title: Association between tongue coating thickness and clinical characteristics among idiopathic membranous nephropathy patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Tongue coating diagnosis is a useful tool to examine the changes of a human body in Chinese Medicine. Tongue coating varies in thickness in kidney disease. However, little information exists regarding the association between clinical characters and tongue coating thickness in CKD patients.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study was carried out to determine whether there is an association between tongue coating thickness and laboratory, histological variables in idiopathic membranous nephropathy patients: one group with thin tongue coating, the other with thick tongue coating.
  
  
  METHODS
  During July 2012-March 2014, idiopathic membranous nephropathy patients(CKD 1-2 stage) with tongue coating thickness Score ≤7, or ≥11, were enrolled as thin tongue coating group or thick tongue coating group, from Hangzhou Hospital of TCM. Laboratory variables (Hemoglobin (Hb), albumin (Alb); eGFR; alanine transferase (ALT); aspartate aminotransferase (AST); triglyceride (TG); total cholesterone (TC); high density lipoprotein (HDL); low density lipoprotein (LDL); immunoglobin A, G, M; Complement 3, 4) and renal histological data (glomerular lesions; tubular-interstitial damage) were compared, between these two groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  12 idiopathic MN patients (CKD 1-2 stage) with thin tongue coating (tongue coating thickness score ≤7) and 11 with thick tongue coating (tongue coating thickness score ≥11) were enrolled in our study. We found a significant lower level of TC and LDL, a significant lower level of AST, ALT in those thick tongue coating patients, compared with thin. No significant difference was observed in pathological lesion between thick and thin tongue coating patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Tongue coating thickness is associated with lipid metabolism in idiopathic MN patients (CKD 1-2 stages).
authors.affiliation: Nephrology Department, Hangzhou Hospital of TCM, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. Electronic address: lin_ri_yang@126.com.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: RiYang
authors.affiliation: Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: HangYing
authors.affiliation: Xixi Community Health Center, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: JunYan
authors.affiliation: Nephrology Department, Hangzhou Hospital of TCM, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: YaYu
authors.affiliation: Nephrology Department, Hangzhou Hospital of TCM, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Wang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: YuHui
authors.affiliation: Nephrology Department, Hangzhou Hospital of TCM, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: YaZhen
authors.affiliation: Nephrology Department, Hangzhou Hospital of TCM, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Yin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: JiaZhen
authors.affiliation: Nephrology Department, Hangzhou Hospital of TCM, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Nephrology Department, Hangzhou Hospital of TCM, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Ni
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jun
authors.affiliation: Nephrology Department, Hangzhou Hospital of TCM, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: DongRong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D015433:Glomerulonephritis, Membranous / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000473:pathology; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014059:Tongue / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: Association; Idiopathic membranous nephropathy; Low density lipoprotein; Tongue coating thickness; Total cholesterone