Figure 1.

Effect of DEX on neurological function of mice following TBI.

(A) Timeline of the experimental design. (B) Schematic representation of the studied area (shaded area: peri-contusional cortex [cortex surrounding the traumatic lesions]). (C) Quantitative analysis of body weight in three individual groups of mice (n = 5 per group). Neurologic deficits were evaluated using the mNSS (D) and rotarod (E) tests (n = 10 per group). Lower scores and longer latency to fall imply better neurological outcomes. All data are expressed as mean ± standard deviation, and were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance followed by Tukey’s multiple comparison post hoc test. ###P < 0.001, vs. sham group; *P < 0.05, vs. TBI + vehicle group. DEX: dexmedetomidine; TBI: traumatic brain injury; mNSS: modified neurological severity score; ELISA: enzyme linked immunosorbent assay; qRT-PCR: quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.