Fig. 2.

The survival of hippocampal neuron in rats was detected by HE staining. Dex alleviated hippocampal neuron injury in rats with POCD. a Normal group. b Sham group. c POCD group. d Dex group. e, f Using ELISA and qRT-PCR, the protein concentration and mRNA expression levels were detected, respectively, for TNF-α and IL-1β, and were found to be significantly down-regulated in the Dex group compared with the POCD group. Gene expression was normalized to actin transcript levels. Significant comparisons were assessed by t test. *Indicates significant differences where p < 0.05. All images are original magnification × 200