British journal of anaesthesia
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Evidence from animal models and human studies suggests an association between early general anaesthesia exposure and development of long-lasting neurocognitive problems including learning and memory impairments and an anxious phenotype. Because millions of children each year undergo procedures that require anaesthesia, it is important to investigate ways to protect the vulnerable developing brain. We evaluated whether progesterone treatment administered before general anaesthesia exposure could prevent long-term anaesthesia-induced neurocognitive and behavioural changes. ⋯ Progesterone attenuated the anaesthesia-induced, acute peripheral inflammatory response and prevented cognitive and behavioural alterations associated with early repeated general anaesthesia exposure. Importantly, our results suggest that progesterone treatments given before general anaesthesia may help to protect the developing brain.
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Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) facilitate bacterial clearance but also promote thrombosis and organ injury in sepsis. We quantified ex vivo NET induction in septic humans and murine models of sepsis to identify signalling pathways that may be modulated to improve outcome in human sepsis. ⋯ CXCR1/2 signalling-induced NET formation is a therapeutic target in sepsis, which may be guided by ex vivo NET assays.