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SmartTots and IARS News, Press Releases and EventsSmartTots – Perspectives from the Front Lines
Millions of children undergo surgery annually. Recent studies suggest there may be reason for concern. This video, featuring Dr. Dean Andropoulos, Dr. Peter Davis, and Dr. Caleb Ing, provides a summary as to why research is needed and the type that is needed.
SmartTots to Help Make Anesthetics and Sedatives Safer for Children
Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the Food and Drug Administration, and Dr. Michael Roizen, of the International Anesthesia Research Society, unveil a new partnership that aims to make anesthesia safer for children.
Pediatric Anesthesia Questions and Myths-Mayo Clinic
Dr. Randall Flick at Mayo Clinic “debunks myths” and answers common questions raised by parents in regard to anesthesia.
Prenatal Exposure to General Anesthesia and Childhood Behavioral Deficit
This study evaluates the association between prenatal exposure to general anesthesia due to maternal procedures during pregnancy and neuropsychological and behavioral outcome scores at age 10.
Increasing the interval between repeated anesthetic exposures reduces long‐lasting synaptic changes in late post‐natal mice
While recent studies strongly suggest that a single, short anesthetic exposure does not affect neurodevelopment, the effects of multiple exposures remain unclear. Unfortunately, studying “multiple exposures” is challenging as it is an extremely heterogeneous descriptor comprising diverse factors. One potentially important, but unrecognized factor is the interval between anesthetic exposures.
Tau Contributes to Sevoflurane-induced Neurocognitive Impairment in Neonatal Mice
Sevoflurane anesthesia induces Tau phosphorylation and cognitive impairment in neonatal but not in adult mice. This study tested the hypothesis that differences in brain Tau amounts and in the activity of mitochondria-adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-Nuak1-Tau cascade between the neonatal and adult mice contribute to the age-dependent effects of sevoflurane on cognitive function.
Neonatal exposure to sevoflurane expands the window of vulnerability to adverse effects of subsequent exposure to sevoflurane and alters hippocampal morphology via decitabine-sensitive mechanisms
Deficiencies in neurocognitive function have been found in late childhood or adolescence in patients who had prolonged and/or repeated early-life general anesthesia. Animal studies suggest that anesthetic-induced impairment in the neuron-specific K+-2Cl- (Kcc2) Cl- exporter expression, which regulates developmental maturation of GABA type A receptor (GABAAR) signaling from excitatory to inhibitory, may play a mediating role. We tested whether the DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) inhibitor decitabine ameliorates the anesthetic’s adverse effects.
Sevoflurane Post-Conditioning Ameliorates Neuronal Deficits and Axon Demyelination After Neonatal Hypoxic Ischemic Brain Injury: Role of Microglia/Macrophage
Microglia/macrophages have been identified to be highly polarized after ischemia. Interestingly, the polarization of these microglia/macrophages varies immensely under differing disease conditions. Post-conditioning using sevoflurane, a volatile anesthetic, could provide long-term neuroprotection to neonatal rats after hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (HIBI).
Behavior and Regional Cortical BOLD Signal Fluctuations Are Altered in Adult Rabbits After Neonatal Volatile Anesthetic Exposure
Neonatal and infant exposure to volatile anesthetics has been associated with long-term learning, memory, and behavioral deficits. Although early anesthesia exposure has been linked to a number of underlying structural abnormalities, functional changes associated with these impairments remain poorly understood.