the effects of ropivacaine and its combination with dexmedetomidine and dexamethasone on neural apoptosis

Background: neurotoxicity effects of anesthetics in different age groups is a major concern regarding neural injuries. it is reasonable to recognize the neurotoxicity risks of anesthetic drugs and their combinations. materials and methods: a total of 16 mice (mus musculus) weighing 22 to 30 gr were randomly divided into four drug groups (control, ropivacaine, ropivacaine + dexmedetomidine, ropivacaine + dexamethasone). 24 hours after unilateral injection of drugs into the femoral nerve of mice, the mice were killed and their femoral nerve was removed. hematoxylin-eosin tissue staining was used to evaluate changes in the effects of the drugs, and nerve samples were extracted to measure tlr4 and caspase 3 expressions. after western blotting, the protein expression level was checked between different groups. results: ropivacaine in combination with dexamethasone caused less damage to the rat nerve cells. the combination of ropivacaine with dexamethasone (p=0.53 and p=0.46) compared to the combination of ropivacaine with dexmedetomidine relatively had better results in terms of cytotoxicity. conclusion: a combination of ropivacaine with dexamethasone reduces neurotoxicity risk.