Research Progress on the Role of Inflammatory Mechanisms in the Development of Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction

Figure 1

Flowchart of inflammatory mechanisms. The picture shows that after anesthesia or surgery, the activation of multiple inflammatory and proinflammatory cytokines, as well as the reduction of BBB function, promoted the transfer of inflammation-related factors from the periphery to the center. With the neuroinflammation progressing, the function of neurons in the brain continued to decline over time. And the presence of the gut-brain axis also played a key role in the transport of these cytokines. Consequently, the inflammatory mechanism of POCD was a combination of multiple factors. Abbreviation: IL-1β: interleukin-1β; IL-6: interleukin-6; IL-17: interleukin-17; TNF-α: tumor necrosis factor-α; iNOS: inducible nitric oxide synthase; COX-2: cyclooxygenase-2; PGE: prostaglandin E; MMP: matrix metalloproteinase.