[Source: Science Daily]

As pediatric specialists become increasingly aware that surgical anesthesia may have lasting effects on the developing brains of young children, new research suggests the threat may also apply to adult brains.
Researchers from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center report June 5 the Annals of Neurology that testing in laboratory mice shows anesthesia’s neurotoxic effects depend on the age of brain neurons — not the age of the animal undergoing anesthesia, as once thought.
Although more research is needed to confirm the study’s relevance to humans, the study suggests possible health implications for millions of children and adults who undergo surgical anesthesia annually, according to Andreas Loepke, MD, PhD, a physician and researcher in the Department of Anesthesiology.
Read the Rest of this Article on Science Daily