Evaluation of the Effects of Repetitive Anaesthesia Administration on the Brain Tissues and Cognitive Functions of Rats with Experimental Alzheimer’s Disease

Abstract

Introduction: We evaluated the effects of repeated ketamine, propofol, and ketamine + propofol administration on cognitive functions and brain tissue of elderly rat models with streptozotocin-induced Alzheimer’s disease. Materials and Methods: Thirty elderly male Wistar Albino rats were divided into five groups: control (Group C), Alzheimer’s (Group A), Alzheimer’s + ketamine (Group AK), Alzheimer’s + propofol (Group AP), and Alzheimer’s + propofol + ketamine (Group APK). Alzheimer’s disease was induced in Groups A, AK, AP, and APK via intracerebroventricular streptozotocin. Four weeks after surgery, ketamine, propofol, and ketamine + propofol were administered intraperitoneally for 3 days to Groups AK, AP, and APK, respectively. The radial arm maze test (RAMT) was performed in the initial, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th weeks after surgery and daily following anaesthesia. Blood and brain tissue samples were obtained. Results: The RAMT results of Groups A, AK, AP, and APK decreased compared to Group C 2 weeks after Alzheimer’s disease onset. Compared to Group A, the RAMT results increased in Groups AK and APK after the first anaesthesia, and in Group AP after the second anaesthesia. Brain tissue paraoxonase-1 (PON-1) and catalase (CAT) activities were low, and the thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) level was high in Group A compared to Group C. TBARS levels of Groups AP and APK were lower than Group A, while CAT activity was higher. PON-1 activity was higher in Groups AK, AP, and APK than in Group A. Histopathological changes decreased in Groups AP and AK. A decrease in p53 was found in Group C compared to Group A. Ketamine and propofol were found to be effective at Bcl-2 immunoexpression, but a decrease in Caspase-3 was observed in Group APK. GFAP immunoexpression increased in Group A compared to Group C and in Group AP compared to Group AK. Conclusions: Repetitive anaesthesia application was found to positively affect cognitive functions. This was supported by histopathological and biochemical markers.