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Updated: Sep 27, 2026
Preliminary Study on Acupuncture Combined with Grain-sized Moxibustion for Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis with Finger Joint Pain
Published on: May 16, 2025
A randomized double blind, placebo controlled trial of topical Tripterygium wilfordii in rheumatoid arthritis:
Jolanda Cibere1, Zhaozhi Deng, Yuanchang Lin
1Arthritis Research Centre of Canada and the Canadian HIV Trials Network, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Objective:
To assess the efficacy of topical Tripterygium wilfordii (TW), a Chinese herbal therapy, in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Methods:
A 6 week randomized double blind placebo controlled study of 61 patients with RA meeting American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria was conducted in China. The primary outcome was a modified ACR-20 response rate, analyzed by logistic regression analysis.
Results:
The modified ACR-20 response rate differed significantly (topical TW 58% vs placebo 20%; p = 0.002). There was an 8.1-fold (95% CI 1.9-35.4) increase in the modified ACR-20 response for the TW compared to the placebo group, adjusted for age and erythrocyte sedimentation rate.
Conclusion:
Topical TW appears efficacious for the treatment of RA, but larger studies are needed.