According to a new study from Binghamton University, State University of New York, teenagers that have been exposed earlier on to anaesthetics may be more vulnerable to developing alcohol use disorder (AUD), which includes the inability to control your drinking, a preoccupation with alcohol, and continued consumption despite the adverse effects of alcohol. It may also result in acute alcohol withdrawal symptoms when you rapidly decrease or stop drinking.
David Werner, associate professor of psychology, and Linda Spear, distinguished professor of psychology, headed a team of Binghamton University researchers who looked at whether exposure to anaesthetics during adolescence could impact an individual’s response to alcohol later in life, especially the development of AUD. Anaesthetics are traditionally used in medicine during surgery to cause unconsciousness and motionlessness.
Researchers researchers found that the use of anaesthetics during adolescence could be an environmental factor that results in increased risk of developing AUD later in life. Werner said that although not all teenagers who drink alcohol will develop AUDs, it is important to understand risk factors that may lead to an increased predisposition to alcohol abuse in the future.
"This is highly concerning," Werner said. "Given that although the age of initiation and subsequent binging during adolescence are linked to alcoholism later in life, apart from stress, it was not clear what other environmental factors may play a role. This study now highlights a previously overlooked contributor."
During testing, researchers exposed early-adolescent male rats to isoflurane, a general anaesthetic, for short periods of time and then tested them on a series of alcohol-related behaviours later in adolescence or adulthood. The team determined that exposure to anaesthetics in adolescence had very similar behavioural and neural effects as chronic alcohol exposure during adolescence.
The study showed that adolescent rats exposed to isoflurane were less aware of the negative effects of alcohol, including its aversive, sedative and socially suppressive effects. The adolescent rats were also more inclined to increase their alcohol consumption voluntarily, despite cognitive impairment. After initial anaesthetic exposure, certain alcohol-related behaviours seemed to continue into adulthood. Researchers determined that although exposure to anaesthetics during adolescence may be necessary, it can also have detrimental effects in the future.
"Apart from infancy to early childhood, adolescence can be considered the most critical developmental stage following birth," Werner said. "Given that adolescence is a time-period that most often coincides with initial exposure to drugs of abuse, primarily alcohol, we initially performed a retrospective analysis of alcohol responding to our previous data with regard to adolescents that had experienced a surgical event. Noting a potential difference, we then wanted to empirically test whether or not the relationship between adolescent anesthetic exposure and behaviors linked to alcohol use disorder susceptibility."
"Above all, anesthetics are necessary -- which obviously is why they are rightfully included in the essential medicines by the World Health Organization," Werner added. "In the event that the health condition of children and adolescents necessitates an operative procedure, then these should absolutely be used. That being said, we hope that this work can be used to inform people, especially younger individuals considering elective procedures that could be delayed into adulthood such as plastic surgery or weight loss procedures, as well as potentially leading to additional screening diagnostics to help identify individuals who may have greater drug use disorder susceptibility."
Werner will continue researching the link between anaesthetics and alcohol abuse and will also expand his study to include other substances. In addition, he will explore the underlying molecular mechanisms in the brain and individual alterations.