[The immune status of scleroderma patients undergoing electroacupuncture]

Examinations of the immune status of 53 patients with local scleroderma (LS) have revealed changes in the cell-mediated (a deficit of T-lymphocyte population in the presence of an unchanged B-lymphocyte count) and humoral immunity (hyperproduction of the circulating immune complexes, of immunoglobulins A and M, the presence of antibodies to fixed lymphocytes). The patients have been treated by electroacupuncture according to an original method, effecting the points that stimulate suppressed immunity. 1-3 courses of treatment have yielded good results in 83% of the patients, mostly with the early stages of the disease. The treatment has been associated with a positive time course of a number of disturbed parameters of immune homeostasis; a correlation between the clinical and immunological efficacy of therapy has been noted.