A study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease seems to confirm the long held suspicion that having surgery requiring general aneathesia (not local anesthesia) may promote cognitive decline. For this study memory was assessed in 964 study subjects with a mean age of 54 years, and again four years later, when 312 participants had had surgery and 652 participants had not. Surgery between tests was associated with a decline in memory. Memory became abnormal in 77 out of 670 participants with initially normal memory, in 18% of those who had had surgery compared with 10% for those who had not. Memory decline was also seen to be negatively affected by having multiple surgeries and/or longer cumulative operation times.This measured decline change did not qualify for the neurologic diagnosis of dementia or the onset Alzheimer’s disease, but does reflect a negative change measurable by testing.
In summary, this study shows we found that some middle‐aged people who are free of mild cognitive impairment or dementia are at risk for more rapid cognitive decline after surgery and anesthesia. The rate of deterioration was greater for persons with lower testing at the beginning of the study.
Having surgery may be a necessary and unavoidable medical intervention for a person. But this study must give one pause about undergoing surgery requiring general anesthesia, unless it is indeed a necessity. This underscores the importance of seeking a non surgical alternative when possible, such a stem cell treatments that allow a person to avoid orthopedic procedures such as knee or hip replacement surgery. See https://drsobo.com/home/regenerative-medicine-and-stem-cells/ for more information.