Abstract: Objective To investigate the effects of Chinese drugs for nourishing Yin and clearing the heat on regulation of sex hormones and clinical efficacy patients with SLE.Methods Fifty four active SLE patients with Yin deficiency were randomly divided into 2 groups.Thirty patients in tr eatment group were treated with Pill of Wind-weed Phellodendron and Rehman nia(Zhibai Dihuang Wan)and Bolus for Replenishing Vital Essence(Da Buyin Wan)combined with western medicine for 2 months,while 24 patients in control group were treated with western medicine alone.Before and after treatment,the serum levels of follicle-stimulating hormone(FSH),luteinizing hormone,estradiol,pr ogesterone,testosterone,prolactin were measured by ELISA in 54 patien ts,respec-tively.Before treatment the serum levels of FSH,luteinizing hormone,estradiol,progesterone,testosterone,prolactin were measured in 30 active SLE patients without Yin deficiency and 25 age-matched healthy controls simultaneously.Results The mean levels of FSH,luteinizing hormone,estradiol were significant ly higher in patients with Yin de-ficiency than those without Yin deficiency and those in heathy controls(P<0.05).The serum level of testosterone was significantly lower in patients with Yin deficiency than that in patients without Yin deficiency and that in normal controls(P<0.05).After treatment,the serum levels of FSH,luteinizing hormone,estradiol,prolactin decreased remarkably in treatment group(P<0.05),and the serum levels of FSH,luteini zing hormone,estradiol were lower than those in control group(P<0.05).The level of testosterone increase d in treatment group(P<0.05),which was higher than that in control group(P<0.05).The scores of SLAM decreased significantly in treatment group compared with those in control group.The symptoms of internal heat due to Yin deficiency improved remarkably in the treatment group after treatment (P<0.01),and clinical efficacy in treatment group was superior to that in control group(P<0.05).The dosages of prednisone used in the treatment group were lower than those in control group.Conclusions Combination of Chinese drugs for nourishing Yin and clearing the heat with western medicine could enhance the curative effects of active SLE patients with Yin deficiency.Its mechanismmay be due to that this kind of Chinese drugs could regulate pituitary-gonadal-axis in the patients with Yin deficiency,and reduce the level of estradiol while elevate the level of testosterone,thus improving the immune function of SLE indirectly.

Key words: Lupus erythematosus,systemic, Sex hormones, Drugs,Chinese herbal