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From Drug-Induced Developmental Neuroapoptosis to Pediatric Anesthetic Neurotoxicity-Where Are We Now?

Catherine E Creeley1

  • 1Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Fredonia, Fredonia, NY 14063, USA. creeley@fredonia.edu.

Brain Sciences
|August 19, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Pediatric anesthesia drugs like GABA agonists and NMDA antagonists may cause excessive neuronal apoptosis, potentially disrupting neurodevelopment. Further research is needed to confirm long-term effects in humans.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Biology
  • Anesthesiology

Background:

  • Fetal and neonatal periods are critical for neurodevelopment, involving natural apoptosis and synaptic pruning.
  • Exposure to certain anesthetic drugs can induce massive neuronal cell death via apoptosis in animal models.
  • This neurotoxic insult may permanently alter behavior and cognitive abilities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review animal research on drug-induced developmental apoptosis.
  • To examine subsequent clinical studies on anesthetic effects on the developing brain.
  • To assess the potential for permanent neurodevelopmental changes in humans.

Main Methods:

  • Review of seminal animal studies on drug-induced apoptosis.
  • Analysis of clinical studies investigating anesthetic exposure in pediatric populations.
  • Synthesis of evidence regarding neurodevelopmental and synaptic plasticity alterations.

Main Results:

  • Animal studies demonstrate that GABA agonists and NMDA antagonists can cause significant neuronal apoptosis.
  • Evidence suggests psychoactive drugs alter neurodevelopment and synaptic plasticity in animal brains.
  • Human studies show growing evidence of potential harm to the developing brain from anesthetics, but causality is undetermined.

Conclusions:

  • Drug-induced apoptosis during critical neurodevelopmental periods poses a risk.
  • While animal data is concerning, long-term outcomes in humans require further investigation.
  • More research using both animal models and human clinical studies is essential to determine causality and long-term consequences.

Keywords:
cognitive developmentdrugsearly brain developmentneurodevelopment

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