| Disease | 30 PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS WERE DIVIDED INTO 2 GROUPS. 1 GROUP RECEIVED THE PLANT EXTRACT AS 20 MG TABLETS, 2 TABLETS 3 TIMES DAILY. THE OTHER GROUP RECEIVED TRIPTOLIDE TABLETS (0.25 MG) 2-3 TIMES DAILY. DURING THE COURSE OF
TREATMENT NO OTHER CHINESE MEDICINE NOR NON-STEROID ANTIINFLAMMATORY AGENTS WERE GIVEN TO THE PATIENTS. THOSE ALREADY RECEIVING STEROID HORMONE TREATMENT CONTINUED TO TAKE THE MEDICATION. DOSES OF STEROIDS WERE GRADUALLY DECREASED WHEN
IMPROVEMENT WAS OBSERVED. IN THE EXTRACT-TREATED GROUP THE AVERAGE TIME OF TREATMENT WAS 16.8 DAYS. AMONG THE 8 PATIENTS RECEIVING STEROIDS, 3 WERE WITHDRAWN AND 5 WERE MAINTAINED AT LOWER DOSES, IN THIS GROUP OF 15 SUBJECTS WITH RHEUMATOID
ARTHRITIS, THERE WERE NO SIDE EFFECTS IN 3 PATIENTS. IN 12 CASES, GASTROINTESTINAL SIDE EFFECTS WERE OBSERVED, SKIN MUCOSAL REACTIONS IN 3 AND SGPT LEVELS INCREASED IN 2 CASES. RESULTS WERE SIMILAR IN PATIENTS RECEIVING TRIPTOLIDE, THE
FOLLOWING INDICES WERE MEASURED: PAIN INDEX, SWELLING INDEX, FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY INDEX, TOTAL INFLAMMATORY INDEX, FUNCTIONAL CLASS, ESR(MM/HR) AND RHEUMATOID FACTOR. IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT TRIPTOLIDE WAS THE ACTIVE, ALBEIT TOXIC INGREDIENT
IN THE EXTRACT. IN THE TRIPTOLIDE TREATED GROUP (15 SUBJECTS) THE AVERAGE TIME OF TREATMENT WAS 22.5 DAYS. AMONG THE 9 PATIENTS ALSO RECEIVING STEROIDS, 6 WERE DISCONTINUED AND 3 MAINTAINED AT A LOWER DOSE. IN THIS GROUP OF 15 PATIENTS THERE
WERE NO SIDE EFFECTS (4 CASES) AND SIDE EFFECTS IN 11 CASES. THESE INCLUDED DIZZINESS AND WEAKNESS (1 CASE), GASTROINTESTINAL DISTURBANCES (10 CASES), SGPT LEVELS INCREASED (3 CASES), AND SLIGHT LEUKOPENIA (1 CASE). THE FOLLOGING INDICES WERE
MEASURED: PAIN, FUNCTIONAL CLASS, SWELLING, DISABILITY, TOTAL INFLAMMATION, ESR (MM/HR) AND RHEUMATOID FACTOR. IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT TRIPTOLIDE WAS THE ACTIVE, ALBEIT TOXIC INGREDIENT IN THE EXTRACT. |