[Effects of bloodletting pricking, cupping and surrounding acupuncture on inflammation-related indices in peripheral and local blood in patients with acute herpes zoster].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effects of bloodletting pricking, cupping and surrounding acupuncture on blood inflammation-related indices in patients with acute herpes zoster (HZ), and to explore the mechanism of pain control and treatment. METHODS: A total of 60 patients were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 30 cases in each one. In the observation group, the patients were treated with bloodletting pricking at herpes, followed by cupping treatment; also the surrounding acupuncture was performed at injured skin. The treatment was given once a day and once every other day after the first 3 days; totally one-week treatment was given. In the control group, the patients were treated with intravenous drip of acyclovir and oral administration of vitamin B1 and B12, once a day for total one week. The visual analogue scale (VAS) and percentages of neutrophil, lymphocyte in peripheral and local blood were observed before and after treatment in the two groups. RESULTS: After treatment, the score of VAS was significantly reduced in both groups (both P < 0.05); compared with the control group, the score of VAS and the time of pain relieve were significantly improved in the observation group (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). Compared before treatment, the percentages of lymphocyte in peripheral and local blood were reduced after treatment (both P < 0.05) and the percentages of neutrophil in local blood were increased (both P < 0.05). The lymphocyte in local blood was also reduced after treatment in the control group (P < 0.05); compared with peripheral blood in the observation group and local blood in the control group, the percentages of lymphocyte in local blood were reduced (both P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The efficacy of bloodletting pricking, cupping and surrounding acupuncture on acute herpes zoster is positive, and it can significantly lower the number of lymphocytes in the local blood and increase the number of neutrophil, which is likely to be one of the anti-virus mechanisms.

[Impacts of electroacupuncture combined with ultraviolet therapy on cytokines of herpes zoster at the acute stage in patients].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) combined with ultraviolet therapy on herpes zoster at the acute stage and the impacts on serum interleukin 2 (IL-2), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and interleukin 10 (IL-10) in the patients. METHODS: Thirty-four patients of herpes zoster were randomized into a medicine group and a combined therapy group, 17 cases in each one. In the medicine group, the intravenous drops with acyclovir injection, muscular injection with cobamamide and the topical with acyclovir ointment were applied. Additionally, TDP was radiated locally. In the combined therapy group, on the basis of the treatment as the medicine group, EA and ultraviolet therapy were supplemented. The duration of treatment was 10 days in the two groups. Before and after treatment, blister relief, incrustation time and the visible analogue scale (VAS) were recorded in the two groups. The clinical efficacy was assessed in the two groups and the levels of serum IL-2, IL-6 and IL-10 were determined in the two groups. RESULTS: In the combined therapy group, the time of blister relief and incrustation was earlier apparently than that in the medicine group (both P<0.05). VAS score after treatment were reduced as compared with that before treatment in the two groups (both P<0.01), and the reducing amplitude in the combined therapy group was larger than that in the medicine group (P<0.01). The total effective rate was 94. 1% (16/17) in the combined therapy group, higher than 76.4% (13/17) in the medicine group (P<0.05). After treatment, IL-2 levels were increased as compared with those before treatment in the two groups (both P<0.05), the levels of IL-6 and IL-10 were reduced obviously as compared with those before treatment in the two groups (all P<0.01). After treatment, the levels of IL-6, IL-10 were reduced much more apparently in the combined therapy group as compared with those in the medicine group (both P<0.05). CONCLUSION: EA combined with ultraviolet irradiation more rapidly and effectively relief the symptoms of herpes zoster, significantly relief pain, shorten the duration of sickness, improve the body immunity and reduce nerve injury.

Oral therapy with proteolytic enzymes decreases excessive TGF-beta levels in human blood.

UNLABELLED: Therapy with oral proteolytic enzymes (OET) with combination drug products containing papain, bromelain, trypsin, and chymotrypsin has been shown to be beneficial in clinical settings such as radiotherapy-induced fibrosis, bleomycin pneumotoxicity and immunosuppression in cancer, all of which are nowadays known to be accompanied by excessive transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) production. It has been demonstrated that proteolytic enzymes reduce TGF-beta levels in serum by converting the protease inhibitor alpha2 macroglobulin (alpha2M) from the "slow" form into the "fast" form, whereby the "fast" form binds and inactivates TGF-beta irreversibly. In this study we have investigated the effect of OET on the concentration of TGF-beta1 in serum of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (n = 38), osteomyelofibrosis (OMF) (n = 7) and herpes zoster (HZ) (n = 7). Seventy-eight healthy volunteers served as controls. TGF-beta1 levels in serum were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We have demonstrated that in healthy volunteers and in patients there exists a correlation between active and latent TGF-beta1 in serum (r=0.8021; P<0.0001). Treatment with OET had no significant effect on TGF-beta1 concentration in healthy volunteers or patients with a normal level of TGF-beta1. In patients with elevated TGF-beta1 concentration (> 50 ng/ml serum), OET reduced TGF-beta1 in RA (P < 0.005), in OMF (P < 0.05) and in HZ (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: These results support the concept that OET is beneficial in diseases characterized in part by TGF-beta1 overproduction.