ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the effects of Edaravone on cognitive dysfunction and on protein expression of the mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (MAPK/ERK)signaling pathway in elderly patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods A total of 100 elderly patients with acute ischemic cerebral stroke admitted to our hospital from January 2011 to December 2015 were enrolled in this study.During the corresponding period ,100 healthy individuals receiving regular check-ups were selected as the control group. The effects of Edaravone on cognitive function in elderly patients with acute ischemic cerebral stroke were assessed.Serum proteins related to the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway were assayed. Results Elderly patients with acute ischemic stroke showed obvious cognitive dysfunction ,and scores on memory ,orientation ,attention ,calculation language and recall significantly decreased(P＜0.01)but returned to normal after Edaravone treatment (P＜0.01).Compared with the control group ,serum protein expression of rat sarcoma (Ras) ,rapidly accelerated fibrosarcoma(Raf) ,hypoxia inducible factor-1α(HIF-1α) ,connective tissue growth factor (CTGF),extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase(ERK1),ERK2 ,MAPK/ERK kinase(MEK), interleukin-1(IL-1) ,tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) ,vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) , tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP) ,nerve growth factor (NGF)and its receptors was significantly downregulated(P＜0.01) ,while expression of leptin and its receptors was upregulated in elderly patients with acute ischemic cerebral stroke ( P ＜ 0.01 ). Expression levels of the above downregulated proteins clearly recovered after Edaravone treatment ( P ＜ 0.01 ). Conclusions Edaravone has favorable effects on cognition dysfunction in elderly patients with acute ischemic cerebral stroke ,which may be related to the regulation of the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway.