Effect of Radix Astragali in combined therapy on T-lymphocyte subsets in patients with viral myocarditis

The efficacy of Radix Astragali membranaceus (AM) oral liquor combined with routine therapy and routine therapy alone on T-lymphocyte subsets of peripheral blood in viral myocarditis patients have been studied comparatively. The results showed that the T-lymphocyte subsets profile and OKT4/OKT8 ratio of peripheral blood were significantly lower in viral myocarditis patients than that in healthy control (P < 0.05, 0.01). Routine therapy combined with AM could singificantly enhance OKT3, OKT4 and OKT4/OKT8 ratio in the above-mentioned patients (P <0.05, 0.01). The possible pharmacodynamic mechanism of combining routine therapy with AM in improving cell immunity in viral myocarditis patients was discussed.