Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences
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Psychiatry Clin. Neurosci. · Nov 2013
Temperature control can abolish anesthesia-induced tau hyperphosphorylation and partly reverse anesthesia-induced cognitive impairment in old mice.
Anesthesia is related to cognitive impairment and the risk for Alzheimer's disease. Hypothermia during anesthesia can lead to abnormal hyperphosphorylation of tau, which has been speculated to be involved in anesthesia-induced cognitive impairment. The aim of this study was to investigate whether maintenance of the tau phosphorylation level by body temperature control during anesthesia could reverse the cognitive dysfunction in C57BL/6 mice. ⋯ Hyperphosphorylation of tau in the brain after anesthesia is an important event, and it might be, although not solely, responsible for postoperative cognitive decline.