Background Vascular hyporeactivity, which occurs in the terminal stage of hemorrhagic shock, is believed to be critical for treating hemorrhagic shock. The present study was designed to examine whether the CB1 cannabinoid receptor （CB1 R） was involved in the development of vascular hyporeactivity in rats suffering from hemorrhagic shock. Methods Sixteen animals were randomly divided into two groups （n=8 in each group）： sham-operated （Sham） and hemorrhagic shock （HS） groups. Hemorrhagic shock was induced by bleeding. The mean arterial pressure （MAP） was reduced to and stabilized at （25±5） mmHg for 2 hours. The vascular reactivity was determined by the response of MAP to norepinephrine （NE）. In later experiments another twelve animals were used in which the changes of CB1R mRNA and protein in aorta and superior mesenteric artery （SMA） were analyzed by RT-PCR and Western blotting. In addition, we investigated the effects of a CB1R antagonist on the vascular hyporeactivity and survival rates in rats with hemorrhagic shock. Survival rates were analyzed by the Fisher＇s exact probability test. The MAP response was analyzed by one-way analysis of variance （ANOVA）. Results Vascular hyporeactivity developed in all animals suffering from hemorrhagic shock. The expression of CBIR mRNA and protein in aorta and 2-3 branches of the SMA were significantly increased in the HS group after the development of vascular hyporeactivity when compared to those in Sham group. When SR141716A or AM251 was administered, the MAP response to NE was （41.75±4.08） mmHg or （44.78±1.80） mmHg respectively, which was higher than that in saline groups with （4.31±0.36） mmHg （P 〈0.01）. We also showed an increased 4-hour survival rate in the SR141716A or AM251-treated group with 20% or 30%, but with a statistically significant difference present between the AM251-treated and saline groups （P 〈0.05）. Conclusions CBIR is involved in vascular hyporeactivity resulting from hemorrhagic shock
Background Sepsis is a leading cause of death in the intensive care units. The late inflammatory cytokine, high-mobility group box 1 （HMGB1）, plays a critical role in sepsis. In the present study, we investigated the association between the serum HMGB1 levels and the severity of organ injury in the lipopolysaccharide-induced sepsis in rats. Methods To produce an animal model of sepsis with different degree of organ injury, animals were treated with three different doses of lipopolysaccharide （4, 8 and 16 mg/kg）, and the animals in control group were treated with the same volume of the vehicle （saline）. The levels of serum HMGB1 were measured at 0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24, 32 and 48 hours after lipopolysaccharide （LPS） or vehicle injection, meanwhile the biochemical and histopathological indicators for the severity of organ injury were assessed. Results The level of HMGB1 had a positive, high correlation with the abnormal changes of serum cardiac troponin I, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, creatinine and blood urea nitrogen, as well as the pathologic scores of heart, lung, liver and kidney. Conclusions The level of serum HMGB1 is highly correlated with the severity of sepsis in rats, suggesting that HMGB1 could serve as a valuable adjunct in the diagnosis and management of sepsis.
Objective：To investigate the effect of electroacupuncture preconditioning on the serum level of S100 calcium-binding protein beta（S100β）and neuron-specific enolase（NSE）in patients undergoing craniocerebral tumor operation.Methods：A total of 32 patients,who would go through craniocerebral tumor resection under general anesthesia,were randomly assigned to two groups,16 in each group.Patients in the electroacupuncture（EA）group received electroacupuncture on Fengfu acupoint（Du16）and Fengchi acupoint （GB20）for 30 min,2 h before operation.The stimulus is 1-4 mA with a density wave frequency of 2/15 Hz. Patients in the control group received no pretreatment.Anesthesia was maintained with remifentanil at the dose of 4-8 mg/kg per hour,pumped intravenous drip of vecuronium at 1.0-2.0μg/kg each hour,and discontinuous intravenous dripped with vecuronium bromide at 0.5-1 mg.The serum levels of S100βand NSE were measured with ELISA before operation,before skin incision,after tumor removal,at the end of operation,and at 24 h after operation.Results：The serum level of S100βand NSE did not change before skin incision.The serum level of NSE increased significantly and the level of S100βincreased insignificantly after the tumor resection. The serum levels of S100βand NSE in the EA group and the control group were 1.16±0.28μg/L vs 1.47±0.33μg/L,24.7±13.3μg/L vs 31.4±14.1μg/L at the end of the operation,respectively.Twenty-four h after operation,the correspondence indices were 1.18±0.31μg/L vs 1.55±0.26μg/L,and 25.5±12.4μg/L vs 32.4±11.7μg/L.The two indices at these two time points were significantly increased than those before operation, respectively（P〈0.05）.At the end of the operation and 24 h post-operation,the serum levels of S100βand NSE in the EA group were significantly lower than those in the control group（P〈0.05）.Conclusion：Electroacupuncture Fengchi and Fengfu for 30 min before craniocerbral tumor operation could decrease the serum level of S100βand NSE,thus m
