Neurotoxicity research
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Neurotoxicity research · Aug 2017
Neonatal Propofol Anesthesia Changes Expression of Synaptic Plasticity Proteins and Increases Stereotypic and Anxyolitic Behavior in Adult Rats.
Propofol is a general anesthetic commonly used in pediatric clinical practices. Experimental findings demonstrate that anesthetics induce widespread apoptosis and cognitive decline in a developing brain. Although anesthesia-mediated neurotoxicity is the most prominent during intense period of synaptogenesis, the effects of an early anesthesia exposure on the synapses are not well understood. ⋯ GAP-43 and MAP-2 adult and juvenile isoforms are upregulated following anesthesia, suggesting compensatory mechanism in the maintaining of the structural integrity and stabilization of developing axons and dendritic arbors. Neonatal propofol exposure significantly altered spontaneous motor activity (increased stereotypic/repetitive movements) and changed emotional behavior (reduced anxiety-like response) in the adulthood, 6 months later. These findings suggest that propofol anesthesia is synaptotoxic in the developing brain, disturbing synaptic dynamics and producing neuroplastic changes permanently incorporated into existing networks with long-lasting functional consequences.