Some investigators have speculated that increased homocysteine concentrations from nitrous oxide exposure might lead to myocardial ischemia and infarction. This issue includes an important clinical trial investigating the genetic and environmental influences on nitrous oxide–induced homocysteine in a high-risk patient population.

  • Myles: Nitrous Oxide: Deep in the Zone of Uncertainty, p. 1

  • Nagele et al.: Influence of Nitrous Oxide Anesthesia, B-Vitamins, and MTHFR Gene Polymorphisms on Perioperative Cardiac Events: The Vitamins in Nitrous Oxide (VINO) Randomized Trial, p. 19

Copyright © 2013, the American Society of Anesthesiologists, Inc. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
2013