Effects of golden cicada anti-itch capsules combined with tacrolimus ointment on clinical symptoms and Th1/Th2 cytokine balance in older adult patients with itchy skin
10.3760/cma.j.cn341190-20240718-00928
- VernacularTitle:金蝉止痒胶囊联合他克莫司软膏对老年性皮肤瘙痒患者临床症状、Th1/Th2细胞因子平衡的影响
- Author:
Ruiyuan TIAN
1
;
Rongrong LI
1
;
Qian XUE
1
Author Information
1. 陕西省核工业二一五医院老年病科,咸阳712000
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Pruritus;
Skin diseases;
Drugs, Chinese herbal;
Quality of life;
Interleukins;
Interferon-gamma;
Recurrence;
Aged;
Antipruritics
- From:
Chinese Journal of Primary Medicine and Pharmacy
2025;32(1):70-76
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To investigate the effects of golden cicada anti-itch capsules combined with tacrolimus ointment on clinical symptoms and T helper cell type 1/T helper cell type 2 (Th1/Th2) cytokine balance in older adult patients with itchy skin.Methods:This prospective study included 80 older adult patients with itchy skin who attended No. 215 Hospital of Shaanxi Nuclear Industry from January 2022 to January 2024. The patients were randomly divided into two groups ( n = 40 per group) using a random number table method. The ointment group received tacrolimus ointment, while the combination group was treated with golden cicada anti-itch capsules plus tacrolimus ointment. Both groups were treated for 4 weeks. Clinical symptom scores, Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) scores, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome scores, and the cytokine profiles of Th1 [interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ)]/Th2 [interleukin-5 (IL-5), interleukin-13 (IL-13)] and skin barrier function were compared before and after 4 weeks of treatment. The incidence of adverse reactions and recurrence rates were recorded. Results:Before treatment, there were no statistically significant differences in clinical symptom scores, DLQI scores, or TCM syndrome scores between the ointment and combination groups ( t = -0.76, 0.76, -0.54, 0.33,-0.16, -0.36, all P > 0.0.5). After treatment, both groups showed reductions in severity of itching, duration, frequency of episodes, and area of skin lesions, as well as DLQI scores and TCM syndrome scores ( t = 16.14, 24.18, 14.65, 19.98, 18.21, 25.03, 15.42, 19.55, 12.36, 18.14, 15.65, 22.05, all P < 0.05). After treatment, the combination group had lower scores for severity of itching [(0.88 ± 0.24) points], duration [(0.91 ± 0.22) points], frequency of episodes [(1.06 ± 0.21) points], area of skin lesions [(1.18 ± 0.31) points], DLQI [(7.93 ± 2.17) points], and TCM syndrome scores [(8.89 ± 1.47) points] compared with the ointment group [(1.17 ± 0.33) points, (1.44 ± 0.26) points, (1.43 ± 0.25) points, (1.72 ± 0.44) points, (11.41 ± 3.05) points, (13.32 ± 2.06) points, t = 4.50, 9.84, 7.17, 6.35, 5.88, 11.07, all P < 0.05]. Before treatment, there was no statistically significant difference in Th1/Th2 cytokine level between the ointment and combination groups ( t = -0.15, -0.07, 0.21, -0.23, all P > 0.05). Both groups showed significant decreases in IL-2 and IFN-γ levels, and increases in IL-5 and IL-13 levels after treatment compared with their pre-treatment levels ( t = 4.56, 9.02, 11.11, 15.20, -5.63, -9.14, -6.01, -8.88, all P < 0.05). After treatment, the combination group had significantly lower IL-2 and IFN-γ levels and significantly higher IL-5 and IL-13 levels compared with the ointment group ( t = 7.25, 7.13, -6.69, -7.67, all P < 0.05). Before treatment, there was no statistically significant difference in skin barrier function between the two groups ( t = -0.16, 0.25, P > 0.05). After treatment, both groups exhibited significant reductions in transepidermal water loss and significant increases in stratum corneum hydration compared with their pre-treatment levels ( t = 6.25, 11.04, -4.82, -9.77, all P < 0.05). After treatment, the combination group demonstrated significantly lower transepidermal water loss and significantly greater stratum corneum hydration than the ointment group ( t = 4.13, 7.73, both P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in incidence of adverse reactions between the ointment group [7.50% (3/40)] and the combination group [12.50% (5/40), χ2 = 0.56, P = 0.456]. The recurrence rate was 27.50% (11/40) in the ointment group and 10.00% (4/40) in the combination group. Six months after treatment, the difference in recurrence rate between the ointment and combination groups was statistically significant ( χ2 = 4.02, P = 0.045). Conclusions:The use of Golden Cicada anti-itch capsules combined with tacrolimus ointment for treating itchy skin in older adult patients can help relieve clinical symptoms, improve skin barrier function, promote Th1/Th2 cytokine balance, and decrease the recurrence rate.
