Clinical Hub Aberystwyth
Your Health Matters
The MENACE Study
Metabolomics Assessment in Anaesthetic Exposure
Halogenated anaesthetics such as sevoflurane and isoflurane are used worldwide to provide general anaesthesia in human and veterinary medicine. Each time these gases are given, a small amount escapes into the air of the operating room, so surgical and veterinary teams breathe in waste anaesthetic gases (WAGs) throughout their working lives. Studies of Brazilian operating room staff have linked high workplace levels of these gases to DNA damage, genetic instability, inflammation and oxidative stress.
MENACE (Metabolomics assEssment iN AnesthetiC Exposure) brings together Clinical Hub Aberystwyth and the GENOTOX group at Botucatu Medical School, São Paulo State University (UNESP), to find out how anaesthetic exposure changes the body's metabolism. The project follows three groups:
• Veterinarians with long term occupational exposure to isoflurane and sevoflurane
• Mice and rats given single doses of sevoflurane at different concentrations, to map how the effects change with dose
• Surgical staff in Wales exposed to low levels of WAGs over many years, in an international clinical study with Prof. Subhamay Ghosh of Hywel Dda University Health Board
Samples collected at several time points are analysed by metabolomics to reveal which metabolic pathways are switched on or off by anaesthesia, and to identify metabolic signatures and potential biomarkers of exposure in humans and rodents.
Em português
O projeto MENACE é uma colaboração entre o Clinical Hub Aberystwyth e o grupo GENOTOX da Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). O estudo busca compreender os mecanismos moleculares e os possíveis efeitos tóxicos da exposição aos anestésicos inalatórios, identificando vias metabólicas ativadas ou inibidas durante a anestesia ou a exposição ocupacional, além de assinaturas metabólicas e potenciais biomarcadores em humanos e roedores.
Collaborators and Funders
Prof. Mariana Gobbo Braz
Botucatu Medical School (FMB), São Paulo State University (UNESP), Brazil
Mariana works in the Department of Surgical Specialties and Anaesthesiology at FMB, UNESP, and with the GENOTOX research group. Her research looks at the genetic damage, inflammation and oxidative stress linked to inhaled anaesthetics, and she is a lead collaborator on MENACE.
Our Team
Prof. Leandro Gobbo Braz
Department of Surgical Specialties and Anaesthesiology, FMB, UNESP, Brazil
Leandro is an anaesthesiologist whose research focuses on occupational exposure to waste anaesthetic gases and how it affects the health of operating room teams.
Prof. Subhamay Ghosh MD PhD MRCA PGC MedEd
Professor of Clinical Practice, University of Wales Trinity Saint David
Based in Carmarthen, Prof. Ghosh is the clinical partner for the MENACE study in Wales, which looks at the effects of long term, low level exposure to waste anaesthetic gases among surgical staff. He previously worked as a Consultant Anaesthetist at Hywel Dda University Health Board and holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education from Swansea University.
Mariane Aparecida Pereira Silva
Researcher, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Brazil
Mariane graduated in Biomedical Sciences from UNESP in 2019 and completed a master's degree in Anaesthesiology in 2022. Her research covers oxidative stress, toxicogenetics and anaesthetic exposure. She spent time working in Aberystwyth through the SPRINT programme, funded by CAPES and FAPESP.