ABSTRACT
Atopic dermatitis is a chronic， refractory and inflammatory skin disease with the clinical manifestations of severe pruritus and recurrent attacks. It has a high incidence and is closely correlated with other allergic， autoimmune or infectious diseases， which can cause a variety of secondary diseases and mental and psychological disorders， seriously affecting the life quality of patients. Chinese herbal medicines have been used for the prevention and treatment of atopic dermatitis for thousands of years， and many Chinese herbal medicines （including compound prescriptions） effective for this disease have been recorded. These medicines generally have little adverse reactions and the treated patients have low recurrence rate of atopic dermatitis. According to the evidence of modern medicine， the onset of atopic dermatitis is related to the impairment of skin barrier function， abnormal immune response， and abnormal differentiation of mast cells， antigen-presenting cells， and eosinophils. Additionally， it is associated with mental， endocrine， metabolic and other factors. The defect of skin barrier function and the dysfunction of immune system are the main pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis. In recent years， scientists have achieved certain progress in improving skin barrier function with Chinese herbal medicines. This paper systematically summarizes the studies about the application of Chinese herbal medicines in regulating the expression of epidermal proteins， epidermal lipids， aquaporins， tight junction proteins， and antimicrobial peptides in recent 10 years， aiming to clarify the pathological mechanism and provide reference for the clinical research and application of Chinese herbal medicines in the treatment of atopic dermatitis.
ABSTRACT
Atopic dermatitis （AD） is a chronic， recurrent and inflammatory skin disease. Modern medical research suggests that AD is related to immune function， genes， skin barrier and other factors， while the specific etiology and pathogenesis remains unclear. The disease has a long course and is prone to reoccur， which seriously affects people’s production and life. Steroids， antihistamines and immunosuppressants are commonly used western medicines for the treatment of AD， which， however， will cause adverse reactions after long-term application. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has a long history， good therapeutic effect and rich clinical experience in the prevention and treatment of AD， and the research on the treatment of AD with TCM has been intensifying. Centering on the theory of TCM， we systematically summarized the research progress related to AD， discussed the etiology and pathogenesis of AD， and summarized the TCM syndrome differentiation of AD from the aspects of eight principles， etiology， Qi-blood-body fluid， zang-fu organs， six meridians， defense-Qi-nutrient-blood and triple energizer. According to the etiology and pathogenesis of AD， we proposed the therapeutic regimens corresponding to the type and stage of the disease. Considering the research progress achieved in the recent years in the prevention and treatment of AD by TCM and the modern pharmacological research on Chinese medicinal materials， we reviewed the classic famous prescriptions， self-made prescriptions and Chinese patent medicines， and expounded the mechanisms of single Chinese medicinal materials in the treatment of AD at the molecular level. The TCM external therapies such as wet compress， medicated bath， gel and ointment are safe and effective. Acupuncture and moxibustion play a role in the prevention and treatment of AD， which is worthy of promotion in clinical practice， and the syndrome differentiation methods of Qi-blood-body fluid and triple energizer are novel in the treatment of this disease. TCM， characterized by diverse therapeutic methods and good clinical efficacy， is worthy of promotion in the treatment of AD， which will contribute to the development of TCM in China.
ABSTRACT
Vitiligo is a common pigmentary disorder characterized by localized or generalized depigmentation of the skin， resulting in milky white or light pink patches with smooth surface but no rashes.Modern medicine believes that it is closely related to immune function， oxidative stress， autoimmune destruction of melanocytes， heredity， and neurochemical factors， but the specific pathogenesis is still unclear.Due to the easy diagnosis but hard management and the high recurrence rate， vitiligo has seriously affected the quality of life and mental health of patients.At present， it is mainly treated with glucocorticoids， immunomodulators， vitamin D3 derivatives， and antioxidants in western medicine， and the resulting short-term outcomes are satisfactory.However， a series of side effects may be caused by the long-term use.Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has a long history of dealing with vitiligo.Guided by the rich experience accumulated in daily practice， it exerts the preventive and therapeutic effects against vitiligo via multiple components， multiple targets， and multiple pathways， without inducing obvious adverse reactions， which has made it widely concerned by many doctors and scholars.As the research concerning the prevention and treatment of vitiligo with TCM intensifies， more and more single Chinese medicinals， Chinese medicinal monomers， and compound prescriptions have been proved to play a therapeutic role via multiple mechanisms.After reviewing the articles on the alleviation of vitiligo with TCM published in the past five years and retrieved from the literature databases， this paper summarized the efficacy of TCM in regulating immune dysfunction， improving oxidative stress injury， protecting melanocyte function， adjusting mitochondrial structure and function， and controlling the alteration of intestinal micro-flora and abnormal microRNA （miRNA） expression， so as to clarify the pathogenesis of vitiligo and provide theoretical and scientific basis for the in-depth study and clinical application of TCM in the prevention and treatment of vitiligo.