The effects of warm acupuncture on the serum L-ENK, IL-2 and the activity of NK-cell in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Sixteen patients with rheumatoid arthritis （RA） were treated with “ warm acupuncture”,resulting in satisfactory effects, During the course of treatment, the serum L-ENK, IL-2 and the activity of NK-cell were determined. The results showed all the parmeters gave a marked difference on pre and post therapeutic observations, and also revealed a positive relationship between patients and the controls. Our study indicates that the therapeutic effects of warm-acupuncture on RA patients may be resulted from the regulation of peripheral L-ENK and the immune functions.