[Regional anesthesia and neurological diseases].

Modern anesthesia is handling an increasing number of patients with neurological diseases who require narcosis. Regional anesthesia techniques offer qualities which might be advantageous for this group particularly for childbirth. The number of pregnant women with neurological diseases has increased significantly in the recent years due to improved diagnostics and therapy. A more careful approach to regional anesthesia in patients with neurological diseases is necessary as the drugs themselves possess neurotoxic effects and the procedure might worsen the underlying neurological diseases. Additionally, performing regional anesthesia might be more complicated and the resulting blockade might be different from the expected neuronal block. Published data concerning regional anesthesia in this patient group are limited and mainly restricted to case reports. In this review general considerations regarding regional anesthesia, techniques, drugs and methods in these patient groups will be discussed. In the second part the practical approach to regional anesthesia for some of the most important neurological diseases is highlighted.