Hiding in plain sight: The dementia trigger nobody is talking about

If you’ve ever had major surgery, you know how disorienting it can be to emerge from the dreamless sleep of anesthesia. You hear voices, you sense that some kind of activity is going on, then you put it together. You’re in the hospital. You’re awake.

From that point on, most of the attention will be focused on your surgical outcome and recovery period. You might never suspect that some simple but fundamental change might have occurred in your brain.

It took researchers years to realize this too. But now they’re starting to understand that the strange, foggy-headed feeling you have after undergoing a few hours of anesthesia might be the beginning of the much longer and deeper fog of dementia.

The risk of anesthesia-induced dementia is not something that most surgeons or anesthesiologists will want to talk about, but the growing body of research can’t be denied.

Anesthesia — especially more than one dose and especially in older people — increases risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Going under

This dementia risk has been flying under the radar for a few years now. I first spotted it in a 2013 study that suggested a link between postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) in older patients and dementia that might not develop until years later.

The idea was based on early research that linked anesthesia use with inflammation of neural tissues. And the theory that this inflammation might promote the beta-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles that are typical of Alzheimer’s.

Researchers at France’s University of Bordeaux used data from a large dementia study with more than 7,000 volunteers who were 65 or older. Over a 10 year period, there was a significant 35 percent uptick of diagnosed dementia in patients who had received general anesthesia (GA) compared to those who had not.

As they always say, more research was needed to confirm the link.

That came two years later in a study where Oregon Health & Science University researchers analyzed records from 527 volunteers who participated in a brain aging study conducted by the university.

They found that men who had GA with surgery declined in cognition, functional status, and brain volume compared to men who didn’t have surgery.

Women who had GA also declined in those same measures, but their decline was considerably faster than men. And even faster in women who had more than one surgery with GA.

At that point, the Oregon team felt confident enough to write, “Our research clearly shows an association between surgery, general anesthesia and cognitive decline in older adults.”

Avoiding “brain sludge” in the OR

Around this same time another study surfaced, and it was massive.

In his Complete Alzheimer’s Cure protocol, Dr. Marc Micozzi shares the details about this Taiwanese research that tracked the records of more than 20,000 people — all of them over the age of 50 — for 15 years.

Results this time were dramatic. Among patients who received general anesthesia during surgery, twice as many developed Alzheimer’s as those who didn’t have surgery.

Dr. Micozzi calls this a “clear red flag,” partly because many of the patients began to show signs of dementia soon after their anesthesia exposure.

He points out that the amyloid beta-peptide “brain sludge” that accumulates after anesthesia simply does not go away in some patients.

He says, “Experts already acknowledge anesthesia’s short-term toxicities. These result in post-operative confusion and a decline in mental function. These deficits can last a few days to a few weeks. But when patients experienced permanent cognitive decline following anesthesia, most doctors attributed it to something else. Now we know, the anesthesia may have actually caused it.”

What does this all mean for you?

Dr. Micozzi points out that gastroenterologists, for example, overuse general anesthesia during routine colonoscopies, which adds more risk. Local anesthesia works just as well for this procedure. Plus, it’s safer and less expensive.

And he adds this advice, “If you need to have minor surgery or a medical procedure, ask your doctor about using local anesthesia. Better yet, find out whether the surgery is really necessary in the first place and ask if there safer alternatives.”

As they always say, more research is necessary. Absolutely! Bring on more research. But at this point, it’s time for doctors and hospitals to recognize the potential of this dementia risk and take steps to protect patients.

In the meantime, you can learn more about Dr. Micozzi’s Complete Alzheimer’s Cure protocol or enroll today by clicking here.

 

SOURCES A PIECE

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130601133925.htm

Exposure to general anaesthesia could increase the risk of dementia in elderly by 35 percent

European Society of Anaesthesiology

June 1, 2013

https://www.alz.org/aaic/_downloads/tues-8am-women-risk.pdf

Women at significantly higher risk for cognitive and functional decline after surgery/general anesthesia

Alzheimer’s Association

July 21, 2015