OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical therapeutic effects and safety on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with acupuncture at the points detected with thermosensitive moxibustion in medicine combined with western medication.

METHODSA total of 168 RA patients in compliance with the inclusive criteria were collected and randomized into an observation group and a control group, 84 cases in each one. In the control group, in reference to the updated guideline of new drugs by the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) in 2013, the medication scheme was formulated for oral administration, methotrexate tablet 7.5 mg, once a week; salazosulfapyridine enteric-coated tablets, 100 mg, twice a day; hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets, 20 mg, twice a day; and meloxicam tablets, 15 mg, once a day. In the observation group, besides the treatment as the control group, the acupuncture therapy at the points detected with thermosensitive moxibustion in medicine was given. The mild moxibustion was applied near to the affected joint with the moxa material of herbal medicine to detect the sensitization points. Afterwards, the acupuncture technique of medicine was given on those points, without any manipulation applied. The needles were retained for 30 min, once daily. The treatment for 2 weeks was as one course, continuously for 2 courses. The indexes were observed before and after treatment in the two groups including gripping power, the time of morning stiffness, the swollen joint count 28 (SJC 28), the tender joint count 28 (TJC 28), the disease activity score 28 (DAS 28), the score of patient global assessment of disease activity (PtGA) and the score of provider global assessment of disease activity (PhGA), as well as rheumatoid factors (RF), C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and anti-cyclic peptide containing citrulline (A-CCP). The clinical therapeutic effects were evaluated in the two groups.

RESULTSAfter 4-week treatment, a total of 163 patients accomplished the clinical trial, 81 cases in the observation group and 82 cases in the control group. The results of gripping power, the time of morning stiffness, SJC 28, TJC 28, PtGA, PhGA, DAS 28, RF, CRP, ESR and A-CCP were all improved as compared with those before treatment (all <0.05). In 4 weeks of treatment, the results of gripping power, the time of morning stiffness, SJC 28, TJC 28, PtGA, PhGA, DAS 28, as well as CRP and ESR in the observation group were better than those in the control group (all <0.05). The results of RF and A-CCP were not different significantly between the two groups (both >0.05). The total effective rate was 85.19% (69/81) in the observation group, higher than 70.73% (58/82) in the control group (<0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe acupuncture therapy at the points detected with thermosensitive moxibustion in medicine achieves the satisfactory clinical effects with few adverse effects.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; therapy ; Humans ; Moxibustion ; Treatment Outcome

Due to the rapid proliferation and growth of tumor cells, hypoxic microenvironment exists in many solid tumors, and hypoxia inducible factors (HIF) are critical for sensing oxygen tension within tumors and subsequently mediating the activation of hypoxia responses. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most hypoxic tumors. This article summarizes the mechanism of action of HIF in promoting the development and progression of HCC by promoting glycolysis, angiogenesis, invasion and metastasis, immune escape, and cancer stem cell formation. At present, the development of targeted drugs for HIF inhibitors has broad prospects in the treatment of HCC, and the detection of HIF also has a potential value in prognostic evaluation HCC.

Pyroptosis is a newly discovered programmed cell death. It is an important natural immune response and has obvious anti-infection function. Studies have shown that pyroptosis plays an important role in the occurrence and development of rheumatoid arthritis. Traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） has unique advantages in the prevention and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. How to guide TCM to effectively prevent and treat rheumatoid arthritis using pyroptosis theory is a new research hotspot in this field. This paper discussed the overview of pyroptosis theory，its mechanism， signal pathway，and application in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis as well as the research on the activity of TCM based on pyroptosis theory. It was found that the occurrence of pyroptosis was related to Caspase-1-dependent classical inflammatory body pathway and Caspase-1-independent non classical inflammatory body pathway， and pyroptosis produced distinct regulatory effect on the occurrence，development and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis，which would provide a new strategy for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Additionally，TCM recipes such as Miao ethnomedicine prescription Sidaxue and Duhuo Jishengtang， and a variety of effective components such as punicalagin and paeoniflorin monomer derivatives exerted anti-rheumatic and other biological activities by regulating pyroptosis. This provided a theoretical basis and research ideas for the in-depth study of pyroptosis theory and guiding the prevention and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with TCM.

Improving the reproducibility of biomedical research results is a major challenge.Researchers reporting their research process transparently and accurately can help readers evaluate the reliability of the research results and further explore the experiment by repeating it or building upon its findings. The ARRIVE 2.0 guidelines, released in 2019 by the UK National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs), provide a checklist applicable to any in vivo animal research report. These guidelines aim to improve the standardization of experimental design, implementation, and reporting, as well as the reliability, repeatability, and clinical translatability of animal experimental results. The use of ARRIVE 2.0 guidelines not only enriches the details of animal experimental research reports, ensuring that information on animal experimental results is fully evaluated and utilized, but also enables readers to understand the content expressed by the author accurately and clearly, promoting the transparency and integrity of the fundamental research review process. At present, the ARRIVE 2.0 guidelines have been widely adopted by international biomedical journals. This article is a Chinese translation based on the best practices of international journals following the ARRIVE 2.0 guidelines in international journals, specifically for the complete interpretation of the ARRIVE 2.0 guidelines published in the PLoS Biology journal in 2020 (original text can be found at https://arriveguidelines.org). The third part of the article includes the items 8-10 of ARRIVE 2.0 Essential 10, which covers "experimental animals" "experimental procedures" and "results". Its aim is to promote the full understanding and use of the ARRIVE 2.0 guidelines by domestic researchers, enhance the standardization of experimental animal research and reporting, and promote the high-quality development of experimental animal technology and comparative medicine research in China.