OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of electroacupuncture preconditioning on the serum level of S100 calcium-binding protein beta (S100beta) and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) in patients undergoing craniocerebral tumor operation.

METHODSA 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 1.0-2.0 microg/kg each hour, and discontinuous intravenous dripped with vecuronium bromide at 0.5-1 mg. The serum levels of S100beta and NSE were measured with ELISA before operation, before skin incision, after tumor removal, at the end of operation, and at 24 h after operation.

RESULTSThe serum level of S100beta and NSE did not change before skin incision. The serum level of NSE increased significantly and the level of S100beta increased insignificantly after the tumor resection. The serum levels of S100beta and NSE in the EA group and the control group were 1.16+/-0.28 microg/L vs 1.47+/- 0.33 microg/L, 24.7+/-13.3 microg/L vs 31.4+/-14.1 microg/L at the end of the operation, respectively. Twenty-four h after operation, the correspondence indices were 1.18+/-0.31 microg/L vs 1.55+/-0.26 microg/L, and 25.5+/-12.4 microg/L vs 32.4+/- 11.7 microg/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 S100beta and NSE in the EA group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONElectroacupuncture Fengchi and Fengfu for 30 min before craniocerbral tumor operation could decrease the serum level of S100beta and NSE, thus may have potential protective effect on brain damage, which needs to be further studied.