Clinical Trials of Integrative Medicine for Rheumatoid Arthritis： Issues and Recommendations

• Published in: Chinese journal of integrative medicine 2015-06, Vol.21 (6), p.403-407
• Main Author: 张弛 姜淼 何小鹃 吕爱平
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antirheumatic Agents - adverse effects; Antirheumatic Agents - therapeutic use; Arthritis, Rheumatoid - drug therapy; Clinical Trials as Topic; Feature Article; Humans; Integrative Medicine; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Tripterygium - chemistry; 中西医结合治疗; 临床试验; 求和方法; 治疗方案; 生物标志物; 类风湿关节炎; 综合治疗; 雷公藤多甙
• ISSN: 1672-0415; 1993-0402
• DOI: 10.1007/s11655-015-2041-5

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.