News and Events
SmartTots and IARS News, Press Releases and EventsSmartTots: 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.
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.
Integrated Excitatory/Inhibitory Imbalance and Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals the Association between Dysregulated Synaptic Genes and Anesthetic-Induced Cognitive Dysfunction.
Emerging evidence from human epidemiologic and animal studies has demonstrated that developmental anesthesia neurotoxicity could cause long-term cognitive deficits and behavioral problems. However, the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. We conducted an electrophysiological analysis of synapse activity and a transcriptomic assay of 24,881 mRNA expression on hippocampal tissues from postnatal day 60 (P60) mice receiving propofol exposure at postnatal day 7 (P7).
Effects of toxic apolipoprotein E fragments on Tau phosphorylation and cognitive impairment in neonatal mice under sevoflurane anesthesia.
Background: Anesthesia induces Tau phosphorylation and cognitive impairment in young, but not adult, mice. Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) may play a protective role in neuronal activity and injury repair, whereas its toxic fragments are reported to induce neurodegeneration and neurocognitive impairment in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Therefore, we set out to test the hypothesis that the difference in ApoE fragments, but not the full-length ApoE, contributes to the difference in Tau phosphorylation and neurocognitive functions following sevoflurane anesthesia in young mice.
Mild hypothermia fails to protect infant macaques from brain injury caused by prolonged exposure to Antiseizure drugs.
Barbiturates and benzodiazepines are GABAA-receptor agonists and potent antiseizure medications. We reported that exposure of neonatal macaques to combination of phenobarbital and midazolam (Pb/M) for 24 h, at clinically relevant doses and plasma levels, causes widespread apoptosis affecting neurons and oligodendrocytes.
Sevoflurane exposure during the second trimester induces neurotoxicity in offspring rats by hyperactivation of PARP-1.
Rationale: Fetal exposure to general anesthesia may cause noteworthy neurocognitive impairment, but the mechanisms are unclear.
Objectives: Our study designed to explore the potential mechanism of neurotoxicity in offspring rats after sevoflurane exposure to the pregnant rats during the second trimester.
S-ketamine administration in pregnant mice induces ADHD- and depression-like behaviors in offspring mice.
Background: Anesthesia and psychotropic drugs in pregnant women may cause long-term effects on the brain development of unborn babies. The authors set out to investigate the neurotoxicity of S-ketamine, which possesses anesthetic and antidepressant effects and may cause attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)- and depression-like behaviors in offspring mice.
Undiagnosed attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder may be a risk factor for requiring anaesthesia.
This is an editorial in response to an original research paper.