Anesthesia may produce Brain Damage

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Anesthesia may produce ADHD and Brain Damage

Monday, February 06, 2012 by: Frantzis

http://www.naturalnews.com/034884_anesthesia_ADHD_brain_damage.html#ixzz1ld5o1MV\

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(NaturalNews) Many within the alternative health community believe

anesthetics cause brain damage. Evidence for this claim has included

innumerable animal studies demonstrating a wide range of side effects from

every class of anesthetics.

Clinical observations of patients and in certain instances a physician

directly perceiving the neurological damage within themselves following

anesthesia have also supported this theory. Unfortunately, while a definite

hypothesis is easy to establish with animals, it is difficult to test in

humans.

Until recently strong evidence has been lacking either way that anesthetics

harm human beings. Thus, safer alternatives such as acupuncture, non-toxic

anesthetics and abstaining from the application of anesthesia remain under

examination. Recent work by the Mayo Clinic however contradicts the

prevailing mindset. Onset of ADHD, an indicator of neurological damage, was

strongly correlated to children who had been repeatedly anesthetized.

Aware of the evidence suggesting a connection, Mayo Clinic researchers

devised a method to test for a possible link between the two. Comparing the

records of a group of children exposed to 2 or more anesthetics before the

age of 3 versus a group with 0 exposure, it was found that the former group

had over twice the incidence of ADHD as the latter.

Children with no exposure to anesthesia and surgery had a 7.3 percent

incidence of ADHD. Equally, for children with only a single surgery and

exposure to anesthesia before the age of 3 the rate was nearly the same as

no exposure. However for children with two or more exposures to anesthesia

and surgery, the rate of ADHD was 17.9 percent. This result remained even

after researchers adjusted for other factors, including gestational age,

sex, birth weight and comorbid health conditions.

Statistically, this data showed a very large difference between each group

and a clear correlation between anesthesia and cognitive impairment. To

quote study pediatric anesthesiologist and study investigator Dr. Warner:

" We were skeptical that the findings in animals would correlate with kids,

but it appears that it does. "

These results argue for further study, and may represent the beginning of

mainstream awareness coming to the subject. While Dr Warner was hesitant to

claim this study proved a connection, he signaled further research was on

the horizon. " The findings certainly do suggest that further investigation

into this area is warranted, and investigators at Mayo Clinic and elsewhere

are actively pursuing these studies. "

On a more positive note, it was observed that the cognitive decline was only

noted in children who had multiple anesthetized surgeries before the age of

3. No ill effects were traced to a single instance. This both implies the

existence of a regenerative system within the neurology capable of repairing

that damage but also its potential failure if overtaxed by multiple

incidents too close to each other. If this failure stems from a second

trauma occurring and the mechanism had finished recovering from the first,

then anesthetized surgeries apart from each other can be a powerful neural

protective strategy.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-02/mc-yce012612.php

http://csuvets.colostate.edu

http://mkeamy.typepad.com