Propofol alleviates cisplatin-related cognitive impairment

Chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is commonly reported following the administration of chemotherapeutic agents and comprises a wide variety of neurological problems. Many patients after chemotherapy need further surgery under anesthesia. Thus, in this study, we examined whether propofol, one of the most commonly used anesthetics in surgery, could further affect the cognitive abilities in mouse CRCI models. The mice were injected intraperitoneally with cisplatin (2 mg/kg/day) for continuous 10 days and showed significantly reduced body weights. After 10 days reconversion, mice with cisplatin injection showed impaired memory retention in the inhibitory avoidance (IA) task, mimicking the CRCI in patients. Then, we found that a single injection of propofol with the sub-anesthetic dosage (50 mg/kg) but not the anesthetic dosage (250 mg/kg) could significantly alleviate the cisplatin-induced memory impairment. These results imply the possible clinical application of propofol, especially at the sub-anesthetic dosage, in the surgery of patients after chemotherapy.