[A study on the time-effect relationship in the treatment of bronchial asthma with medicinal vesiculation therapy].
OBJECTIVE
To compare the therapeutic effects of medicinal vesiculation performed in the dog-days and ordinary-days, as well as "Xin"-days and "Geng"-days in the treatment of bronchial asthma.


METHODS
A total of 162 bronchial asthma patients were divided into ordinary-days group (n = 80) and dog-days group (n = 82) according to the time sequence. Plasters made up of Gansui (Radix Euphorbiae Kansui), Baijiezi (Semen Sinapis Albae), Mahuang (Herba Ephedrae), Xixin (Herba Asari), etc. were applied to Feishu (BL 13), Fengmen (BL 12), Dingchuan (EX-B 1), Pishu (BL 20) Shenshu (BL 23), etc. during ordinary days (spring, summer, autumn and winter), dog days (the 1st-, 2nd- and 3rd-10 day periods of the hot season) for each group, once every 10 days and with 3 times being a therapeutic course. After a course of treatment, the curative effect was assessed. Before and 5 days after the treatment, venous blood samples were collected for detecting serum immunoglobulin E (IgE), lymphocyte transformation rate (LTR) and the number of eosinophile granulocytes (Eos) separately. In addition, other 80 asthma patients were treated during "Geng"-days ( (n = 42) and "Xin"-days (n = 38) separately with the same methods mentioned above.


RESULTS
After one course of treatment, or the 82 and 80 cases in dog-days group and ordinary-days groups, 35 (43%) and 31(39%) experienced marked improvement in clinical symptoms, 41 (50%) and 37 (46%) had an improvement, 6 (7%) and 12 (15%) failed, with the effective rates being 93% and 85% respectively. After the treatment, serum IgE and Eos count of the two groups decreased significantly (P < 0.01, 0.05), and LTR of the two groups increased evidently (P < 0.01). No significant differences were found between two groups in the therapeutic effect and the 3 biochemical indexes. In other 80 asthma patients, of the 42 and 38 cases in "Geng"-days group and "Xin"-days group, 23 (54.76%) and 17 (44.74%) experienced marked improvement in their symptoms, 17 (40.47%) and 19 (50.00%) had an improvement, 2 (4.76%) and 2 (5.26%) failed, with the effective rates being 95.23% and 94.74% separately. No significant difference was found between two groups in the therapeutic effect (P > 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Medicinal vesiculation therapy can effectively improve asthma patients' clinical symptoms, lower serum IgE and Eos count and raise LTR whenever performed in the ordinary days, dog days, "Xin" days or "Geng" days. Thus, this therapy is applicable all year round.
Zhuang
Li-Xing
LX
Department of Acu-moxibustion, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510405, China. zhuanglixing@163.com
Zhao
Ming-Hua
MH
Yang
Jun-Jun
JJ
Deng
Qian-Ping
QP
D015669:Acupuncture Points; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001249:Asthma / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004804:Eosinophils / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D008875:Middle Aged; D013997:Time Factors
D007073:Immunoglobulin E