Purpose: Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is evident in 26% of elderly patients seven days after major non-cardiac surgery. Despite the growing popularity of day surgery, the influence of anesthetic techniques on next day POCD has not been investigated. Therefore, we evaluated the incidence of POCD and changes in serum markers of neuronal damage (S-100ss protein and Neuron-Specific Enolase), 24 hr after single-agent propofol or sevoflurane anesthesia in elderly patients undergoing minor surgery.
Methods: Patients (n = 30, mean age 73, range 65-86 yr) coming for cystoscopy or hysteroscopy, were randomized, in an observer-blind design, to receive either single-agent propofol or sevoflurane anesthesia. Changes in neuropsychological tests (the Stroop test and the modified Word-Recall Test), 24 hr postoperatively were compared with age-matched control subjects (n = 15) using Z-score analysis. Changes in S-100beta protein and Neuron-Specific Enolase levels were also documented.
Results: POCD was present in 7/15 [47% (95% confidence interval (CI) 21 to 72%)] patients who received propofol and 7/15 [47% (95% CI 21 to 72%)] patients who received sevoflurane, compared with 1/15 [7% (95% CI 6 to 19%)] control patients, P = 0.03. S-100beta protein and Neuron-Specific Enolase levels were not significantly different in anesthetized patients postoperatively compared with preoperative values.
Conclusion: The incidence of POCD in elderly patients on the first day after minor surgery is higher than previously reported for seven days after major surgery, and is increased after both propofol and sevoflurane anesthesia, compared with age-matched controls. S-100beta protein and Neuron-Specific Enolase levels were unaffected by anesthetic technique.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF03027718 | DOI Listing |
Fluids Barriers CNS
January 2025
Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, 760 Press Ave, 124 HKRB, Lexington, KY, 40536-0679, USA.
Background: Blood-brain barrier dysfunction is one characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and is recognized as both a cause and consequence of the pathological cascade leading to cognitive decline. The goal of this study was to assess markers for barrier dysfunction in postmortem tissue samples from research participants who were either cognitively normal individuals (CNI) or diagnosed with AD at the time of autopsy and determine to what extent these markers are associated with AD neuropathologic changes (ADNC) and cognitive impairment.
Methods: We used postmortem brain tissue and plasma samples from 19 participants: 9 CNI and 10 AD dementia patients who had come to autopsy from the University of Kentucky AD Research Center (UK-ADRC) community-based cohort; all cases with dementia had confirmed severe ADNC.
PLoS One
January 2025
The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China.
Background: Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is associated with an increased risk of dementia and may lead to chronic neurodegeneration. The utilization of intraoperative Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation (TEAS) in conjunction with anesthesia is expected to become an effective preventive measure for POCD in clinical practice.
Methods: We conducted a comprehensive literature review focusing on the use of TEAS in the prevention of POCD during surgical anesthesia.
Brain Sci
December 2024
Canadian Forces Environmental Medicine Establishment, Toronto, ON M3K 2C9, Canada.
Background/objectives: Military aviators can be exposed to extreme physiological stressors, including decompression stress, G-forces, as well as intermittent hypoxia and/or hyperoxia, which may contribute to neurobiological dysfunction/damage. This study aimed to investigate the levels of neurological biomarkers in military aviators to assess the potential risk of long-term brain injury and neurodegeneration.
Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 48 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) aviators and 48 non-aviator CAF controls.
Neurotherapeutics
January 2025
Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. Electronic address:
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a technique used to support severe cardiopulmonary failure. Its potential life-saving benefits are tempered by the significant risk for acute brain injury (ABI), from both primary pathophysiologic factors and ECMO-related complications through central nervous system cellular injury, blood-brain barrier dysfunction (BBB), systemic inflammation and neuroinflammation, and coagulopathy. Plasma biomarkers are an emerging tool used to stratify risk for and diagnose ABI, and prognosticate neurofunctional outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Mol Neurosci
December 2024
Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
Post-transcriptional mechanisms, such as alternative splicing and polyadenylation, are recognized as critical regulatory processes that increase transcriptomic and proteomic diversity. The advent of next-generation sequencing and whole-genome analyses has revealed that numerous transcription and epigenetic regulators, including transcription factors and histone-modifying enzymes, undergo alternative splicing, most notably in the nervous system. Given the complexity of regulatory processes in the brain, it is conceivable that many of these splice variants control different aspects of neuronal development.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!