Exp Ther Med
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This study aimed to investigate the protective mechanism of Xuebijing injection (XBJ) against heat stroke (HS) in rats. Adult male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into normal control (NC), normal saline-treated HS (NS-HS) and XBJ-treated HS (XBJ-HS) groups. At 47 and 57 min from the initiation of heat stress (42.5-43.5°C), the plasma levels of certain cytokines [interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α], biochemical indicators (creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase) and coagulation indicators (activated partial thromboplastin time, prothrombin time, fibrinogen degradation products and D-dimer) were detected, and microscopy of the liver tissue of the rats was conducted. ⋯ In the NS-HS group, serious liver cell congestion, nuclear swelling and central vein dilation were visible, along with the appearance of bubbles in the liver tissue. In the XBJ-HS group, only a small number of congestive liver cells were identified, with occasional nuclear swelling but no bubbles, which was similar to the observations in the NC group. Early intervention treatment of HS with XBJ is able to reduce the systemic inflammatory response and coagulation activity and decrease the tissue ischemia and injury degree, thus extending the survival time of rats with HS.
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The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of ulinastatin on cerebral oxygen metabolism and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI). A total of 92 patients with sTBI, admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University (Xinxiang, China), were randomly divided into control and observation groups. The control group received conventional therapy plus a placebo (0.9% sodium chloride), while the observation group were administered conventional therapy plus 200,000 units ulinastatin via intravenous injection twice a day for seven days. ⋯ The CRP levels in the two groups increased and peaked on day 3. However, the CRP level in the observation group significantly decreased on day 5 (35.27±15.18 mg/l) and day 7 (22.65±10.48 mg/l), which was lower compared with the control group (56.19±13.24 mg/l and 47.36±15.73 mg/l, respectively); statistically significant differences were observed (P<0.05). Therefore, ulinastatin effectively improved cerebral oxygen metabolism and reduced the CRP level in patients with sTBI.