Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 3, 2026
08:17
A Mouse Model of Orthopedic Surgery to Study Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction and Tissue Regeneration
Published on: February 27, 2018
17.1K
Surgery, neuroinflammation and cognitive impairment.
Azeem Alam1, Zac Hana1, Zhaosheng Jin1
1Anaesthetics, Pain Medicine and Intensive Care, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Ebiomedicine
|October 24, 2018
Summary
Surgery-induced trauma can cause neuroinflammation, leading to cognitive decline and delirium, particularly in the elderly. More research is needed to understand and treat these serious post-operative neurological complications.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Immunology
- Surgical Research
Background:
- Surgical trauma can trigger systemic inflammation, potentially causing multi-organ dysfunction.
- Post-surgical neuroinflammation is linked to synaptic impairment, neuronal damage, and reduced neurogenesis.
- Pro-inflammatory cytokines like TNFα contribute to chronic neuroinflammation, manifesting as cognitive dysfunction and delirium.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the current understanding of post-operative neurological sequelae.
- To assess the evidence for therapeutic interventions targeting post-operative neuroinflammation and cognitive dysfunction.
Main Methods:
- A narrative review of evidence from databases (PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE) and reference lists.
- Analysis of pre-clinical and clinical studies on post-operative neurological complications.
Main Results:
- Elderly patients with post-operative cognitive dysfunction or delirium face a threefold increased risk of permanent cognitive impairment or dementia.
- Clinical studies on therapeutic agents (dexmedetomidine, ibuprofen, statins) have shown conflicting results.
- Evidence for novel therapies (nicotinic targeting, HMGB-1 targeting, remote ischemic pre-conditioning) is limited.
Conclusions:
- Further pre-clinical and clinical studies are essential to clarify the pathogenesis of post-operative delirium and cognitive dysfunction.
- Current therapeutic strategies show limited efficacy, highlighting the need for more research into novel approaches.
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