Sex Differences in Neurodevelopmental Abnormalities Caused by Early-life Anaesthesia Exposure: a Narrative Review

Overview

Journal Br J Anaesth

Publisher Elsevier

Specialty Anesthesiology

Date 2020 Jan 26

PMID 31980157

Citations 16

Authors

Omar H Cabrera

Thomas Gulvezan

Breanna Symmes

Nidia Quillinan

Vesna Jevtovic-Todorovic

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Exposure to anaesthetic drugs during the fetal or neonatal period induces widespread neuronal apoptosis in the brains of rodents and non-human primates. Hundreds of published preclinical studies and nearly 20 clinical studies have documented cognitive and behavioural deficits many months or years later, raising the spectre that early life anaesthesia exposure is a long-term, perhaps permanent, insult that might affect the quality of life of millions of humans. Although the phenomenon of anaesthesia-induced developmental neurotoxicity is well characterised, there are important and lingering questions pertaining to sex differences and neurodevelopmental sequelae that might occur differentially in females and males. We review the relevant literature on sex differences in the field of anaesthesia-induced developmental neurotoxicity, and present an emerging pattern of potential sex-dependent neurodevelopmental abnormalities in rodent models of human infant anaesthesia exposure.

Citing Articles

Sevoflurane exposure in early life: mitochondrial dysfunction and neurotoxicity in immature rat brains without long-term memory loss.

Qiu L, Li H, Li B, Ek J, Zhang X, Chen Y Sci Rep. 2024; 14(1):28747.

PMID: 39567567 PMC: 11579499. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-79150-3.

Pre-clinical and clinical trials for anesthesia in neonates: gaps and future directions.

Barton K, Yellowman R, Holm T, Beaulieu F, Zuckerberg G, Gwal K Pediatr Radiol. 2024; 54(13):2143-2156.

PMID: 39349661 DOI: 10.1007/s00247-024-06066-5.

The duration-dependent and sex-specific effects of neonatal sevoflurane exposure on cognitive function in rats.

Cheng J, Wang Z, Yu H, Chen Y, Wang Z, Zhang L Braz J Med Biol Res. 2024; 57:e13437.

PMID: 38808889 PMC: 11136479. DOI: 10.1590/1414-431X2024e13437.

Anti-seizure medication-induced developmental cell death in neonatal rats is unaltered by history of hypoxia.

Ghosh A, Quinlan S, Forcelli P Epilepsy Res. 2024; 201:107318.

PMID: 38430668 PMC: 11018699. DOI: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107318.

Stress Pathways Induced by Volatile Anesthetics and Failure of Preconditioning in a Mitochondrial Complex I Mutant.

Olufs Z, Wassarman D, Perouansky M Anesthesiology. 2023; 140(3):463-482.

PMID: 38118175 PMC: 10932926. DOI: 10.1097/ALN.0000000000004874.

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