Objective

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To evaluate the clinical efficacy and immunomodulatory effects of moxibustion on ginger combined with a high tryptophan diet in chronic fatigue syndrome （CFS） patients with spleen-kidney

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deficiency syndrome.

Methods

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Ninety CFS patients with spleen-kidney

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deficiency syndrome were randomly assigned to moxibustion on ginger group， control group， and sham moxibustion group， with 30 cases in each group. All groups were given a high-tryptophan diet intervention. The moxibustion group additionally received ginger-separated moxibustion at Dazhui （GV 14）， bilateral Geshu （BL 17）， bilateral Pishu （BL 20）， bilateral Shenshu （BL 23）， Zhongwan （CV 12）， bilateral Tianshu （ST 25）， and Guanyuan （CV 4）， while the control group received the same procedures as the moxibustion group but at non-specific points （2 cm lateral to the above acupoints）， and the sham moxibustion group received only heated ginger slices at acupoints without moxa. Treatments were administered once daily， with 3~5 moxa cones per acupoint per session. Each course consisted of 10 sessions with a 3-day interval between courses， for a total of 3 courses. The changes in fatigue assessment instrument （FAI） scores， peripheral blood T cell subsets including CD3⁺， CD4⁺， CD8⁺ percentages and CD4⁺/CD8⁺ ratio， and humoral immune indicators including immunoglobulin G （IgG）， immunoglobulin A （IgA）， and immunoglobulin M （IgM） were compared before and after treatment among the three groups. Clinical efficacy and safety indicators were evaluated at the end of the treatment.

Results

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Th

e total effective rate was 93.3% （28/30） in the moxibustion on ginger group， 83.3% （25/30） in the control group， and 50.0% （15/30） in the sham moxibustion group， and the moxibustion on ginger and the control group outperforming the sham moxibustion group （

P

＜0.05）. After treatment， the FAI scores in all groups significantly decreased （

P

＜0.05）， and T-cell subsets and humoral immune indicators showed varying degrees of improvement. After treatment， the moxibustion group showed the most significant reduction in FAI scores （

P

＜0.05）， the greatest increases in CD3⁺， CD4⁺ T cell percentages， CD4⁺/CD8⁺ ratio， and levels of IgG， IgA， IgM， and the lowest CD8⁺ percentage compared to the control group and the sham moxibustion group （

P

＜0.05）. The control group had lower FAI scores than the sham moxibustion group （

P

＜0.05）. No serious adverse events were observed in any group.

Conclusion

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Moxibustion on ginger combined with a high tryptophan diet can significantly improve fatigue symptoms in CFS patients with spleen-kidney

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deficiency syndrome. The mechanism involves enhancing both cellular and humoral immune functions.