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Scott, I tried to look up any info a few years ago about the similarity between Nitrous and Narcosis, but didn't really find anything. I'd bet it's there to be found these days. I did find this paragraph: "Now, the interesting part is that nitrous oxide is an inhalation anesthetic because it dissolves in synaptic lipid membranes. So it's not a coincidence that nitrous oxide is a whipped cream propellant and an inhalation anesthetic: nitrous oxide dissolves in fatty cream and it also dissolves in fatty cell membranes. Lots of things work as inhalation anesthetics; the better they dissolve in the lipid membranes, the lower the pressure required. This is why spot removers like ether and chloroform work as anesthetics in low concentration. At high enough pressure, even nitrogen will dissolve in membranes; this causes nitrogen narcosis in divers. Even an inert gas like argon will work as an anesthetic since it will dissolve in membranes under enough pressure. This is also why people sniff fat-soluble gases like propane and freon to get high." Lipids: "<chemical> Any of a heterogeneous group of fats and fatlike substances characterised by being water insoluble and being extractable by nonpolar (or fat) solvents such as alcohol, ether, chloroform, benzene, etc. All contain as a major constituent aliphatic hydrocarbons. The lipids, which are easily stored in the body, serve as a source of fuel, are an important constituent of cell structure and serve other biological functions. Lipids may be considered to include fatty acids, neutral fats, waxes and steroids. Compound lipids comprise the glycolipids, lipoproteins and phospholipids." Synaptic Membranes: "Cell membranes associated with synapses. Both presynaptic and postsynaptic membranes are included along with their integral or tightly associated specializations for the release or reception of transmitters." As far as my head was concerned, I couldn't see a lot of difference. But it sounds like _any_ gas that is transportable to the fatty membranes and/or the synaptic lipid membranes is potentially narcotic. Is the similarity in names just a coincidence? I did find this, though: http://www.anesthesia.wisc.edu/Topics/Physiology/nitrousoxide.html . . . and this from the Compressed Gas Association: http://www.cganet.com/N2O/factsht.htm . . . and a links page: http://nepenthes.lycaeum.org/Drugs/N2O/ Later, JoeL > From: "Scott" <scottk@hc*.co*> > Date: Thu, 9 Dec 1999 09:20:40 -0800 > To: <tgunther@co*.co*>, "Joel Markwell" <joeldm@mi*.co*> > Cc: "Techdiver" <techdiver@aquanaut.com> > Subject: Re: Nitrous Oxide "diving" > > On a serious note, isn't this basically the same mechanism and buzz as > narcosis in diving? Increased PPN? Any docs out there? -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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