A group of researchers led by Dr. Vesna Jevtovic-Todorovic and Dr. Desa Milanovic from the University Hospital’s anesthesiology department conducted a study last year that sheds light on a potential link between general anesthesia use in infants and neurodegenerative diseases later in life. The study’s key finding came in the discovery that the chemicals inside anesthetics upset the balance of mitochondria — energy-producing organelles — in neurological cells.
To study the impact of general anesthesia in infants, the researchers used week-old rats — whose neurological systems develop similarly to infants’ — in their experiment.
The rats were injected with the variety of chemicals that make up general anesthesia, including sedative midazolam, nitrous oxide and isoflurane. After six hours of treatment, researchers found an uptick in mitochondria production. This impedes the development of neural cells, which the researchers concluded could ultimately contribute to diseases such as Parkinsons and Alzheimer’s.
This does not mean general anesthesia should no longer be used, researcher Azra Oklopcic said. There are existing chemicals that could likely be developed to reduce the toxic effects of anethesia and retain balance in mitochondrial production, Oklopcic added.
Future experiments in Jevtovic-Todorovic’s laboratory will likely continue to explore the effects of various anesthetics on mitochondrial development, Oklopcic said.
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