Anesthetic agents, neurodevelopmental risk and the connection to bacterial infections

This short communication identifies a significant flaw in research investigating the neurodevelopmental consequences of general anesthesia exposure. We have identified that chronic environmental exposure to pervasive air pollutants that are also widely used as anesthetic agents, specifically nitrous oxide (N2O), may contribute to the rising prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders. Consistent with the emerging link between microbes and psychiatric illness risk, this epidemiological analysis extends our prior conclusions by proposing that such exposures may alter host immunity so as to enhance vulnerability to certain pathogenic microbes that have been implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Clostridium difficile.