Effect of Moxibustion on HIF-1α and VEGF Levels in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Background. Moxibustion has a therapeutic effect of reducing swelling and relieving pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) but its mechanism is uncertain. Objective. To evaluate the effect of moxibustion on serum levels of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and vascular endothelial growth...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pain research & management 2019, Vol.2019 (2019), p.1-9
Main Authors: Chen, Bailu, Tang, Yu-zhi, Wu, Ping, Luo, Yun, Li, Yuan, Liao, Chen-xi, Zhou, Yu-mei, Xiong, Yan, Wang, Yingni, Yu, Zeyun, Gong, Yuanyuan, Bai, Yu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alternative medicine
Angiogenesis
Arthritis
Cytokines
Hypoxia
Inflammation
Pathogenesis
Patients
Rheumatic diseases
Rheumatism
Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatology
Signal transduction
Statistical analysis
Vascular endothelial growth factor
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Summary:Background. Moxibustion has a therapeutic effect of reducing swelling and relieving pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) but its mechanism is uncertain. Objective. To evaluate the effect of moxibustion on serum levels of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in patients with RA and to explore the possible mechanism of moxibustion. Methods. This study involved 46 RA patients who had fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were randomly assigned to a treatment group and a control group in an equal ratio. The control group was treated with methotrexate or leflunomide, while the treatment group received methotrexate or leflunomide and moxibustion at ST 36 (Zusanli), BL 23 (Shenshu), and Ashi points. Patients’ clinical symptoms, RA-associated serum markers, and serum levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, HIF-1α, and VEGF were compared in the two groups before and after intervention. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 21.0 statistical software. Results. 37 of 46 RA patients eventually completed the whole treatment course. Compared with the control group, the treatment group significantly improved the clinical symptoms (P0.05). There were significant differences in TNF-α and IL-1β among the groups after 8 weeks of treatment (P
ISSN:1203-6765
1918-1523
DOI:10.1155/2019/4705247