title: Extracts of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F in the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials.
abstract: Clinical trials have reported the effects of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F (TwHF) extracts (TEs) in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA); however, the results have been inconsistent. This meta-analysis is aimed to assess the safety of TEs and their effects on the treatment of RA. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the effects of TEs and placebo (PBO) or disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in patients with RA were included. Weighted mean differences (MDs) were calculated for net changes by employing fixed-effect or random-effects models. After filtering, ten RCTs (involving 733 participants) were included in this study. The methodological quality of these studies was generally low. Compared with DMARDs, TEs alone produced a mild increase in grip strength (GS) (P = 0.02; standard mean difference (SMD) = 0.81; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.14 to 1.48). The most common adverse effects (AEs) of TEs were gastrointestinal discomfort, menstruation disorders, and amenorrhea. In conclusion, TEs, as a sort of "herbal DMARD," could be as effective as synthetic DMARDs in the treatment of RA. However, the efficacy of TEs in treating RA should be further estimated with better designed, fully powered, confirmatory RCTs that apply the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) improvement criteria to evaluate their outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China.
authors.forename: Yafei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China.
authors.forename: Shenghao
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China.
authors.forename: Weina
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China.
authors.forename: Peilin
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China.
authors.forename: Yonghong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dong