title: Traditional Chinese medicine syndromes of chronic hepatitis B with precore mutant.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aims at exploring the distribution of TCM syndromes in CHB patients with HBV pre-core mutation (1896) and the relationship between pre-core mutation and T lymphocytes subgroup, through which to provide objective data on clinical syndrome differentiation of TCM, and further to suggest the therapeutic principle and guide clinical treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred and forty CHB patients were evenly divided into two study groups, HBV pre-core mutant group and HBV pre-core wild-type group. Besides, 30 healthy blood donors were selected as a healthy control group. HBV-labeled compound, T lymphocytes subgroup, and HBV-DNA pre-core mutant were tested in the study groups. T lymphocytes subgroup were also tested in the control group. All the patients were both diagnosed by syndrome differentiation of TCM and western medicine.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The most common syndrome in mutant group was damp-heat combined with blood stasis, and the most common syndrome in the wild-type group was damp-heat stasis in the middle-jiao. There were more cases of medium and severe hepatitis in mutant group than that in wild-type group. The content of CD4+ lymphocytes and CD4+/CD8+ ratio were decreased gradually (healthy control group>wild-type group>mutant group). In the wild-type group, severe and medium CHB patients had considerably lower level of them than mild CHB patients. However, in the mutant group, the opposite result appeared. Meanwhile, the content of HBV-DNA in mutant group was higher than that in wild-type group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Damp, heat, toxin and blood stasis were the basic pathogens of CHB, whether pre-core mutant or not. CHB with precore mutant may lead to more severe hepatitis. The decreased content of CD4+ lymphocytes and ratio of CD4+/CD8+ may be taken as one of the indices in confirming the deficiency syndrome of CHB patients with pre-core mutation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510630, Guangdong Province, China. 87507880@gdvnet.com
authors.forename: Hong-Zhi
authors.initials: HZ
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Jian-An
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.forename: Yong-Wei
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yong-Ze
authors.initials: YZ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Wei-Bing
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.forename: He-Ping
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Xie
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens / Q000235:genetics; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000235:genetics*; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009154:Mutation; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens