Between 2019 and 2020, one million Australians (37%) aged over 60 underwent surgery. Older patients have a higher risk of post-operative neurocognitive disorders, and whether neural injury from general anaesthetics contributes to these disorders remains controversial. Neurobiomarkers provide a quantitative method to assess neural injury during surgery under anaesthesia, allowing us to understand how anaesthetic techniques impact the aging brain at the cellular level. This could pave the way for anaesthetic approaches that reduce cognitive decline in older patients. However, separating the effect of anaesthesia from the tissue damage of surgery is challenging in clinical populations.
This study will try to isolate the effect of general anaesthesia on neurobiomaker release in the ageing brain. It will compare changes in plasma levels of neurobiomarkers in older patients undergoing vitrectomy surgery using sevoflurane-based general anaesthesia with those receiving eye block with sedation. Fifty patients will be recruited from Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and the Surgical Treatment and Rehabilitation Service. Blood samples collected before surgery and 24 hours post-anaesthesia will be analysed using SIMOA technology. The results will provide insights into the neural effects of different anaesthesia techniques, offering valuable data for planning future, larger studies on brain health in older patients.
Dr Michael Boules, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Queensland.
The project was awarded A$20,000 funding through the ANZCA research grants program for 2025.