A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of Tong Luo Hua Shi capsule, a modernized Tibetan medicine, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Tong Luo Hua Shi (TLHS) is a new formulation of the traditional Tibetan medicine Wu-wei-gan-lu that has been used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for hundreds of years in China. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of TLHS in patients with RA.

Methods: This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-finding study performed in patients with active RA from five medical centers.

Traditional Chinese medicine versus western medicine as used in China in the management of rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized, single-blind, 24-week study.

This study is designed to compare the efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with western medicine (WM) in the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This is a 24-week, randomized, multicenter, single-blind study comparing TCM with WM (as used in China) carried out between June 2002 and December 2004 in nine research centers in China, involving 489 patients. Patients were randomized to receive TCM (n = 247), MTX and SSZ (n = 242).

[Predictive role of diagnostic information in treatment efficacy of rheumatoid arthritis based on neural network model analysis].

Objective: To analyze the indications of the therapies for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with neural network model analysis.

Methods: Three hundred and ninety-seven patients were included in the clinical trial from 9 clinical centers. They were randomly divided into Western medicine (WM) treated group, 194 cases; and traditional Chinese herbal medicine (CM) treated group, 203 cases.

[Correlations of clinical symptoms and treatment efficacy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with Chinese herbal drugs or Western medicine].

Objective: To evaluate the correlations between clinical symptoms and treatment efficacy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Four hundred and thirteen patients were included in the clinical trial from 9 clinical centers. They were randomly divided into Western medicine-treated group with 204 cases and Chinese herbal drug-treated group with 209 cases.