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Effect of Chinese herbal treatment on Th1- and Th2-type cytokines, progesterone and β-human chorionic gonadotropin in early pregnant women of threatened abortion

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Abstract

Objective

To study the clinical effects of Prescription Zhuyun-III (助孕3号方, ZYIII) on early pregnant women diagnosed as threatened abortion, and its mechanism in immunity and endocrine by determining serum Th1- and Th2-type cytokines, progesterone, and β-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-HCG).

Methods

The treatment group comprised 30 early pregnant women diagnosed as threatened abortion of deficiency syndrome of Pi (脾), Shen (肾), or both. The control group consisted of 20 normal early pregnant women of similar gestational age. Patients in the treatment group were administered with ZYIII for 4 weeks. Peripheral blood samples were collected pre- and post-treatment from both the treatment and the control groups. Serum Th1-type cytokine [interleukin-2 (IL-2)] and Th2-type cytokine [interleukin-10 (IL-10)] were determined by flow cytometry, and serum progesterone and β-HCG were determined by ELISA.

Results

(1) The treatment was effective in 26 and ineffective in 4 patients of the treatment group. Therefore, the cure percentage was 86.67%. (2) In the treatment group before the treatment, IL-2 was significantly higher, IL-10 tended to be less, and the Th1/Th2 balance shifted toward Th1 compared with those in the control group. (3) After the treatment, IL-2 was decreased, IL-10 was increased, and IL-2/IL-10 was decreased. Both progesterone and β-HCG were increased. Changes of progesterone were positively correlated with changes of IL-10, whereas changes of β-HCG were negatively correlated with changes of IL-2.

Conclusions

Our study suggests that ZYIII has an evident function of protecting the fetus, and one of its mechanisms is inhibiting the secretion of Th1 cytokines, promoting the secretion of Th2 cytokines, and recovering the pathological shift of the Th1/Th2 balance. The other possible mechanism is increasing serum progesterone and β-HCG concentrations. Moreover, there are some correlations between the above two effects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital Affiliated to Southern Medical University, Guangdong Province, 518028, China

    Fang Liu  (刘 芳)

  2. Department of Gynecology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405, China

    Song-ping Luo  (罗颂平)

Authors
  1. Fang Liu  (刘 芳)
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  2. Song-ping Luo  (罗颂平)
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Song-ping Luo  (罗颂平).

Additional information

Supported by Guangdong Province Key Scientific and Technological Project (No. C30103)

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Liu, F., Luo, Sp. Effect of Chinese herbal treatment on Th1- and Th2-type cytokines, progesterone and β-human chorionic gonadotropin in early pregnant women of threatened abortion. Chin. J. Integr. Med. 15, 353–358 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-009-0353-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-009-0353-z

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