Baclofen attenuates cognitive deficits in post-cardiac arrest brain injury

Between 30% and 50% of survivors of cardiac arrest (CA) suffer from cognitive deficits. However, no effective medical intervention is available to alleviate cognitive deficits. Baclofen is known to protect damaged neurons, but researchers have still not clearly whether baclofen alleviates CA-induced cognitive deficits. The present study aimed to investigate whether baclofen protects against post-CA cognitive deficits and to reveal the protective mechanism of baclofen. Rats underwent 10 min of asphyxia to establish CA models. Intriguingly, our results indicated that baclofen improved spatial memory 72 h after CA. Baclofen increased plasticity-related protein (PSD95, and GAP43) expression in the brain after CA. Baclofen reduced microglial number and the release of inflammatory factors (IL-1β and IL-18). Furthermore, baclofen significantly reduced the expression of pyroptosis-related molecules after CA. Notably, activation of NLRP3 abolished the anti-pyroptosis effect of baclofen and reduced the expression of synaptic plasticity-related proteins after CA. Taken together, this study first shows that baclofen attenuates cognitive deficits induced by brain injury after CA. The mechanism is at least partially attributed to baclofen regulating pyroptosis by inhibition of NLRP3 activation.