Anesthesia and dementia: an up-to-date review of the existing literature

Concerns around the impact of anesthesia on cognitive decline and dementia, including Alzheimer's Disease (AD), have been increasing and recently attracting considerable attention in the research community. One unanswered question is whether anesthesia is a risk factor of dementia, specifically AD type dementia. A large body of evidence, coming from in vivo and in vitro models, suggests that exposure to anesthetic agents may increase the risk of AD through mechanisms of action similar to AD's neuropathology. In terms of clinical studies, our knowledge of the relationship between anesthesia and dementia is based on limited data, with most studies suggesting that there is no association. The aim of this paper was therefore to outline recent clinical studies exploring this controversial relationship and discuss future directions in terms of study design and potential areas of study. As the aging population and the prevalence of dementia and AD increases, we need a better understanding of anesthesia as a risk factor for neurodegeneration through well-designed studies. Despite the controversy, there seems to be little evidence to support that anesthesia itself or other surgical and patient factors can cause or accelerate AD.