ABSTRACT
Objective:To observe the therapeutic effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at Zusanli (ST 36),Guanyuan (CV 4) and Ashi points on adjuvant arthritis rats,and explore the mechanism of EA treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).Methods:Sixty male rats were randomly divided into a normal group,a model group,a methotrexate group and an EA group,with 15 rats in each group.Rats in the normal group and the model group were routinely raised and did not receive treatment;rats in the methotrexate group received methotrexate at a dose of 0.35 mg/(kg·bw),twice a week for 3 weeks;rats in the EA group received acupuncture at Zusanli (ST 36),Guanyuan (CV 4) and Ashi points,and the bilateral Zusanli (ST 36) and Ashi points were connected to EA apparatus,once a day for 3 weeks.The general status,the swelling degree of the toe,the arthritis index (AI) score,the pathological morphology of the ankle joint,and the mRNA expressions of cellular inhibitor of apoptosis protein (c-IAP) 1 and c-IAP2 in joint synovial tissue cells of the rats in each group were observed.Results:The swelling degree of the toe,AI score and mRNA expressions of c-IAP1 and c-IAP2 in the model group were significantly higher than those in the normal group (all P＜0.05).Compared with the model group,the swelling degree of the toe,AI score and mRNA expressions of c-IAP1 and c-IAP2 in the methotrexate group and the EA group improved (P＜0.01 or P＜0.05);the expressions of c-IAP1 mRNA and c-IAP2 mRNA in rat synovial tissues in the EA group were significantly higher than those in the methotrexate group (P＜0.01).Conclusion:EA alleviates joint swelling in rats with adjuvant arthritis.The mechanism may be related to suppressing mRNA expressions of c-IAP1 and c-IAP2,thus to induce apoptosis of synoviocytes.
ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the clinical efficacy of Compound Xiatianwu tablets in the treatment of active rheumatoid arthritis.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>One hundred and eighty cases with active rheumatoid arthritis were randomly divided into the control group (60 cases) with leflunomide, sulfasalazine, and celecoxib; the treatment group (120 cases) given compound Xiatianwu tablets on the basis of the control group, 2 tablets each time, 3 times/day, with the course of treatment of 3 month. Patients of the two groups were observed for clinical symptoms, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, rheumatoid factor, and immunoglobulin changes before and after the treatment.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The treatment group showed an overall efficiency of 94. 2% , the Xiatianwu group showed an overall efficiency of 80. 0%, while the control group showed an overall efficiency of 81.7%. The difference among the three groups was statistically significant (P <0. 05 or P <0. 01) , indicating that the treatment group was superior to the Xiatianwu group, while the Xiatianwu group was superior to the control group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Compound Xiatianwu tablets has remarkable effect in the treatment of active rheumatoid arthritis.</p>