Is anesthesia bad for the newborn brain?
Although certain data suggest that common general anesthetics may be neurotoxic to immature animals, there are also data suggesting that these same anesthetics may be neuroprotective against hypoxicischemic injury, and that inadequate analgesia during painful procedures may lead to increased neuronal cell death in animals and long-term behavioral changes in humans. The challenge for the pediatric anesthesia community is to design and implement studies in human infants to ascertain the safety of general anesthesia. In this article, the authors review the relevant preclinical and clinical data that are currently available on this topic.
McCann
Mary Ellen
ME
Department of Anesthesia (Pediatrics), Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. mary.mccann@childrens.harvard.edu
Soriano
Sulpicio G
SG
D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods; D018681:Anesthetics, General / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects; D018755:GABA Agonists / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D020258:Neurotoxicity Syndromes / Q000517:prevention & control*
D018681:Anesthetics, General; D018755:GABA Agonists