[Clinical observation on effect of total glucosides of paeony combined with methotrexate on rheumatoid arthritis].
OBJECTIVE
To observe the effect of total glucosides of paeony (TGP) combined with methotrex-ate (MTX) on rheumatoid arthritis (RA).


METHODS
Two hundred and sixty patients were assigned to two groups, the treated group (180 cases) was orally administered with MTX plus TGP, and the control group (80 cases) with MTX plus sulfasalazine (SSZ). The therapeutic course for both groups was 24 weeks. The clinical effect and the indexes for RA were observed after treatment.


RESULTS
The total effective rate at the 4th, 8th, 12th, 24th week of the treatment was 70%, 81%, 94%, 98% in the treated group, and 60%, 85%, 93%, 94% in the control, respectively, with insignificant difference found between the two groups (P > 0.05). Various indexes of RA were markedly improved in both two groups after treatment but the improvement in the treated group was better than that in the control group (P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
TGP combined MTX treatment shows favorable effect on RA, showing a quicker initiation with less side-effect and higher compliance.
Wang
Yan
Y
The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou. wangyanh.1963@163.com
Xing
Hua-Yan
HY
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005960:Glucosides / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008727:Methotrexate / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008875:Middle Aged; D029596:Paeonia / Q000737:chemistry*; D008517:Phytotherapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
D005960:Glucosides; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D008727:Methotrexate