Serum metabolite changes of aged rats with post-anesthesia cognitive dysfunction

Abstract

Objective To explore the effects of isoflurane on blood plasma metabolites (BPM) and its correlation with cognitive dysfunction. Methods Thirty female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into two groups: rats in the control group (n=10) received 80% oxygen for 2 hours (h); and rats in the isoflurane-treated group (n=20) were anesthetized with isoflurane and 80% oxygen for 2 h. Cognitive functions were examined using a Y-maze test to explore the learning times of rats. The level of blood plasma metabolites was detected through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS). Results The learning times of rats in the isoflurane-treated group was more than the learning times of rats in the control group [(70.75±15.30) vs (45.40±11.21), P<0.05]. D-fructose, arabinofuranose, n-butylamine, and inositol significantly increased (P<0.05), respectively. Whereas, L-analine and L-proline significantly decreased (P<0.05) in isoflurane-treated rats when compared to those in the control rats (P<0.05). Moreover, plasma concentrations of d-fructose, arabinofuranose, n-butylamine, inositol, and L-proline were positively correlated with the degree of cognitive dysfunction in the isoflurane-treated rats. Conclusions Changes of plasma concentrations of inositol, and d-fructose in aged rats are useful in predicting the occurrence and progression of post-anesthesia cognitive dysfunction. Key words: Anesthesia/AE; Cognition disorders/ME; Isoflurane/AE