Although surgical interventions are generally safe, they are cumulatively associated with cognitive decline and neurodegeneration in elderly patients.
- With each additional surgery, the overall reaction time of adults aged 40 to 69 slows by 0.3 milliseconds.
- Their scores related to cognitive flexibility, problem solving and the ability to remember pictures and numbers also decline.
- Repeated operations are associated with lower hippocampal volume and greater volume of white matter hyperintensities.
For the first time, researchers from the University of Sydney (Australia) have studied the impact of multiple and complex surgeries on brain health. In the context of research, published The Lancet Healthy Longevitythey used data from the UK Biobank, collected between March 13, 2006 and July 16, 2023, to review information from 502,412 adults aged 40 to 69, who underwent surgical procedures , ranging from day surgery to heart bypass surgery, excluding diagnostic procedures and neurosurgery.
Neurodegeneration: a smaller hippocampus in patients who have undergone several operations
Individuals previously diagnosed with dementia were excluded. Among the selected participants, 46,706, followed for 20 years, underwent brain and cognitive MRIs to detect signs of neurodegeneration. “The primary outcomes considered were hippocampal volume and white matter hyperintensities, both of which are established markers of neurodegeneration, as well as reaction time, cognitive flexibility, and prospective and numerical memory.” , the team said.
According to the results, with each additional operation, patients’ overall reaction time slowed by 0.3 milliseconds. Cognitive flexibility, problem solving, and the ability to remember pictures and numbers also decreased with each additional intervention. The authors also found that patients who underwent multiple surgeries had a smaller hippocampus. They also had more signs of brain damage related to blocked blood vessels than volunteers who did not have repeated surgeries.
“Healthcare professionals should consider all treatment options” before surgery
“The study suggests that surgery-related cognitive decline may appear small, but that these neurodegenerative changes and losses really start to accumulate after multiple surgeries. It reminds health care professionals that they should consider all options. treatment options and exercise caution when recommending major surgery to older, more vulnerable patients. declared Jennifer Taylormain author of the work.
According to the scientists, future research should try to understand the internal biological mechanisms of neurodegeneration. One hypothesis suggests that inflammation may be the cause of delayed cognitive recovery after surgery.
