Study on Clinical Efficacy of Avermectin A and Astragalus on the Treatment of Psoriasis and the Detection Of TNF-α

Abstract

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of psoriasis treated with avermectin A and astragalus and detect the changes of TNF-α in serum. Preliminarily study the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory mechanism of avermectin A and astragalus in the treatment of psoriasis. Methods 20 patients were randomly recruited into a control group （9 cases）and a treatment group （11 cases）. Another 20 healthy people were recruited for comparison. The control group was administrated with avermectin A orally, 0,2-0.6 mg/kg · d, with the symptoms turning better, reduced the dosage till the recovery, the treatment group was injected with astragalus injection on the therapeutic basis of the control group. Detect and compare the levels of TNF-α in the serum of the patients with psoriasis before and after the treatment in both groups, then make a contrast to the healthy people. Results 20 patients got clinical cure. The level of TNF-α in the serum of healthy persons is 11.7± 6.7 ng/L, and the level of TNF-α in the serum of psoriasis patients before treatment is （45.4 ± 12.4） ng/L and （46.4± 16.9）ng/L in the treatment group and the control group respectively. Compared with healthy control group, the difference is significant. After treatment, is the TNF-α levels dropped to （i 3.8 ± 5.4） ng/L and （20.9 ±6.3 ） ng/L in the treatment group and the control group respectively, showing no significant difference compared with healthy control group. The difference between the two group is also significant. Conclusion The efficacy of treating psoriasis with avermectin A and astragalus is better than using avermectin A exclusively. The mechanism may lie in its inhibiting the formation of TNF-α and so thus exerting the anti-inflammatory and immune regulatory functions. Key words: Psoriasis; Avermectin A; α-tumor necrosis factor; Astragalus