Study on the effect of Chinese herbal decoction,acupuncture and moxibustion and Western medicine on postherpetic neuralgia and its influence on inflammatory factors and pain mediators
Objective To study on the mechanism and clinical effect of Chinese herbal decoction(Longdan Xiegan decoction),acupuncture and moxibustion and Western medicine on postherpetic neuralgia(PHN).Methods 140 patients with PHN were divided into an experimental group(SY group)and a control group(DZ group)by using the random number table method,each consisting of 70 cases.Patients in DZ group were treated with simple western medicine,and patients in SY group were treated with Chinese herbal decoction and acupuncture and moxibustion on the basis of DZ group.Comparison was made on the clinical efficacy,serum inflammatory factors[tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),interleukin-6(IL-6),IL-1β],serum pain mediators[substance P(SP),neurokinin-1(NK-1),calcitonin gene-related peptide(CGRP)]before and after treatment and recurrence rate between the two groups.Results The total clinical effective rate was 94.29%in SY group,which was higher than 77.14%in DZ group(P<0.05).After treatment,SY group had serum TNF-α of(9.34±1.23)ng/L,IL-6 of(112.45±13.24)ng/L,IL-1β of(4.27±0.43)ng/L,which were lower than(15.37±2.43),(195.35±16.46)and(6.75±0.56)ng/L in DZ group(P<0.05).After treatment,SY group had serum SP of(438.45±52.35)pg/ml,NK-1 of(3.27±0.43)pg/ml and CGRP of(70.33±5.34)pg/ml,which were lower than(723.12±72.34),(6.23±1.05)and(100.45±7.24)pg/ml in DZ group(P<0.05).After 6-month follow-up statistics,64 patients in the SY group were successfully followed up,of which 3 patients relapsed,with a relapse rate of 4.69%(3/64);in DZ group,63 patients were successfully followed up,of which 10 patients relapsed,with a relapse rate of 15.87%(10/63).The recurrence rate in SY group was lower than that in DZ group(χ2=4.323,P=0.038<0.05).Conclusion The combination of Chinese herbal decoction and acupuncture and moxibustion on the basis of conventional Western medicine can improve the clinical efficacy of PHN patients and reduce the long-term recurrence rate while effectively regulating the expression level of serum inflammatory factors and pain mediators.
Postherpetic neuralgiaLongdan Xiegan decoctionAcupuncture and moxibustionLiver-fire exuberance typeInflammatory factorsPain mediatorsRecrudescence