title: Minocycline may be useful to prevent/treat postoperative cognitive decline in elderly patients.
abstract: Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is reported to occur frequently after all types especially cardiac surgery in elderly patients. It can be short-term or long-term and some cases even develop into Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although multi-risk factors associated with POCD have been identified, the etiology and pathophysiological mechanisms of this surgical complication remain elusive. Therefore, developing strategies for preventing or treating POCD is still challenging. However, increasing evidence suggests that central and systemic inflammation triggered by surgery likely plays a fundamental role in POCD developing and progression. Minocycline, a tetracycline derivative with anti-inflammatory properties, has been shown to be effective in treating neuroinflammatory related conditions or neurodegenerative diseases such as AD, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease. Considering that inflammation may be a potential factor of POCD and minocycline is effective in improving cognitive dysfunction induced by inflammation, we hypothesize that minocycline may be useful to treat/prevent the POCD development after surgery in elderly patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Tian-Long
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Y C
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Y H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: W G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Ye
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000473:pathology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation; D008911:Minocycline / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000473:pathology; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000517:prevention & control*; D018805:Sepsis; D013752:Tetracycline / Q000494:pharmacology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D013752:Tetracycline; D008911:Minocycline