Transient changes in white matter microstructure during general anesthesia.

Cognitive dysfunction after surgery under general anesthesia is a well-recognized clinical phenomenon in the elderly. Physiological effects of various anesthetic agents have been studied at length. Very little is known about potential effects of anesthesia on brain structure. In this study we used D...

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Main Authors: Cheuk Y Tang, Victoria X Wang, Min Yin Lun, Joshua S Mincer, Johnny C Ng, Jess W Brallier, Arthur E Schwartz, Helen Ahn, Patrick J McCormick, Tommer Nir, Bradley Delman, Mary Sano, Stacie G Deiner, Mark G Baxter
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0247678&type=printable
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author Cheuk Y Tang
Victoria X Wang
Min Yin Lun
Joshua S Mincer
Johnny C Ng
Jess W Brallier
Arthur E Schwartz
Helen Ahn
Patrick J McCormick
Tommer Nir
Bradley Delman
Mary Sano
Stacie G Deiner
Mark G Baxter
author_facet Cheuk Y Tang
Victoria X Wang
Min Yin Lun
Joshua S Mincer
Johnny C Ng
Jess W Brallier
Arthur E Schwartz
Helen Ahn
Patrick J McCormick
Tommer Nir
Bradley Delman
Mary Sano
Stacie G Deiner
Mark G Baxter
author_sort Cheuk Y Tang
collection DOAJ
description Cognitive dysfunction after surgery under general anesthesia is a well-recognized clinical phenomenon in the elderly. Physiological effects of various anesthetic agents have been studied at length. Very little is known about potential effects of anesthesia on brain structure. In this study we used Diffusion Tensor Imaging to compare the white matter microstructure of healthy control subjects under sevoflurane anesthesia with their awake state. Fractional Anisotropy, a white mater integrity index, transiently decreases throughout the brain during sevoflurane anesthesia and then returns back to baseline. Other DTI metrics such as mean diffusivity, axial diffusivity and radial diffusivity were increased under sevoflurane anesthesia. Although DTI metrics are age dependent, the transient changes due to sevoflurane were independent of age and sex. Volumetric analysis shows various white matter volumes decreased whereas some gray matter volumes increased during sevoflurane anesthesia. These results suggest that sevoflurane anesthesia has a significant, but transient, effect on white matter microstructure. In spite of the transient effects of sevoflurane anesthesia there were no measurable effects on brain white matter as determined by the DTI metrics at 2 days and 7 days following anesthesia. The role of white matter in the loss of consciousness under anesthesia will need to be studied and MRI studies with subjects under anesthesia will need to take these results into account.
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spelling doaj-art-4517b403d2d9433dbf755c2d6897bbc22025-08-20T02:17:57ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032021-01-01163e024767810.1371/journal.pone.0247678Transient changes in white matter microstructure during general anesthesia.Cheuk Y TangVictoria X WangMin Yin LunJoshua S MincerJohnny C NgJess W BrallierArthur E SchwartzHelen AhnPatrick J McCormickTommer NirBradley DelmanMary SanoStacie G DeinerMark G BaxterCognitive dysfunction after surgery under general anesthesia is a well-recognized clinical phenomenon in the elderly. Physiological effects of various anesthetic agents have been studied at length. Very little is known about potential effects of anesthesia on brain structure. In this study we used Diffusion Tensor Imaging to compare the white matter microstructure of healthy control subjects under sevoflurane anesthesia with their awake state. Fractional Anisotropy, a white mater integrity index, transiently decreases throughout the brain during sevoflurane anesthesia and then returns back to baseline. Other DTI metrics such as mean diffusivity, axial diffusivity and radial diffusivity were increased under sevoflurane anesthesia. Although DTI metrics are age dependent, the transient changes due to sevoflurane were independent of age and sex. Volumetric analysis shows various white matter volumes decreased whereas some gray matter volumes increased during sevoflurane anesthesia. These results suggest that sevoflurane anesthesia has a significant, but transient, effect on white matter microstructure. In spite of the transient effects of sevoflurane anesthesia there were no measurable effects on brain white matter as determined by the DTI metrics at 2 days and 7 days following anesthesia. The role of white matter in the loss of consciousness under anesthesia will need to be studied and MRI studies with subjects under anesthesia will need to take these results into account.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0247678&type=printable
spellingShingle Cheuk Y Tang
Victoria X Wang
Min Yin Lun
Joshua S Mincer
Johnny C Ng
Jess W Brallier
Arthur E Schwartz
Helen Ahn
Patrick J McCormick
Tommer Nir
Bradley Delman
Mary Sano
Stacie G Deiner
Mark G Baxter
Transient changes in white matter microstructure during general anesthesia.
PLoS ONE
title Transient changes in white matter microstructure during general anesthesia.
title_full Transient changes in white matter microstructure during general anesthesia.
title_fullStr Transient changes in white matter microstructure during general anesthesia.
title_full_unstemmed Transient changes in white matter microstructure during general anesthesia.
title_short Transient changes in white matter microstructure during general anesthesia.
title_sort transient changes in white matter microstructure during general anesthesia
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0247678&type=printable
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