Abstract: Objective To investigate whether dexmedetomidine(Dex) could alleviate the apoptosis of hippocampus cell and long-time cognitive dysfunction induced by sevoflurane(Sev) in neonatal rats. Methods Forty-eight Sprague-Dawley(SD) rats in postnatal 7 d were randomly assigned into 4 groups(n=12): control group(group C), 25 μg/kg Dex intraperitoneal injection group(group D), 3% Sev inhaling group(group S) and 25 μg/kg Dex intervention group(group DS). Each group was randomly divided into 2 subgroups(subgroup A and subgroup B, 6 rats in every subgroup). Twenty-four hours after completion of Sev exposure in subgroup A, the activation of caspase-3 in hippocampus were analyzed by Western blot, and the neuronal apoptosis in the CA1 region of the hippocampus were detected by terminal-deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated nick end labeling(TUNEL) method. The rats' cognitive function was evaluated using Morris maze experiment in subgroup B. Results Compared with group C, the expression of TUNEL positive cells in group S and group DS increased[(45±5)/mm2 vs (18±4)/mm2 and (33±6)/mm2 vs (18±4)/mm2, respectively](P<0.05). Compared with group C, the expression of cleaved Caspase-3 in group S and group DS increased[(1.40±0.25) vs (0.30±0.20) and (1.22±0.15) vs(0.30±0.20), respectively](P<0.05). The expression of TUNEL positive cells and cleaved Caspase-3 decreased in group DS compared with group S(P<0.05). Compared with group C. The cognitive function of rats declined in the group S and group DS. Compared with group S, the cognitive dysfunction of rats alleviated in group DS. Conclusions Repeatedly inhaling 3% Sev can induce the apoptosis of hippocampus cells and long-time cognitive dysfunction. 25 μg/kg Dex intraperitoneal injection before inhaling Sev can alleviate the neurotoxicity induced by Sev.
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