Effectiveness of Acupuncture on Pain, Physical Function and Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review of Quantitative Evidence.

Objective: To identify and synthesize the most recent available evidence of effectiveness of acupuncture on pain, physical function and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: A comprehensive search of 12 Western and Chinese databases was undertaken from their inception up to end of 2016. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs), concerning patients with RA treated with needle acupuncture, written in English, Portuguese, German or Chinese were included.

Effectiveness of Acupuncture on Pain, Functional Disability, and Quality of Life in Rheumatoid Arthritis of the Hand: Results of a Double-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterized by pain, functional disability, poor quality of life (QoL), high socioeconomic impact, and annual costs of over $56 billion in the United States. Acupuncture (AC) is widely in use; however, studies show severe methodological shortcomings, did not consider the functional diagnosis for the allocation of acupoints and their results showed no differences between verum and control groups.

Objective: The authors aimed to objectively assess the safety and efficacy of AC treatments for RA.

Understanding Chinese Medicine Patterns of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Related Biomarkers.

A considerable number of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients only experience side effects from treatment, with little to no actual pain relief. The combination of disease diagnosis in biomedicine and multi-disciplinary integrative approaches such as Chinese Medicine (CM), can help to identify different functional diagnosis of RA in the context of biomarker discovery. We aimed to analyse CM patterns in RA and their biomarker profiles.

The effectiveness of acupuncture on pain, physical function and health-related quality of life in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review protocol.

The objective of this review is to identify and synthesize the best available evidence on the effectiveness of acupuncture on pain, physical function and health-related quality of life in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.More specifically, the review questions are:• Is acupuncture effective in improving health-related quality of life in patients with RA?• Is acupuncture effective in relieving pain in patients with RA?• Is acupuncture effective in improving physical function in patients with RA?

Evaluation of the effect of acupuncture on hand pain, functional deficits and health-related quality of life in patients with rheumatoid arthritis--A study protocol for a multicenter, double-blind, randomized clinical trial.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic inflammatory disease characterized by functional disability and pain. Although acupuncture is widely used, until now Western acupuncture studies on RA have not shown conclusive positive results. Acupuncture is regarded as a reflex therapy that has effects on the human autonomic nervous system.