ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the effect of compound preparation of Astragalus mongho-licus on subsets of lymphocytes in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG), and to explore its regulatory mechanism. Methods 60 MG patients were randomly divided into test group (n=30, given compoundpreparation of Astragalus mongholicus for 12 wks) and control group (n=30, given prednisone tablets for 12 wks). Flow cytometry was applied to examining the distribution change of the subsets of lym-phocytes in patients before and after treatment. Results After treatment, the percentages of CD4+ T cells and the ratio of CD4+/CD8+ in both groups decreased compared with those before treatment.The ratio of CD4+/CD8+ in test group was significantly lower than that in control group (P<0.05).The percentage of CD8+ T cells in test group after treatment increased significantly (P<0.05) com-pared with that before treatment, but had no significant difference compared with that in control group(P>0. 05). Conclusion The result from the current study suggests that one of the mechanisms of the compound preparation of Astragalus monghoticus regulating immune response may be achieved through its modulating effect on the distribution of subsets of lymphoeytes and humoral immune func-tion.