Dexmedetomidine is a highly selective adrenergic receptor alpha 2 agonist;it can exert sedative/analgesic/anti-sympathetic effects without increasing intracranial pressure and inhibiting respiration and can maintain hemodynamic stability

as well as decrease the need for other anesthetics. Recent study has found that dexmedetomidine has the potential neuroprotective effect. In this paper

the research advances of the effects of dexmedetomidine in neurosurgical anesthesia and its cerebral protective mechanism were reviewed in an aim to provide references for dexmedetomidine in neurosurgery perioperative cerebral protection strategies.