Clinical trials of integrative medicine for rheumatoid arthritis: Issues and recommendations.
10.1007/s11655-015-2041-5
- Author:
Chi ZHANG
1
;
Miao JIANG
;
Xiao-Juan HE
;
Ai-Ping LU
Author Information
1. Institute of Basic Research in Clinical Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100700, China.
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- MeSH:
Antirheumatic Agents;
adverse effects;
therapeutic use;
Arthritis, Rheumatoid;
drug therapy;
Clinical Trials as Topic;
Humans;
Integrative Medicine;
Tripterygium;
chemistry
- From:
Chinese journal of integrative medicine
2015;21(6):403-407
- CountryChina
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Controlled clinical trials of integrative therapies available to patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) improved dramatically in the past 20 years, largely because of the growing need and the methodologies improvement. Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. F., a typical example of popular use herb, has been extensively studied in trials. However, clear and convincing evidence of integrative therapy, effectiveness and safety, remains insufficient to make decision. Many research efforts are hampered by standing problems with 'syndrome' recruitment failure. In addition, the outcome multiplicity induces the findings inefficiency to generalize to RA patients at large. Development of validated syndrome outcomes and methodologies has also been critical. Current efforts to enhance the understanding of integrative treatment options for patients with RA include the development of drug-specific rather than disease-specific strategies, studies in predictive biomarkers, and development of peer-review trial protocol for regular clinical trials.
