Redheads may need extra anesthesia

From Consumer Reports

People with naturally red hair may need extra anesthesia to ensure that they don’t feel pain during surgery or wake up before it’s over, suggests a report in the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia. The January 2004 study of 39 men and women found that redheads experienced significantly less sedation when given the common anesthetic midazolam (Versed) than the other volunteers did. The researchers theorize that certain genes linked with red hair may activate a feedback system in the brain that confers resistance to sedation. So if you’re a redhead, you may want to mention those findings to your anesthesiologist--especially if you’ve dyed your hair blond or brunet.