Anesthesia causes cognitive decline in the elderly

Miami.- The general anesthesia in an operation is linked to a small decline in memory and mental abilities of people over 70, according to the study published by the medical institution Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

The loss of brain function observed in studies published by the British Journal of Anesthesia, notes that it may be significant in patients who suffer from mild cognitive impairment or whose cognitive functions are reduced

. whose cognitive conditions are on the verge of deterioration, but the symptoms are not clinically evident, undergoing anesthesia could trigger underlying problems with memory and reasoning, according to EFE

"We need to make sure that the An operation patients, and their families, are duly informed that there is a risk of cognitive dysfunction, "said Juraj Sprung, an anesthetist and author of the study.

The Mayo Clinic specialist commented that alternative strategies should be discussed with patients before those considered high-risk undergo intervention.

They badyzed over 1800 people between 70 and 89 years of age, performed badessments every 15 months, taking into account anesthetic interventions in the 20 years preceding the study and those performed after the start of the study. ;investigation.

Researchers found that cognitive decline increased slightly after anesthesia, beyond the memory loss badociated with natural aging.

The authors explained that it is not possible to determine whether the cause of the decline was anesthesia, surgery, or the underlying conditions that have need surgery.

Anesthesia and its relationship with cognitive decline in the elderly, was a very important issue. Discussed in recent years, after conducting animal studies has shown that exposure to inhaled anesthetics could be linked to changes in the brain related to Alzheimer's disease.