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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.
SmartTots Panel on Pediatric Anesthesia Neurotoxicity Research
The 2021 SmartTots Panel, held virtually on May 15, addresses timely issues in pediatric anesthesia neurotoxicity research with three dynamic presentations. Dr. Laszlo Vutskits discusses priorities in pre-clinical research, Dr. Andrew Davidson describes challenges in clinical studies with an update on the SmartTots-sponsored TREX clinical trial, and Dr. Caleb Ing explores the challenges of finding a clinical phenotype in anesthetic neurotoxicity. Dr. Dean Andropoulos moderates the program with a brief, live question and answer period at the end.
Anesthesia and Neurotoxicity Study Design, Execution, and Reporting in the Non-Human Primate: A Deep Dive
What is the quality of non-human primate (NHP) studies used to support the concern for anesthesia-related neurodevelopmental delays in children? This poster session describes a systematic review of 18 manuscripts from studies in NHPs at postnatal ages 0 to 40 day with early anesthesia exposure.
Anesthetic activation of GABAA receptors in astrocytes trigger a persistent increase in cell-surface expression of α5GABAA receptors in neurons via IL-1β in mice
Using cortical astrocytes and hippocampal neurons from fetal mice, investigators explore mechanisms that raise inhibitory tonic current (surface expression) linked to post-anesthetic cognitive deficits generated by the α5 subunit-containing GABAA Receptors (α5GABAARs) in mouse hippocampal neurons.
Behavioural impairments after exposure of neonatal mice to propofol are accompanied by reductions in neuronal activity in cortical circuitry.
Both animal and retrospective human studies have linked extended and repeated general anaesthesia during early development with cognitive and behavioural deficits later in life. However, the neuronal circuit mechanisms underlying this anaesthesia-induced behavioural impairment are poorly understood.
Protective Effect of GM1 Attenuates Hippocampus and Cortex Apoptosis After Ketamine Exposure in Neonatal Rat via PI3K/AKT/GSK3β Pathway.
Ketamine is a widely used analgesic and anesthetic in obstetrics and pediatrics. Ketamine is known to promote neuronal death and cognitive dysfunction in the brains of humans and animals during development. Monosialotetrahexosyl ganglioside (GM1), a promoter of brain development, exerts neuroprotective effects in many neurological disease models. Here, we investigated the neuroprotective effect of GM1 and its potential underlying mechanism against ketamine-induced apoptosis of rats.
Singular and short-term anesthesia exposure in the developing brain induces persistent neuronal changes consistent with chronic neurodegenerative disease.
The potential adverse impact of inhalational anesthetics on the developing brain was highlighted by the addition of a medication warning by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for their use in the pediatric population. To investigate mechanisms by which early life anesthesia exposure could induce long-term neuronal dysfunction, we exposed rats to 1 minimum alveolar concentration sevoflurane at 7 days of life.