Effect of Chinese herbal medicine for nourishing yin, supplementing qi, and activating blood on the Th1/Th2 immune balance in peripheral blood in patients with primary Sjogren's syndrome.

Objective: To observe the effect of Chinese herbal medicine for nourishing yin, supplementing qi, and activating blood on the expression of interferon-γ (IFN-γ)/interleukin-4 (IL-4) in peripheral blood and disease activity in primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS) patients, and to study the relationship between the immune balance of Th1/Th2 and the disease activity.

Methods: A total of 66 pSS patients were randomized with tossing coins method into two groups: the integrative therapy group (34 cases) and the control group (32 cases); and 28 healthy subjects were taken as the normal group. The integrative therapy group was treated by Chinese herbal medicines for nourishing yin, supplementing qi, and activating blood combined with hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets and the control group was treated with hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets. The treatment course was 3 months for both groups. The levels of serum immunoglobulin G (IgG), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), IFN-γ and IL-4 in peripheral blood were measured before and after treatment.

Results: Compared with the normal group, the levels of IgG, ESR, IFN-γ and IL-4 were significantly increased in pSS patients (P<0.05). Remarkably, after 3 months of treatment, these levels were dramatically decreased in both the integrative therapy group and the control group, although still higher than the normal group. The levels of IgG, ESR, IFN-γ and IL-4 in the integrative therapy group were lower than the control group and the same group before treatment (P<0.05). The ratio of IFN-γ/IL-4 also significantly decreased after treatment. Moreover, the level of IFN-γ and the ratio of IFN-γ/IL-4 in the integrative therapy group were significantly lower than the control group (P<0.05). For all patients the ratio of IFN-γ/IL-4 before and after treatment was positive correlated with the levels of IgG and ESR.

Conclusion: Chinese herbal medicine for nourishing yin, supplementing qi, and activating blood can alleviate the disease activity of pSS by regulating the immune balance of Th1/Th2.