[Integrated treatment of traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine for early- and intermediate-stage diabetic nephropathy].
OBJECTIVE
To study the therapeutic effect of traditional Chinese herbal medicinal preparation Tangshenqing (TSQ) combined with alprostadil in the treatment of early- and intermediate-stage diabetic nephropathy (DN).


METHODS
One hundred and twenty DN patients were randomized into 3 groups for different treatment protocols. The patients in the control group were given the basic treatment (low-protein diabetic diet and rigorous control of blood glucose, blood pressure, and blood fatty acid), and those in treatment group A received TSQ (containing Astragalus membranaceus, Panax notoginseng, Epimedium brevicornum, etc) in addition to the basic treatment, and those in treatment group B were treated with alprostadil injections (for 14 consecutive days) in addition to the treatment given in group A. Therapeutic effect evaluation was carried out after a 30-day treatment in all the patients.


RESULTS
The overall efficaey rate of the treatment was 78.37% in the control group, 88.57% in the treatment group A, and 94.44% in treatment group B, suggesting better therapeutic effect in the latter two groups than in the control group (P<0.05). Patients in all the 3 groups exhibited symptomatic improvement of various degrees, but the treatment group B had the best results. After the treatments, the patients' blood glucose and fatty acids were lowered, without obvious difference between the 3 groups. Compared with the control group, the patients in the two treatment groups showed significant reduction in fibrinogen, 24-h urine microprotein and urine protein after the treatment (P<0.01 or 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Combined use of traditional Chinese herbal medicine TSQ and alprostadil injections produces definite therapeutic effect on early- to intermediate-stage DN.
Zhao
Ling
L
Department of Endocrinology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510120, China.
Lan
Liu-gui
LG
Min
Xiao-li
XL
Lu
Ai-hua
AH
Zhu
Li-qun
LQ
He
Xiao-hong
XH
He
Ling-jie
LJ
D000368:Aged; D000419:Albuminuria / Q000378:metabolism; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D003928:Diabetic Nephropathies / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005340:Fibrinogen / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D055048:Integrative Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D007668:Kidney / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D001786:Blood Glucose; D005340:Fibrinogen