interleukin-8 and levocetirizine

To study the clinical effects of integrative Chinese and Western medicine in treating chronic urticaria and its impact on peripheral blood content of interleukin-10 (IL-10) and IL-8.. Patients were assigned to the treatment group and the control group according to their sequence of visiting. They were treated orally with levocetirizine hydrochloride 5 mg once a day, but additional Kangqian Decoction (a self-formulated Chinese herbal preparation consisted of thorowax root 15 g, divaricate saposhnikovia root 9 g, licorice root 15 g, moutan bark 15 g, red sage root 15 g, milkvetch root 30 g, and schisandra fruit 12 g, etc. ) was given to the treatment group one dose per day, for 2 weeks as one therapeutic course. The efficacy was evaluated after two courses of medication, and patients' IL-10 and IL-8 levels in the peripheral blood were determined before and after treatment.. The total effective rate in the treatment group and control group was 93.75% and 56.66% respectively with significance difference between them (P <0.01). After treatment, the level of serum IL-10 was significantly lower while that of IL-8 was significantly higher in the treatment group (2.96 +/- 1.66, 50.17 +/- 32.35) than that in the control group (4.77 +/- 2.99, 29.44 +/- 17.62) respectively (P < 0.01).. Chronic urticaria was related to the immune unbalance of body. Integrative medicine could adjust immune function to display a quick, potent anti-inflammatory and anti-anaphylactic actions in treating chronic urticaria with less adverse reaction and low recurrent rate.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Cetirizine; Chronic Disease; Drug Therapy, Combination; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Female; Humans; Integrative Medicine; Interleukin-10; Interleukin-8; Medicine, Chinese Traditional; Middle Aged; Urticaria; Young Adult

Allergic rhinitis is characterized by an IgE-dependent inflammation. Nasal obstruction is related to allergic inflammation. Some antihistamines have been demonstrated to be capable of improving this nasal symptom.. The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate nasal symptoms, nasal airflow, inflammatory cells, and cytokine pattern in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR), before and after treatment with levocetirizine, desloratadine, or placebo.. Thirty patients with SAR were evaluated, 27 males and three females (mean age 26.9+/-5.4 years). All of them received levocetirizine (5 mg/day), desloratadine (5 mg/day), or placebo for 2 weeks. The study was double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled, and randomized. Total symptom score (TSS) (including: rhinorrhea, nasal itching, sneezing, and nasal obstruction) was assessed before and after treatment. Rhinomanometry, nasal lavage, and nasal scraping were performed in all subjects before and after treatment. Inflammatory cells were counted by conventional staining; IL-4 and IL-8 were measured by immunoassay on fluids recovered from nasal lavage.. Levocetirizine treatment induced significant symptom relief (P=0.0009) and improved nasal airflow (P=0.038). Desloratadine also relieved TSS (P=0.01), but did not affect nasal airflow. Levocetirizine significantly reduced eosinophils (P=0.029), neutrophils (P=0.005), IL-4 (P=0.041), and IL-8 (P=0.02), whereas desloratadine diminished IL-4 only (P=0.044). Placebo treatment did not significantly affect any evaluated parameters.. This pilot study demonstrates the effectiveness of levocetirizine in: (i) relieving nasal symptoms, (ii) improving nasal airflow, (iii) reducing leucocyte infiltration, and (iv) diminishing cytokine levels. These findings are the first evidence of the effectiveness of levocetirizine in SAR.

Topics: Adult; Cetirizine; Double-Blind Method; Eosinophils; Female; Histamine H1 Antagonists; Humans; Interleukin-4; Interleukin-8; Leukocyte Count; Loratadine; Male; Nasal Lavage Fluid; Nasal Obstruction; Pilot Projects; Piperazines; Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal; Statistics, Nonparametric

Levocetirizine inhibits the production of intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 and secretion of interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8, which may have beneficial effects on the pathophysiologic changes related to human rhinovirus (HRV) infection. We investigated the effects of levocetirizine on rhinovirus infection in primary human nasal epithelial cells (HNEC) and A549 cells. Cells were treated with different concentrations of levocetirizine, ranging from 0.5, 5 or 50nM, either starting at the time of infection and continuing thereafter, or beginning 24h before infection and continuing thereafter. Levocetirizine treatment inhibited the HRV-induced increase in ICAM-1 mRNA and protein levels, as well as the HRV-induced expression of IL-6 and IL-8 mRNA and protein levels. Viral titer, as measured by culture in MRC-5 cells, was reduced by levocetirizine. Levocetirizine treatment also reduced the increased nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) expression seen with HRV infection. Levocetirizine inhibited the expression of Toll-like receptor (TLR)3 mRNA and protein levels. These findings indicate that, in HNEC and A549 cells, levocetirizine inhibits HRV replication and HRV-induced upregulation of ICAM-1, IL-6, and IL-8, TLR3 expression and NF-kappaB activation. The results of this study suggest that levocetirizine may have a possible clinical application in the treatment of airway inflammation caused by HRV infection.

Topics: Cell Line; Cells, Cultured; Cetirizine; Cytokines; Epithelial Cells; Humans; Immunologic Factors; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1; Interleukin-6; Interleukin-8; NF-kappa B; Rhinovirus; Toll-Like Receptor 3; Virus Replication