Effect of long-term administration of Fuzheng Anti-poisonous Pellet on immune reconstitution in AIDS patients treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy / 中草药

ABSTRACT

Objective: To investigate the effect of long-term administration of Fuzheng Anti-poisonous Pellet on the immune reconstitution in AIDS patients treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Methods: Two hundred cases of asymptomatic HIV-infected patients were divided into the WM group (receiving HAART alone) and the TCM-WM group (administering Fuzheng Anti-poisonous Pellet for a whole year, followed by the combination with HAART based on the basis of Fuzheng Anti-poisonous Pellet treatment). The overall scores of signs and symptoms as well as the Karnovsky scores were evaluated in all patients at 0, 6, and 12 months after treatment, respectively, accompanied by monitoring the T-lymphocyte counts of CD4+, CD4+CD45RA+ and CD8+; The success rate of immune reconstitution was calculated at 12 months after treatment. Results: In the TCM-WM group, both the success rate and in-treatment rate of immune reconstitution (77.53% and 89%) were higher than those in the WM group (58.97% and 78%), while its incidence rate of adverse reactions and rate of loss to follow-up (4% and 3%) were lower than those in the WM group (8% and 12%); Compared with the WM group, the T-lymphocyte counts of CD4+ and CD4+CD45RA+ were increased significantly (P < 0.05), and the T-lymphocyte count of CD8+ gradually increased with the treatment; The overall scores of signs and symptoms were significantly lower than those in the WM group (P < 0.001), while the Karnovsky scores were significantly elevated (P < 0.001). Conclusion: In asymptomatic HIV-infected patients, the long-term administration of Fuzheng Anti-poisonous Pellet before HAART can not only effectively improve the success rate of immune reconstitution as well as T-lymphocyte counts of CD4+, CD4+CD45RA+ and CD8+ during the subsequent HAART, but also reduce the incidence rate of the adverse reactions, and enhance patient medication compliance.