[The effects of bizhongxiao decotion (BZX) on T-lymphocyte subsets in the peripheral blood of patients with rheumatoid arthritis].
OBJECTIVE
To observe the effect of BZX on T-lymphocyte subsets in the peripheral blood of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and study the mechanism of curative effects of BZX in immunization.


METHODS
42 patients with RA in active stage were divided into 1. treatment group with BZX 2. control group with western medicine and twenty healthy control group (HCG) was arranged before treatment. Their CD4+ and CD8+ were tested and the ratio of CD4+ cells to CD8+ cells was calculated before treatment and after 3 months treatment.


RESULTS
In the peripheral blood of patients with RA, CD4+ was more than that of the HCG. but CD8+ was lower and the ratio of CD4+ cell to CD8+ cells was higher than that of the HCG. After 3 months treatment, CD4+ decreased, CD8+ increased and the ratio of CD4+ cells to CD8+ cells decreased. In addition, all results were similar to the normal. We found there were no significant differences between the two treatment groups in the results after treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
There were cell immunoregulation disorders in patients with RA. BZX can regulate the disorder of T-lymphocyte subsets, help rebuild the immune steading and have effects of immune suppression similar to MTX combined medicine.
Liang
Q H
QH
Institute of Combined Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China.
Zhang
H X
HX
Tang
T
T
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets
D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents