Traditional Chinese medicine: potential for clinical treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic debilitating autoimmune disease affecting people worldwide. Increasing numbers of RA patients in the west are resorting to various complementary and alternative medicine modalities for relief of symptoms and well-being. Herbal products and acupuncture representing traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are two of the most commonly used forms of complementary and alternative medicine. Frequently, their efficacy against RA and safety have been inferred from anecdotal experience or pilot testing on a relatively small number of patients following inadequate study designs. Accordingly, significant efforts need to be invested in objectively testing TCM in clinical trials that are sufficiently powered, randomized, blinded, possess appropriate controls and follow standard criteria for assessment of the outcomes. In addition, the mechanisms underlying the immunomodulatory and other antiarthritic activities of TCM modalities need to be better defined. These efforts would help validate the scientific rationale for the use of TCM for the management of RA.

Keywords::

• acupuncture
• complementary and alternative medicine
• herbal therapy
• immunology
• inflammation
• natural products
• osteoarthritis
• rheumatoid arthritis
• traditional Chinese medicine
• traditional systems of medicine

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors were supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM): R01 AT004321 (KD Moudgil) and P50 AT 00084 (BM Berman). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.