HRV in Patients with TCM Spleen Deficiency Syndrome

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Studies that aim to evaluate different TCM syndromes with biomarkers are pretty rare. In this study the group compared healthy volunteers, to patients who had been evaluated in a TCM clinic and found to have spleen deficiency syndrome.
Their conclusion

CONCLUSIONS:

Our results suggest that the pathology of SDQB could be associated with a low vagal tone which causes a decrease in peristalsis, with increased fatigue, reduced attention and appearance of gastrointestinal symptoms.

2019 Jul 25.

Changes in heart rate variability in patients with Spleen-Qi deficiency syndrome.

Olivera-Toro A¹, Fossion R², Li L³, López-Gómez RE¹, López-Espinosa E¹, Jiménez-Estrada I⁴, Quiroz-González S⁵.

Author information

1: Department of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation, State University of Ecatepec Valley, Ecatepec State of México, Mexico.
2: Institute for Nuclear Science, National Autonomous University of México. Mexico City; Complexity Science Center (C3), National Autonomous University of México. Mexico City.
3: Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. Beijing, China.
4: Department of Physiology, Biophysics and Neuroscience, Center for Research and Advanced Studies, National Polytechnic Institute, México City, Mexico.
5: Department of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation, State University of Ecatepec Valley, Ecatepec State of México, Mexico; Institute of Science and Integrative Medicine. México City, Mexico. Electronic address: sqg20@yahoo.com.mx.

Abstract

Spleen-Qi deficiency syndrome (SQDS) refers to clinical phenomena such as hypofunction of digestion, absorption and nutritional metabolism. It has been demonstrated that many functional diseases are related to dysautonomia, and heart rate variability has been used successfully as a proxy to assess dysautonomia. However, HRV has not been studied in relation to SQDS.

METHODS:

The study group consisted of healthy volunteers (n=37) and patients with SQDS (n=67), recruited from the Integrative Clinic of the State University of Ecatepec Valley. Outcome measures were: average heart rate (HR), including standard deviation of the normal-to-normal heartbeat intervals (SDNN), frequency domain measures such as low frequency (LF) and high frequency (HF) power and the LF/HF ratio. Also, intestinal peristalsis, gastrointestinal symptoms, fatigue and level of attention were measured. Intestinal peristalsis was assessed through EGG. The fatigue impact scale (FIS), the gastrointestinal symptom rating scale (GSRS) and the d2 test were used to evaluate the level of fatigue, the severity of gastrointestinal symptoms and the level of attention, respectively. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine the association between electrophysiological measurements and questionnaires.

RESULTS:

SDNN (17±2.3%) and HF (14±3.1%) were significantly lower in SQDS patients (17%±1.3) than in healthy volunteers (p<0.05). SQDS patients had significantly higher HR, LF power, LF/HF ratio and fatigue scores (9.6±1.12%, 16±2.1%, 22±3.8% and 21±4.1%, respectively). The FIS correlated positively with the LF/HF ratio (r= 0.48), and negatively with HF power (r=-0.4). The SQDS group had significantly more errors (22.8±3.3%), higher percentage of errors (17.3±1.4%) and fluctuations (18.11±2.5%) and lower concentration performance (16.2±1.9%) in the d2 test than controls (p<0.05). In addition, the intestinal peristalsis in patients with SQDS showed a significant reduction (15 ± 1.3%) as compared to control subjects. GSRS score and peristalsis correlated negatively with HF (r = -0.46 and r = -0.42, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS:

Our results suggest that the pathology of SDQB could be associated with a low vagal tone which causes a decrease in peristalsis, with increased fatigue, reduced attention and appearance of gastrointestinal symptoms.