title: Effect of Artemisia annua extract on treating active rheumatoid arthritis: A randomized controlled trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the effect and safety of the complementary use of the extract of Artemisia annua L. (EAA) on treating active rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
  
  
  METHODS
  A randomized controlled clinical trial was performed. All the 159 participates with active RA were randomly assigned to the control group (80 cases) and EAA group (79 cases) using concealed random allocation method. In the control group, patients were medicated with leflflunomide and methotrexate for 48 weeks; and patients in the EAA group were administrated with leflflunomide, methotrexate plus EAA (30 g/d). At the time points of 0, 12, 24 and 48 weeks, the clinical outcome measures, including objective pain score, tenderness score, number of painful joints, number of swollen joints, health assessment questionnaire (HAQ) score for quality of life, levels of serum rheumatoid factor (RF), anti-cyclic citrullinated protein antibodies (CCP-Ab), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C reactive protein (CRP), visual analogue score for pain (VAS), and the overall effificacy were detected and recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The objective pain score, number of painful joints and ESR at 12 weeks, tenderness score and HAQ at 24 weeks, and the tenderness score, number of painfull joints, number of swollen joints, HAQ, CRP, RF and CCP-Ab at 48 weeks were signifificantly improved in the EAA group compared with the control group (P<0.01 or P<0.05). At 24 and 48 weeks, the overall effificacy of the EAA group was signifificantly higher than the control group (P<0.01). There were signifificantly higher withdrawal rate of corticosteroids within 12 weeks post-treatment and lower incidence rate of adverse effects in the EAA group compared with the control group (P<0.01 or P<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  EAA plus methotrexate and leflflunomide were more effective and safer than the routine use of methotrexate and leflflunomide in the treatment of active RA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Rheumatology Center of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, General Hospital of Chengdu Military Area Command PLA, Chengdu, 610083, China. translie@live.cn.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Rheumatology Center of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, General Hospital of Chengdu Military Area Command PLA, Chengdu, 610083, China.
authors.forename: Ming-Yang
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Rheumatology Center of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, General Hospital of Chengdu Military Area Command PLA, Chengdu, 610083, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Rheumatology Center of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, General Hospital of Chengdu Military Area Command PLA, Chengdu, 610083, China.
authors.forename: Ming-Dong
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Yun
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Rheumatology Center of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, General Hospital of Chengdu Military Area Command PLA, Chengdu, 610083, China.
authors.forename: Jiao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Rheumatology Center of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, General Hospital of Chengdu Military Area Command PLA, Chengdu, 610083, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China.
authors.forename: Chang-Hong
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Xiao
mesh_terms: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000328:Adult; D031172:Artemisia annua / Q000737:chemistry*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D028761:Withholding Treatment
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D010936:Plant Extracts
keywords: Artemisia annua; Chinese medicine; leflflunomide; methotrexate; rheumatoid arthritis