title: Effects of propofol-dexmedetomidine combination on ischemia reperfusion-induced cerebral injury.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Due to the lack of efficient neuroprotective therapies, the ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is a major medical problem urgently needed to be further studied.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the neuro-protective effects of propofol-dexmedetomidine (dex) combination on I/R-induced cerebral injury and potential mechanisms.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized to sham-operated, I/R, I/R plus propofol, I/R plus dex, and I/R plus propofol-dex combination group. I/R insult was induced by 2 h middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) followed by 24 h reperfusion; Drugs were administered 20 min before the onset of ischemia and continued for another 2 h. Functional outcomes, the expression of Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Methane Dicarboxylic Aldehyde (MDA), Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), Interleukin-1β (IL-1β), caspase-3 and protein kinase B (AKT) were tested.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Propofol-dex combination significantly mitigates I/R-induced neurological deficits in model rats compared to dex or propofol infusion alone. The decreased activity of SOD was significantly reversed following co-administration of propofol and dex, along with the down-regulated MDA content. Perioperative treatment with propofol and dex significantly suppressed I/R-up regulated TNF-α and IL-1β expressions, ameliorated AKT1 expression and caspase-3 activity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Propofol-dex combination exerted a stronger neuro-protection against I/R injury when compared with propofol or dex alone.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Tianjin First Center Hospital, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Zhun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Tianjin Chest Hospital, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Dangpei
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kou
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Tianjin Nankai Hospital, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Zhaoduan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Tianjin First Center Hospital, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Yongjin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Tianjin First Center Hospital, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Wenli
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Tianjin First Center Hospital, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Hongyin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Du
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020927:Dexmedetomidine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D020244:Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D015742:Propofol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D020927:Dexmedetomidine; D015742:Propofol
keywords: Propofol-dexmedetomidine combination; anti-apoptosis; anti-inflammatory; antioxidant; cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury; neuroprotection