Effects of Acupuncture-moxibustion on Monocyte Th1/Th2 Cytokine in Peripheral Blood of Patients with Perennial Allergic Rhinitis

Objective To observe the effects of acupuncture-moxibustion on symptoms, signs, and Th1/Th2 cytokine, and regulation on Th1/Th2 in patients with perennial allergic rhinitis(PAR) to provide experimental basis for acupuncture treating allergic rhinitis and investigate the mechanism. Methods Thirty patients with allergic rhinitis were treated with acupuncture-moxibustion, and 30 healthy cases were the control. Clinical symptoms, signs, and nasal mucosa were observed, and contents of IL-4, IFN-γ, and granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in the supernatant of peripheral blood monocyte cultured with PHA by ELISA, before treatment, after one course of treatment, and after two courses of treatment. Results Before the treatment, the contents of IL-4, and GM-CSF were higher ( P