Objective To investigate the effect of Shenmai injection on purine content in rat cerebral cortex in order to provide a theoretical basis concerning its brain protective mechanism. Methods Sixteen Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into two groups:normal saline control group and Shenmai injection group, with 8 rats in each group. Shenmai injection 15 mL/kg was injected intraperitoneally into the rats in Shenmai injection group, while in the normal saline group, an equal volume of normal saline was intraperitoneally injected. After the injection for 24 hours, the rats were sacrificed, and the cerebral cortex was removed on ice, homogenized and its supernatant was extracted;then high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to detect adenosine triphosphate (ATP), adenosine diphosphate (ADP), adenosine monophosphate (AMP), adenosine and inosine contents in the supernatant of cerebral cortex. Results Compared with normal saline control group, ATP, ADP, AMP, adenosine and creatinine content in the cerebral cortex of Shenmai injection group were significantly higher, the differences being statistically significant [ATP (ng/L): 31.62±5.12 vs. 20.25±4.53, ADP (ng/L): 37.04±6.72 vs. 25.12±7.35, AMP (ng/L): 87.82±20.37 vs. 33.23±10.34, adenosine (ng/L): 2.82±0.15 vs. 1.12±0.61, creatinine (ng/L): 11.72±1.05 vs. 6.05±2.55, P < 0.05 or P<0.01]. Conclusion Shenmai injection can elevate ATP, ADP, AMP, adenosine and creatinine contents in the cerebral cortex of rats, possibly that is the theoretical basis for brain protective mechanism of Shenmai injection.

Objective To study the effect and mechanism of dexmedetomidine combined with sufentanil on postoperative analgesia in elderly patients with abdominal surgery. Methods Ninety-six elderly patients having undergone abdominal surgery in the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University from January 2016 to June 2017 were enrolled, and they were divided into a control group and an observation group by random number table method, 48 cases in each group. General anesthesia was performed in the operation, and after surgery venous analgesic pump was used for analgesia in both groups. Analgesic method: the control group was given sufentanil 2 μg/kg and tropisetron 5 mg; the observation group was given dexmedetomidine 2 μg/kg, sufentanil 2 μg/kg and tropisetron 5 mg. The changes of pain and sedation score, conventional indexes [systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), pulse blood oxygen saturation (SpO2)], oxidative damage indexes [lipid peroxide (LPO), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase (Cu-Zn SOD)], stress response indexes [cortisol (Cor), epinephrine, norepinephrine (NE)], platelet activation indexes granule membrane protein-140 (GMP-140), thromboxane A2(TXA2) and the incidence of adverse reactions were observed in both groups. Results ① After surgery the visual simulation score (VAS) and Ramsay score in both groups were higher than those before surgery, and showed a tendency firstly increased and then decreased, and reached to peak value 2 hours after operation [VAS score:the control group was 3.24±0.98 vs. 1.95±0.93, observation group was 3.19±1.03 vs. 1.98±0.95; Ramsay score:the control group was 3.26±0.51 vs. 1.90±0.45, observation group was 3.77±0.53 vs. 1.92±0.42], began to decline 6 hours after operation, reached to valley value 48 hours after operation, and there was no significant difference in VAS scores between the two groups (2.02±0.64 vs. 1.98±0.95), Ramsay score was significantly higher in observation group than that in control group (2.59±0.41 vs. 2.10±0.21). ② Since 2 hours after the operation, the SBP, DBP, HR and RR in the observation group began to be lower than those in control group, 12 hours after surgery their values reached their valleys [SBP (mmHg, 1 mm Hg = 0.133 kPa): 113.2±13.5 vs. 122.1±10.3, DBP (mmHg): 67.5±9.9 vs. 76.4±8.6, HR (bpm): 64.5±6.9 vs. 71.4±7.5, RR (bpm): 14.8±1.1 vs. 15.8±0.8, all P < 0.05]; while SpO2did not change a great deal. ③ LPO, Cor, epinephrine, NE, GMP-140, TXA2of two groups after operation were higher than those before operation, GSH-Px and Cu-Zn SOD were lower than those before operation. However, LPO, Cor, epinephrine, NE, GMP-140, TXA2in observation group were significantly lower than those in control group [LPO (μmol/L): 6.4±0.8 vs. 9.8±1.1, Cor (ng/L): 148.2±19.1 vs. 239.3±27.8, epinephrine (μg/L): 124.2±13.9 vs. 207.1±23.5, NE (μg/L): 109.2±14.8 vs. 183.3±21.6, GMP-140 (μg/L): 27.13±3.82 vs. 39.06±4.83, TXA2(ng/L): 422.30±53.74 vs. 610.43±73.21, all P < 0.05], GSH-Px and Cu-Zn SOD in observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group [GSH-Px (U/L): 426.7±58.7 vs. 307.9±51.2, Cu-ZnSOD (μg/L): 311.3±42.5 vs. 231.6±34.1, all P < 0.05].④ The incidence of adverse reaction nausea in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group [4.17% (2/48) vs. 37.5% (18/48)]. Conclusion Dexmedetomidine combined with sufentanil used in elderly patients after abdominal surgery has significant analgesic effect, can effectively inhibit platelet activation, and decrease the contents of GMP-140 and TXA2.