Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-7qhmt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-29T06:22:16.325Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 5 - Anesthetic drugs and the developing fetal brain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2011

Ian McConachie
Affiliation:
University of Western Ontario
Get access

Summary

Over the last decade there has been an explosion of literature published on the neuroapoptosis induced by anesthetic drugs in animals and the potential impact this may have on fetuses, neonates, and infants. The period of brain growth when synaptic differentiation occurs, also called synaptogenesis, occurs from the sixth month of gestation to 24 months after birth in humans. The teratogenicity of a substance is multifactorial and includes species susceptibility, dose, duration and timing of exposure, and genetic predisposition. Anesthetics have been shown to cause apoptosis in numerous cell types as well as cause neurotoxicity in a concentration- and time-dependent manner in in-vitro and in-vivo models, and mechanisms have been proposed based on the receptor activity of the anesthetic agents. In an extensive review on the effects of general anesthetics on developing brain structure and neurocognitive function, the evidence for individual anesthetic agents causing neurodegeneration and functional impairment was discussed.
Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×