[Treatment of Guishen Zhiyang Recipe for Senile Pruritus Patients with Blood Deficiency and Hy- peractivity of Gan-yang Syndrome].

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of Guishen Zhiyang Recipe (GZR) in trea- ting senile pruritus patients with blood deficiency and hyperactivity of Gan-yang syndrome (BDHGYS) and to study the mechanism in nervous-endocrine-immune systems. Methods Ninety senile pruritus pa- tients were assigned to the treatment group and the control group by complete randomized lot, 45 in each group. Totally 41 patients in the treatment group and 38 patients in the control group completed the trial. Patients in the treatment group took GZR, while those in the control group took Fuyang Granule (FG). Ex- ternal application of Binghuang Fule Soft Ointment was performed to all patients. The therapeutic course for all was 8 weeks. Symptoms and efficacy changes in skin lesion were observed in the two groups. Lev- els of stem cell factor (SCF) , dynorphin (DYN) , testosterone (T) , estradiol (E₂) , and IL-4 were detec- ted in the two groups using double antibody sandwich ELISA. Results Compared with before treatment, pruritus degree, scratching area, scaling, lichenoid lesion, irritability and restlessness, dysphoria, dry pharynx, dizziness, and tinnitus all decreased in the two groups after 8 weeks of treatment (P <0. 05). Scores of Chinese medical syndromes all decreased after 4 and 8 weeks of treatment (P <0. 05). Levels of SCF and DYN obviously decreased in the two groups after 4 and 8 weeks of treatment (P <0. 05,P < 0. 01). Compared with the control group, obvious improvement was seen in pruritus degree, scratching number, scaling, irritability and restlessness , dysphoria, dizziness , and tinnitus(P <0. 05) ; total scores of Chinese medical syndromes decreased (P <0. 05) ; SCF also decreased (P <0. 05) in the treatment group after 8 weeks of treatment. Conclusions Based on external application of Binghuang Fule Soft Ointment, GZR showed better efficacy than that of the control. It had certain roles in regulating related mediator levels that might affect nervous-endocrine-immune systems.