Abstract:Objective To explore the protective effect of thyroid hormone (TH) on neurological damage in cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Methods Totally 152 patients performed with heart valve replacement were randomly divided into treatment group (n = 76) and control group (n = 76). In the treatment group, 50 μg levothyroxine sodium (Euthyrox) was given daily from a week before surgery to the morning of surgery. Serum levels of S100-β protein, neuron specific enolase (NSE), interleukin 6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP) and free triiodothyronine (FT3) were detected at the time before opearation (T1), 30 min after beginning of CPB (T2), when CPB was ended (T3), 6 h (T4) and 24 h (T5) after CPB. The patients' cognitive function was assessed with mini-mental state examination (MMSE) before operation and 1, 3 and 7 d after operation. Results The concentrations of plasma S100-β protein at T2, T3 and T4 were significantly lower in the treatment group than those in the control group (P < 0.05). During operation and within 24 h after operation the concentrations of plasma NSE, IL-6 and CRP were significantly lower in the treatment group than those in the control group (P < 0.05), and the concentration of plasma FT3 was significantly higher in the treatment group than that in the control group (P < 0.05). The MMSE score was higher in the treatment group than that in the control group within 1 w after operation (P < 0.05). Conclusions Preoperative application of TH can effectively improve the perioperative serum TH level and produce certain cerebral protection by inhibiting the inflammatory factors in cardiopulmonary bypass.