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As pediatric specialists become increasingly aware that surgical anesthesia may have lasting effects on the developing brains of young children, new research suggests the threat may also apply to adult brains.
Researchers from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center report that testing in laboratory mice shows anesthesia's neurotoxic effects depend on the age of brain neurons -- not the age of the animal undergoing anesthesia, as once thought.
Although more research is needed to confirm the study's relevance to humans, the study suggests possible health implications for millions of children and adults who undergo surgical anesthesia annually, according to Andreas Loepke, MD, PhD, a physician and researcher in the Department of Anesthesiology.
"We demonstrate that anesthesia-induced cell death in neurons is not limited to the immature brain, as previously believed," said Loepke. "Instead, vulnerability seems to target neurons of a certain age and maturational stage. This finding brings us a step closer to understanding the phenomenon's underlying mechanism"
Children with no exposure to anesthesia and surgery had a 7.3 percent incidence of ADHD. Equally, for children with only a single surgery and exposure to anesthesia before the age of 3 the rate was nearly the same as no exposure.
However for children with two or more exposures to anesthesia and surgery, the rate of ADHD was 17.9 percent. This result remained even after researchers adjusted for other factors, including gestational age, sex, birth weight and comorbid health conditions.
For older folks it's more than just feeling a little hazy for a few hours after an operation.
Significant numbers develop post-operative cognitive decline (POCD), suffering from memory loss and behaviour changes; they're also just not as sharp as before. This can last weeks or even months. Some believe it can be permanent.
But this is not the only potential effect. Recently it's been suggested that general anaesthesia may also increase the risk of dementia - possibly by causing inflammation in the brain.
Other studies have suggested it weakens the immune system.
Researchers are also looking at the possibility that in the under-threes it may lead to the death of brain cells and increase the risk of developing memory and learning difficulties.
Read more:
Science Daily
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130605130110.htm
Daily Mail
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2358493/How-general-anaesthetic-harm-memory-life-Research-finds-quarters-older-patients-develop-memory-loss-surgery.html
Natural News
http://www.naturalnews.com/034884_anesthesia_adhd_brain_damage.html
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