The effect of age-related modification of glutamate and GABA function on general anesthesia

2003 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 13470438
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Surgical dentistry
• Research Institution: Nagasaki University
• Principal Investigator: AYUSE Takao Nagasaki University, Graduate School of Biomedical Science, Associate Professor, 大学院・医歯薬学総合研究科, 助教授 (20222705)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): SAKAMOTO Emi Nagasaki University, Hospital of Medicine and Dentistry, Instructor, 医学部・歯学部附属病院, 助手 (70346922) ; OKAYASU Ichiro Nagasaki University, Hospital of Medicine and Dentistry, Instructor, 医学部・歯学部附属病院, 助手 (80346923)
• Project Period (FY): 2001 – 2003
• Keywords: Aging / Central Nervous System / Glutamate / General Anesthesia

Research Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the age-related changes in ketamine anesthesia, and post-emergence hyperlocomotion. There were two major findings in the present study. First, ketamine anesthesia was significantly prolonged in aged rats. Second, hyperlocomotion was present in young (3months) and adult rats (l2months) but not aged rats (24months). This is the first study to show that the factor of aging may affect the degree of anesthetic action and ketamine induced hyperlocomotion. Recent study indicated that ketamine anesthesia may be related to nitric oxide / cGMP / NMDA pathway, and ketamine induced hyperlocomotion may be mediated by NMDA receptor antagonism in hippocampal region. Theses findings support previous studies that aging may affect ketamine anesthesia and locomotive activity during emergence, possibly due to a modulation of nitric oxide / cGMP / NMDA pathway in the brain.