Salvianolic acids attenuate rat hippocampal injury after acute CO poisoning by improving blood flow properties.

Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning causes the major injury and death due to poisoning worldwide. The most severe damage via CO poisoning is brain injury and mortality. Delayed encephalopathy after acute CO poisoning (DEACMP) occurs in forty percent of the survivors of acute CO exposure. But the pathological cause for DEACMP is not well understood. And the corresponding therapy is not well developed. In order to investigate the effects of salvianolic acid (SA) on brain injury caused by CO exposure from the view point of hemorheology, we employed a rat model and studied the dynamic of blood changes in the hemorheological and coagulative properties over acute CO exposure. Compared with the groups of CO and 20% mannitol + CO treatments, the severe hippocampal injury caused by acute CO exposure was prevented by SA treatment. These protective effects were associated with the retaining level of hematocrit (Hct), plasma viscosity, fibrinogen, whole blood viscosities and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in red blood cells (RBCs). These results indicated that SA treatment could significantly improve the deformation of erythrocytes and prevent the damage caused by CO poisoning. Meanwhile, hemorheological indexes are good indicators for monitoring the pathological dynamic after acute CO poisoning.