Evidence mapPaperPMID 41568946Full record

ArticleCNS neuroscience & therapeutics2026

Intermittent Fasting Alleviates Anesthesia/Surgery-Induced Delirium-Like Behavior in Aged Mice by Remodeling Gut Microbiota.

Peiying Huang, Longlu Cao, Tianyu Cao, Xueji Wang, Sichen Cui, Sufang Jiang, Huan Chen, Lichao Di, Sha Li, Lining Huang

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Article in CNS neuroscience & therapeutics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Peiying HuangPostdoctoral Mobile Station, The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China.ORCID 0000-0003-2432-9903
Longlu CaoDepartment of Anesthesiology, The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China.
Tianyu CaoDepartment of Anesthesiology, The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China.
Xueji WangDepartment of Anesthesiology, The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China.
Sichen CuiDepartment of Anesthesiology, The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China.
Sufang JiangDepartment of Anesthesiology, The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China.
Huan ChenHebei Key Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Disease Mechanism, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China.
Lichao DiDepartment of Anesthesiology, The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China.
Sha LiHebei Key Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Disease Mechanism, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China.ORCID 0000-0002-4869-3809
Lining HuangDepartment of Anesthesiology, The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China.ORCID 0000-0001-5754-2706

Funding

Hebei Medical University Postdoctoral FundPostdoctoral Research Support Program for Clinical Medicine of Hebei Medical University PD2025007the S&T Program of Hebei H2022206586
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPostoperative delirium (POD) is a serious complication in elderly patients, associated with prolonged recovery and adverse outcomes. Recent evidence links POD to mitochondrial dysfunction. While intermittent fasting (IF) has been shown to enhance mitochondrial function and exert neuroprotective effects, potentially through gut microbiota modulation, its ability to prevent POD and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.

methodsWe examined the effects of preoperative IF on delirium-like behavior in aged mice following anesthesia/surgery. Assessments included neurobehavioral tests, gut microbiota composition, fecal shortchain fatty acids (SCFAs), hippocampal synaptic and mitochondrial ultrastructure via transmission electron microscopy, mitochondrial function, and related molecular markers. To establish causality, fecal microbiota transplantation and SCFA supplementation experiments were conducted.

resultsPreoperative IF significantly attenuated anesthesia/surgery-induced delirium-like behaviors. Mechanistically, IF reshaped the gut microbiota and preserved SCFA levels, which collectively maintained hippocampal mitochondrial homeostasis. Both fecal microbiota transplantation and SCFA supplementation replicated the protective effects of IF, confirming the causal role of gut microbiota and its metabolites.

conclusionThese findings demonstrate that preoperative intermittent fasting mitigates delirium-like behavior by modulating the gut microbiota-SCFA-mitochondrial axis, highlighting its potential as a non-pharmacological strategy to enhance neurocognitive resilience and prevent POD in elderly surgical patients.

Indexed as

DeliriumFastingGastrointestinal MicrobiomeIntermittent FastingPostoperative ComplicationsAgingAnimalsFecal Microbiota TransplantationHippocampusMaleMiceMice, Inbred C57BLMitochondriaSevofluraneSevofluranegut microbiotaintermittent fastingmitochondrial dynamicspostoperative delirium

Identifiers

PMID41568946
PMCPMC12825212

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.