ObjectiveTo evaluate the therapeutic effect ofZishen decoction combined with standard treatment of western medicine for for stage IV diabetic nephropathy with Qi and Yin deficiency.MethodsA total of 112 patients with stage IV diabetic nephropathy and Qi and Yin deficiency were randomized to thestandard treatment and the combined treatment groups, 56 in each. The standard treatment group received conventional treatment, including blood glucose controlling, antihypertensive, blood lipid regulating and diet controlling. The combined treatment group receivedZishen decoction on the basis of conventional treatment. All the patients were treated for 3 months. The blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (SCr), total cholesterol (TG), triacylglycerol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) were measured by an automatic chemistry analyzer. The urinary albumin excretion rate (UAER) was measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.ResultsCompared with the standard treatment group, the SCr (53.51 ± 18.12μmol/Lvs. 62.66 ± 21.14μmol/L;t=2.459,P<0.05), UAER(100.73±84.24μg/minvs. 156.24 ± 96.38μg/min;t=3.245,P<0.05), TG(1.73±0.22 mmol/Lvs. 2.06 ± 0.21 mmol/L;t=8.112,P<0.01), TC(4.56 ± 0.62 mmol/Lvs. 5.10 ±0.31 mmol/L;t=5.830, P<0.01), LDL-C (2.42 ± 1.05 mmol/Lvs. 3.31 ± 0.81 mmol/L;t=5.022,P<0.01) in the combined treatment group decreased significantly, and the HDL-C (1.67 ± 0.33 mmol/Lvs. 1.36 ± 0.41 mmol/L;t=4.460,P<0.01) increased significantly. ConclusionZishen decoction on the basis of conventional treatment can improve the SCr and UAER, and regulate the blood lipid in the patients with stage IV diabetic nephropathy and Qi-Yin deficiency.

Objective To evaluate the effect of the self-made Zishen decoction combined with conventional western medicine therapy and health education on the patients with early diabetic nephropathy. Methods The 112 patients with DN were randomly assigned to 2 groups (each group 56 patients) at a ratio of 1:1. The control group was treated with control of glucose, blood pressure, lipid, and diet therapy, and the treatment group was with self-made prescription of invigorating the kidney and health education based on the control group treatment. All patients were treated for 6 months. The SF-36 scale was used to assess the quality of life, and the clinical effect was determined based on the blood biochemical indexes. Results Total clinical effect of the treatment group was 85.7%(48/56), and the control group was 67.9%(38/56) (χ2=4.057, P=0.044). Compared with the control group after treatment for 6 months, the physical condition (72.17 ± 13.41 vs. 64.59 ± 11.83, t=3.172), social function (64.58 ± 14.54 vs. 58.94 ± 14.62, t=2.047), physical role function (55.82 ± 10.11 vs. 47.46 ± 10.18, t=4.360), emotional role function (60.43 ± 10.20 vs. 56.04 ± 11.44, t=2.143), energy (69.86 ± 11.43 vs. 62.47 ± 11.12, t=3.468), general health status (68.57 ± 11.25 vs. 62.45 ± 11.78, t=2.812) of the treatment group were significantly improved (P<0.01 or P<0.05). Conclusion The self-made Zishen decoction and health education combined with conventional western medicine can improve the clinical effect and quality of life of patients with DN.