Abstract: Abstract：Objective To investigate the relationship between plasma level of nuclear factor E2 related factor 2 (Nrf2)and depression in patients with hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage (HICH) after minimally invasive drainage. Methods A total of 92 patients with HICH who were hospitalized from March 2014 to Jenuary 2018 were enrolled. Postoperative plasma Nrf2 levels were detected using ELISA. The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) expressed as PG values were assessed at admission and on the 21th day after operation. At the 21th day after hospitalization, the Zung Depression Self-rating Scale (SDS) was used to evaluate depression. According to the SDS criteria, the patients were divided into depression group (n=29) and non-depression group (n=63). The differences of plasma Nrf2 levels were compared between the two groups. The risk factors correlated with depression of HICH patients after minimally invasive drainage were analyzed using two-class Logistic regression. Results The plasma Nrf2 level was significantly lower in depression group than that in non-depression group (P＜0.05). The PG values were significantly higher in depression group than those in nondepression group at the admitted and the 21th day after hospitalization (all P＜0.05). For HICH patients in depression group the SDS standard scores were positively correlated with hematoma volume (r=0.30) and PG value at the 21th day after operation (r=0.27, P＜0.05), and which were negatively correlated with the plasma Nrf2 levels (r=-0.35, P＜0.05). The twoclass Logistic regression analysis showed that high plasma Nrf2 level was a protective factor for depression in HICH patients undergoing minimally invasive drainage (OR=0.885, 95%CI:0.819-0.955). Conclusion The lower plasma Nrf2 level after minimally invasive drainage in HICH patients, the more prone to depression.

Key words: intracranial hemorrhage, hypertensive, depression, minimally invasive drainage, plasma nuclear factor E2 related factor 2