avatar
HOLY CARP!!!
Good to know. I am the medical first responder to a few redheads on a regular basis.

"Perhaps the thing to do is just to let stupid run its course." Aqua
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
« Previous Topic · The New Coffee Room · Next Topic »
Add Reply