ORIGINAL ARTICLE   Free access

Minerva Anestesiologica 2018 December;84(12):1352-60

DOI: 10.23736/S0375-9393.18.12333-9

Copyright © 2018 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Postoperative cognitive dysfunction and short-term neuroprotection from blueberries: a pilot study

Ippolito TRAUPE ¹, Marilù GIACALONE ² ✉, Jacopo AGRIMI ³, Matteo BARONCINI ⁴, Antonella POMÉ ⁵, Deborah FABIANI ⁶, Sabrina DANTI ⁷, Marco R. TIMPANO SPORTIELLO ^{8, 9}, Filippo DI SACCO ^{3, 10}, Vincenzo LIONETTI ¹¹, Francesco GIUNTA ¹², Francesco FORFORI ¹²

¹ Department of Anesthesia, Montebelluna Hospital, Treviso, Italy; ² Department of Anesthesia, San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy; ³ Life Science Institute, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy; ⁴ Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy; ⁵ Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology, and Child Health, University of Florence, Florence, Italy; ⁶ Società degli Psicologi dell’Area Neuropsicologica, Lurago d’Erba, Como, Italy; ⁷ Department of Surgery, Medical, Molecular and Critical area Pathology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy; ⁸ Department of Psychiatry, Neurobiology, Pharmacology, and Biotechnologies, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy; ⁹ Laboratory of Clinic Neuropsychology, Hospital Psychology Service, Pisa, Italy; ¹⁰ Department of Anesthesia and Resuscitation, Pisa University Hospital, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy; ¹¹ National Research Council, Pisa, Italy; ¹² Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Pisa University Hospital, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

BACKGROUND: General anesthesia may be a risk factor for post-operative cognitive impairment, which could be counteracted by neuroprotective compounds. The aims of this study were to determine cognitive functions impaired by general anesthesia and to test blueberry juice as a neuroprotective agent against neuropsychological dysfunctions induced by general anesthesia.
METHODS: Twenty-six patients undergoing elective major surgery were randomized into two groups, receiving either 500 mL/day of blueberry juice within 14 preoperative days (G1) or to a control group (G0). Neuropsychological tests were performed around 20 days before surgery (T0), as well as both three hours (T1) and 24 hours (T2) after surgery. All the scores were statistically analyzed to find significant differences between groups and within the three times.
RESULTS: The control (G0) group showed a significant decrease in the performance in the Prose Memory Test (P<0.001), the Attentional Matrices Test (P<0.01), and the Trail Making Test Part B (P<0.01) after general anesthesia. Significant differences were reported in the Prose Memory test, T0 versus T1 (P<0.01), T0 versus T2 (P<0.001); in the Trail Making Test Part B, T0 versus T2 (P<0.01); and the Attentional Matrices test, and T0 versus T2 (P<0.001). The G1 group did not show any decrease in the performance of the three tests.
CONCLUSIONS: General anesthesia induces a short-term impairment of verbal memory and selective and divided attention. Blueberry compounds may prevent these neuropsychological deficits through a neuroprotective action in patients undergoing general anesthesia.

KEY WORDS: General anesthesia - Cognition - Blueberry plants - Neuroprotection - Cognitive dysfunction