A new study has revealed that hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HBC) can be transmitted during intravenous administration of anesthesia. In the study, doctors found that anesthesia contamination, not endoscopy contamination, was the cause of infection. The study findings highlight the fact that many instances of health care-related HBV and HCV virus transmission probably go undetected. The true magnitude of this problem is therefore unknown.

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The Department of Dermatology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is now offering a new non-invasive skin tightening procedure. The skin is tightened by the use of a device called Thermage that uses radio waves. Thermage treatments are done without anaesthesia and can be completed in one or two sessions in time ranging from 20 minutes to over an hour. Thermage treatment warms the skin, which absorbs radiofrequency energy to tighten the collagen.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a drug that reverses the numbing effects of local anesthesia used by dentists. OraVerse, which was developed by Novalar Pharmaceuticals Inc. is the first dental anesthesia reversal agent on the market for patients of age 6 years or more. According to clinical studies, OraVerse reduces the time it takes for the effect of Novocaine and other numbing agents to wear off to half. Novalar aims to start selling the product in October.