Mind the Gap Between the Bench and the Bed: The General Anesthetics-Induced Neurotoxicity in the Real World

Abstract

From the very beginning of Morton’s successful demonstration of surgical anesthesia, reversibility has been identified as one of the unique characteristics of anesthesia. However, recent studies just reveal the opposite; general anesthetics (GAs) produce long-term, if not permanent, effects in the human brain, especially in the immature brain, at clinically relevant concentrations for clinical relevant durations, so-called the neurotoxicity of GAs on immature brains.