Intergenerational Perioperative Neurocognitive Disorder

Abstract

Accelerated neurocognitive decline after general anesthesia/surgery, also known as perioperative neurocognitive disorder (PND), is a widely recognized public health problem that may affect millions of patients each year. Advanced age, with its increasing prevalence of heightened stress, inflammation, and neurodegenerative alterations, is a consistent contributing factor to the development of PND. Although a strong homeostatic reserve in young adults makes them more resilient to PND, animal data suggest that young adults with pathophysiological conditions characterized by excessive stress and inflammation may be vulnerable to PND, and this altered phenotype may be passed to future offspring (intergenerational PND). The purpose of this narrative review of data in the literature and the authors’ own experimental findings in rodents is to draw attention to the possibility of intergenerational PND, a new phenomenon which, if confirmed in humans, may unravel a big new population that may be affected by parental PND. In particular, we discuss the roles of stress, inflammation, and epigenetic alterations in the development of PND. We also discuss experimental findings that demonstrate the effects of surgery, traumatic brain injury, and the general anesthetic sevoflurane that interact to induce persistent dysregulation of the stress response system, inflammation markers, and behavior in young adult male rats and in their future offspring who have neither trauma nor anesthetic exposure (i.e., an animal model of intergenerational PND).

Correlation between heart rate variability and perioperative neurocognitive disorders in patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery: A retrospective cohort study

“…PND is a common perioperative neurological complication. The reported incidence of PND varies greatly, depending on the definition of PND, study population, type of surgery, evaluation time, and cognitive test methods [ 20 ]. Patients with PND are characterized by inattention, decreased learning ability, and impaired memory, which affects postoperative functional recovery and prognosis, prolong hospital stay, and may lead to depression and suicidal behavior in severe cases [ 21 , 22 ].…”