Kanwaljeet Sunny Anand

K.J.S. "Sunny" Anand, MBBS, DPhil, FAAP

Professor of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences/College of Medicine/Department of Pediatrics

Director, Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute Pain Neurobiology Laboratory

Phone: (501) 364-3568

Research Overview

Dr. K.J.S. ("Sunny") Anand is a Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics, Anesthesiology, Pharmacology, Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences. His laboratory investigates critical periods of human brain development that occur just before and after birth. The brain grows quickly during this developmental period, making the immature neurons and glial cells more susceptible to damage. Dr. Anand has investigated two primary mechanisms which lead to neuronal cell death in the immature brain: 1) toxicity resulting from repetitive or prolonged pain and 2) increased rate of naturally occurring neuronal cell death during early development due to metabolic stresses or lack of social stimulation. Although the pattern and magnitude of cellular changes will depend on genetic variability as well as the timing, intensity, and duration of adverse environmental experiences, data from Dr. Anand's preliminary studies have revealed the following:

1. Events during infancy can cause activation of specific areas in the developing brain. Data suggest that early enrichment may allow the survival of increased numbers of neurons during cortical and subcortical development.

2. Acute pain causes decreased tonic inhibition of foci associated with pain processing in the brainstem and spinal cord.

3. Inflammatory pain increases neurodegenerative changes. Thus, prolonged or repetitive pain may explain the poor cognitive outcomes and regional reductions in brain volume noted from follow-up studies of ex-preterm children.

4. Pilot studies showed that preemptive morphine analgesia does not reduce the incidence of early neurological injury.

Thus, converging lines of investigation, including clinical studies and basic neuroscience research, suggest that neuronal cell death and damage may be one of the primary mechanisms by which repetitive or prolonged pain produces persistent changes in the developing human brain. These changes may help explain the high incidence of behavioral abnormalities and poor cognitive outcomes noted from studies of ex-preterm neonates evaluated during their childhood and adolescence.

Key Publications

Hall RW, Kronsberg SS, Barton BA, Anand KJS. Morphine, hypotension, and adverse outcomes among preterm neonates-who's to blame? Secondary results from NEOPAIN trial. Pediatrics 115(5):1351-9, 2005.

Bartocci M, Bergqvist LL, Lagercrantz H, Anand KJS. Pain activates cortical areas in the preterm newborn brain. Pain 122 (1-2): (in press, May 2006 issue).

Peters JW, Schouw R, Anand KJS, van Dijk M, Duivenvoorden HJ, Tibboel D. Does neonatal surgery lead to increased pain sensitivity in later childhood? Pain 114: 444-454, 2005.

Anand KJS, Aranda JV, Berde CB, et al. Analgesia for neonates: Study design and ethical issues. Clinical Therapeutics, 27(6): 814-843, 2005.

Soriano SG, Anand KJS, Rovnaghi CR, Hickey PR. Of mice and men: should we extrapolate rodent experimental data to the care of human neonates? Anesthesiology, 102: 866–8, 2005.

Anand KJS, Hall RW, Desai NS, et al. Effects of pre-emptive morphine analgesia in ventilated preterm neonates: Primary outcomes from the NEOPAIN trial. The Lancet, 2004, 363: 1673-1682.

Anand KJS, Runeson B, Jacobson B. Gastric suction at birth associated with long-term risk for functional intestinal disorders in later life: A case-control study. Journal of Pediatrics, 2004; 144(4): 449-454.

Anand KJS, Soriano SG. Anesthetic agents and the immature brain: are these toxic or therapeutic? Anesthesiology 2004, 101(2): 527-530, 2004.

Liu JG, Rovnaghi CR, Garg S, Anand KJS. Opioid receptor desensitization contributes to thermal hyperalgesia in infant rats. European Journal of Pharmacology, 2004; 491 (2-3): 127-136.

*To find additional publications by this author, please visit Pubmed Central, a National Institutes of Health-operated site for electronic distribution of life sciences research reports.

Research Support

Principal Investigator: National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Child Health and Human Development: Pediatric Critical Care Research Network

Arkansas Biosciences Institute, the major research component of the Tobacco Settlement Proceeds Act of 2000

Mentor: “Cerebral Autoregulation in Preterm Infants” (P.I.: Jeffrey R. Kaiser, MD, MA) Clinical Investigator Development Award (K23 Grant), NINDS/NIH.

Co-Investigator: “Impact of Adverse Early Experience on Mental Health” (Principal Investigator: Delia Vazquez, M.D.; University of Michigan at Ann Arbor) National Institute for Mental Health.

Mentor: Center for Translational Neuroscience Project I: “Early Pain Experience and Pre-attentional Mechanisms” COBRE Grant from National Center for Research Resources.

Arkansas INBRE Grant “Cellular Signaling, Growth, and Differentiation”, (P.I. Lawrence E. Cornett, Ph.D.) NIH/National Center for Research Resources. Mentor: “Effects of Adverse Perinatal Experiences on Cortical Organization Mechanisms”