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Updated: Jun 19, 2025
A Mouse Model of Orthopedic Surgery to Study Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction and Tissue Regeneration
Published on: February 27, 2018
Intermittent fasting alleviates postoperative cognitive dysfunction by reducing neuroinflammation in aged mice
Lei Wang1, Qiang Wang2, Xiaoqing Wang2
1The Third Central Clinical College of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300170, China; Department of Anesthesiology, The Third Central Hospital of Tianjin, 83 Jintang Road, Hedong District, Tianjin 300170, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Extracorporeal Life Support for Critical Diseases, Tianjin, China; Artificial Cell Engineering Technology Research Center, Tianjin, China; Department of Anesthesiology, Cangzhou Central Hospital, Cangzhou, Hebei 061001, China.
Intermittent fasting (IF) may protect against postoperative cognitive dysfunction in elderly mice. Preoperative IF improved memory, learning, and synaptic plasticity after sevoflurane anesthesia by reducing brain inflammation.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Anesthesiology
- Gerontology
Background:
- Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is a risk for elderly surgical patients.
- Sevoflurane anesthesia can worsen POCD by increasing neuroinflammation.
- Intermittent fasting (IF) shows potential in mitigating inflammation-induced cognitive decline.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of preoperative intermittent fasting (IF) on cognitive function in aged mice undergoing sevoflurane anesthesia.
- To assess IF's effects on learning, memory, and synaptic plasticity post-surgery.
Main Methods:
- 18-month-old male mice underwent 16-hour fasting/8-hour eating cycles for up to 4 weeks.
- Mice were subjected to abdominal exploration under sevoflurane anesthesia.
- Cognitive function was evaluated using novel object recognition and Morris water maze tests.
- Synaptic plasticity was measured via in vivo electrophysiological recordings.
Main Results:
- Two weeks of IF significantly enhanced learning and memory in mice post-surgery.
- IF improved cognitive performance and synaptic plasticity.
- IF increased synaptic-associated proteins and decreased pro-inflammatory factors and microglial density in the hippocampus.
Conclusions:
- Intermittent fasting (IF) mitigates hippocampal inflammation.
- IF safeguards against cognitive and synaptic plasticity impairment induced by sevoflurane anesthesia in aged mice.
