News and Events

SmartTots: Building Community and Advocating for Important Research


SmartTots pediatric anesthetic neurotoxicity thought leaders discuss the current status of the field and provide insights into the future of the research. View on YouTube.

Pediatric Anesthetic Neurotoxicity: Finding Ways to Move Forward


Pediatric anesthetic neurotoxicity investigators discuss the state of the research and identify compelling ways to move the field forward. View on YouTube

Pediatric Anesthetic Neurotoxicity: Designing the Proper Study

Pediatric anesthetic neurotoxicity thought leaders ponder the feasibility of designing and conducting studies that successfully isolate the effects of anesthetics from the effects of the procedure or patient’s underlying condition. View on YouTube

Pediatric Anesthetic Neurotoxicity: The Pre-Clinical Journey


Pediatric anesthetic neurotoxicity researchers discuss how pre-clinical studies are providing insight into the mechanisms of neurotoxicity, and the impact on the future of clinical studies. View on YouTube

Panda Symposium

SmartTots – 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.

TREX Trial Milestone – Enrollment is complete!

Pediatric anesthetic neurotoxicity has been a concern of clinicians and investigators for more than 20 years. Hundreds of preclinical studies and dozens of clinical studies including PANDA, GAS, and MASK have been undertaken during this time. The results have been mixed. The TREX (Toxicity Remifentanil DEXmedetomidine) trial began in 2017 and set out to study prolonged anesthetic exposure effects and address an important data gap – whether a dexmedetomidine-based anesthetic is associated with better neurodevelopmental outcomes. The study is a Phase III, randomized, active controlled, parallel group, blinded evaluator, multicenter, multinational, superiority trial comparing neurological outcome after standard sevoflurane anesthesia with dexmedetomidine/remifentanil, and low dose sevoflurane anesthesia in children aged less than 2 years undergoing anesthesia of 2 h or longer. There are a total of 20 sites enrolling patients: 7 in Australia, 5 in the U.S. and 8 in Italy with a variety of surgeries being studied at each site. The TREX Trial Investigators recently met a major milestone, the completion of enrollment of 450 trial subjects. The study subjects will return at age 3 years for a battery of neuropsychological testing, including general intelligence, language, fine and gross motor skills, behavioral testing and parent behavioral questionnaires. Once complete in the next 2-3 years, the TREX Trial will make an important contribution to the knowledge about the effects of anesthesia in infants and young children; an issue that potentially affects millions of children globally who undergo anesthesia and surgery each year.

SmartTots: 13 Years of Progress

During the 2000’s, preclinical research studies began to find that laboratory animals exposed to commonly used anesthetic and sedative drugs early in life showed changes to the brain and nervous system that interfered with memory and learning.  Additional research during this time set off alarms for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), parents, and the anesthesia practitioner community. The FDA held its first Advisory Committee hearing on this issue in 2007. As an outcome of that meeting, representatives from the FDA reached out to the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS) in 2008 with the idea of forming a Public Private Partnership to address these new, startling findings.  IARS was uniquely positioned to partner with the FDA due to its non-political collaborative mission, infrastructure, expertise and commitment to research, education and advancing the specialty.

SmartTots funds two new research initiatives!

IARS is pleased to announce the funding of two new research studies totaling $309,000, aimed at addressing remaining pediatric anesthetic neurotoxicity questions.  IARS, and its generous members and donors, have provided the needed funding to continue the work that the SmartTots initiative began ten years ago in partnership with the FDA.  Since its inception, SmartTots has worked in collaboration with investigators from around the world to make anesthesia and surgery safe for our most vulnerable population.  Recent investigations have provided data demonstrating certainty that anesthetic agents disrupt neurodevelopment in animal models.  However, the evidence in humans continues to be mixed.   The funding of these two new projects will start to unravel some of the remaining quandaries in this important area of research.

2021 SmartTots Panels

Mark your calendar for this upcoming event to hear the latest pediatric anesthetic neurotoxicity news from our distinguished panel of experts. Join SmartTots and world-renowned scientists as they discuss the up-to-the-minute findings and progress of the research – clinical, pre-clinical, in vitro, they’ll discuss it all!