Surgery impairs glymphatic activity and cognitive function in aged mice

Delirium is a common complication in elderly surgical patients and is associated with an increased risk of dementia. Although advanced age is a major risk factor, the mechanisms underlying postoperative delirium remain poorly understood. The glymphatic system, a brain-wide network of perivascular pathways, facilitates cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow and supports the clearance of metabolic waste. Impairments in glymphatic function have been observed in aging brains and various neurodegenerative conditions. Using in vivo two-photon imaging, we examined the effects of surgery (laparotomy) on glymphatic function in adult (6 months) and aged (18 months) mice 24 h post-surgery. In adult mice, CSF tracer entry into the brain parenchyma along periarteriolar spaces occurred rapidly following intracisternal tracer injection, with no significant differences between sham and surgery groups. In contrast, aged mice exhibited delayed tracer influx, with further impairments observed in the surgery group..., Animals
Adult (6 months old) and aged (18 months old) C57BL/6J mice were purchased from the Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, ME, USA). Mice were group-housed in temperature- and humidity-controlled rooms on a 12-h light/dark cycle at the Columbia University animal facility (New York, NY, USA) and were randomly assigned to different treatment groups. Both male and female mice were included in this study. Since no significant sex differences were observed, data from both sexes were combined for analysis. All experiments were conducted in accordance with protocols approved by the Columbia University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and in compliance with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Guidelines for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.
Anesthesia and surgery
Mice in the surgery group underwent a laparotomy under isoflurane anesthesia. Anesthesia was induced with 1.5% isoflurane in air, delivered via a transparent acrylic chamber. Once the mice were anesthetize..., , # Data from: Surgery impairs glymphatic activity and cognitive function in aged mice

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.6djh9w1cw](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.6djh9w1cw)

## Description of the data and file structure

This dataset comprises the source data for the figures published in the following paper:

Chen K, Du X, Chao MA, Xie Z, Yang G. Surgery impairs glymphatic activity and cognitive function in aged mice. Mol Brain. 2025 Jan 24;18(1):7. doi: 10.1186/s13041-025-01177-y

### Files and variables

Figure 1. Surgery impairs glymphatic activity and cognitive function in aged mice.

Source_data.xlsx contains data for Figure 1 panels c, d, and e.

Sheet Fig. 1c, Quantification of CSF tracer intensity in periarteriolar spaces in adult and aged mice, with and without surgery (n = 8 mice per group). Measurements are in arbitrary units (a.u.).

Sheet Fig. 1d, Quantification of novel arm preference (%) in the T-maze test in adult and aged mice, with and without surgery (n = 8 mice per group...,