Volume 24 Issue 6
Jun.  2026
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CHANG Junying, WANG Yong, GAO Wei, KANG Hua. Correlation of traditional Chinese medicine syndrome types of rheumatoid arthritis with plasma albumin and Th17/Treg related cytokines[J]. Chinese Journal of General Practice, 2026, 24(6): 1024-1028. doi: 10.16766/j.cnki.issn.1674-4152.004545
Citation: CHANG Junying, WANG Yong, GAO Wei, KANG Hua. Correlation of traditional Chinese medicine syndrome types of rheumatoid arthritis with plasma albumin and Th17/Treg related cytokines[J]. Chinese Journal of General Practice, 2026, 24(6): 1024-1028. doi: 10.16766/j.cnki.issn.1674-4152.004545
shu

Correlation of traditional Chinese medicine syndrome types of rheumatoid arthritis with plasma albumin and Th17/Treg related cytokines

doi: 10.16766/j.cnki.issn.1674-4152.004545

  • Department of Rheumatology Handan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Handan, Hebei 056000, China

Funds:

 2022651

  • Received Date: 2025-09-18
    Available Online: 2026-11-10
    Abstract
  •   Objective  To study the correlation of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome types of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with plasma albumin (ALB) and helper T cell 17/regulatory T cell (Th17/Treg) related cytokines.  Methods  A total of 102 RA patients (RA group) and 50 healthy individuals undergoing physical examinations during the same period (control group) were selected as the research subjects. The relationships between Th17/Treg-related cytokines, ALB, and the traditional Chinese medicine syndrome types were analyzed.  Results  There were 50 cases of damp-heat obstruction syndrome, 20 cases of cold-dampness obstruction syndrome, 17 cases of phlegm-stasis obstruction syndrome, and 15 cases of liver-kidney deficiency syndrome. The levels of Th17, interleukin-17 (IL-17) and IL-23 in the RA group were higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05), while regulatory T cells (Treg) and plasma ALB were lower (P < 0.05). Th17, IL-17, IL-23 and the rheumatoid arthritis disease activity score (DAS28) score in RA patients were positively correlated pairwise, while ALB was significantly negatively correlated with the scores of Th17, IL-17, IL-23 and DAS28 (P < 0.05). In RA cases, Th17 in cold-dampness obstruction syndrome and liver-kidney deficiency syndrome was lower than that in damp-heat obstruction syndrome and phlegm-stasis obstruction syndrome (P < 0.05), while IL-17 and IL-23 were higher (P < 0.05), ALB was the lowest in liver-kidney deficiency syndrome, followed by damp-heat obstruction syndrome (P < 0.05). The proportions of DAS28 scores >5.1 were the highest in damp-heat obstruction syndrome. The proportion of DAS28 score ranging from 3.3 to 5.0 was the highest in patients with liver-kidney deficiency syndrome (P < 0.05). Compared with the syndrome of liver -kidney deficiency, the VAS scores of damp-heat obstructions syndrome, cold-dampness obstruction syndrome and phlegm-stasis obstruction syndrome were higher, the number of joint swellings and joint tenderness was more, and the levels of erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were higher (P < 0.05).  Conclusion  The TCM syndrome types of RA patients are correlated with ALB, Th17/Treg balance, and related cytokines, necessitating targeted TCM treatment.

     

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