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Early life exposure to sevoflurane impairs adulthood spatial memory in the rat
Xiaofeng Shen1, Yusheng Liu, Shiqin Xu
1State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Nanjing Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210004, China.
Insights
Early life exposure to sevoflurane anesthesia can cause lasting memory problems in adulthood. The younger the age at exposure and shorter the interval between doses, the more severe the memory impairment in rats.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Anesthesiology
- Developmental Toxicology
Background:
- Sevoflurane is a common pediatric anesthetic.
- Early anesthesia exposure may cause learning and memory deficits.
- Data on sevoflurane's specific neurotoxicity is inconsistent.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate sevoflurane's impact on adult memory in Sprague-Dawley rats.
- To determine dose- and age-dependent effects of sevoflurane exposure.
- To assess spatial memory using the Morris Water Maze.
Main Methods:
- Rats exposed to sevoflurane (1-4%) on postnatal days (PNDs) 3, 7, 14, or at 7 weeks (P7W).
- Spatial memory assessed in adulthood via Morris Water Maze (MWM).
- Varied exposure concentrations, durations, and intervals.
Main Results:
- Sevoflurane exposure caused significant adult memory impairment.
- Impairment was concentration and duration dependent.
- Younger age at exposure and shorter intervals between exposures led to more severe deficits.
Conclusions:
- Early life sevoflurane exposure can lead to adult spatial memory impairments.
- Developmental neurotoxicity is influenced by age at exposure and dosing regimen.
- Findings highlight potential risks of pediatric anesthesia on cognitive development.
Abstract:
Sevoflurane is a general anesthetic commonly used in the pediatric setting because it is sweet-smelling, nonflammable, fast acting and has a very short recovery time. Although recent clinical data suggest that early anesthesia exposure is associated with subsequent learning and memory problems, it is difficult to determine the exact scope of developmental neurotoxicity associated with exposure to specific anesthetics such as sevoflurane. This is largely due to inconsistencies in the literature. Thus, in the present studies we evaluated the effect of early life exposure to sevoflurane (1%, 2%, 3% or 4%) on adulthood memory impairment in Sprague-Dawley rats. Animals were exposed to different regimens of sevoflurane anesthesia on postnatal days (PNDs) 3, 7, or 14 or at 7 weeks (P7W) of age and spatial memory performance was assessed in adulthood using the Morris Water Maze (MWM). Rats exposed to sevoflurane exhibited significant memory impairment which was concentration and exposure duration dependent. Disruption of MWM performance was more severe in animals exposed on both PNDs 3 and 7 than in animals exposed on both PNDs 3 and 14. The younger the animal's age at the time of exposure, the more significant the effect on later MWM performance. Compared to the neonates, animals exposed at P7W were relatively insensitive to sevoflurane: memory was impaired in this group only after repeated exposures to low doses or single exposures to high doses. Early life exposure to sevoflurane can result in spatial memory impairments in adulthood and the shorter the interval between exposures, the greater the deficit.
