[Effect of strengthening Pi and activating blood circulation therapy on serum levels of adrenocorticotrophic hormone and vascular endothelial growth factor in rheumatoid arthritis patients]

Plain-language guide to PMID 17717914 (2007): randomized controlled trial study of ACTH (Corticotropin), rheumatoid arthritis.

Key Facts

PMID: 17717914
Journal: Zhongguo Zhong xi yi jie he za zhi Zhongguo Zhongxiyi jiehe zazhi = Chinese journal of integrated traditional and Western medicine
Year: 2007
Study type: Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Yu JP et al. (3 authors)

What This Study Did, in Plain Language

What Was Tested

Researchers studied ACTH (Corticotropin) in the context of rheumatoid arthritis in this randomized controlled trial publication.

To observe the effect of strengthening Pi and activating blood circulation therapy (SPAB) on serum levels of adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

Who Took Part

The age groups tagged for this paper are young adults, adults, middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

Seventy RA patients were randomly assigned to 3 groups.

The 30 in the Chinese medicine (CM) group were treated with SPAB; the 20 in the Western medicine (WM) group were treated with indomethacin and methopterin; and the 20 in the CM-WM group were treated with the combination of the therapy in the above two groups, and the course of treatment was 3 months for all.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got ACTH (Corticotropin) and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

Serum levels of ACTH and VEGF were determined before and after treatment.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Adrenocorticotropic Hormone, Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal, Antirheumatic Agents, Arthritis, Rheumatoid, Diagnosis, Differential, Drugs, Chinese Herbal and Indomethacin.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized study of ACTH (Corticotropin) in people with rheumatoid arthritis.

Its findings take up roughly 3 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 2007 (Zhongguo Zhong xi yi jie he za zhi Zhongguo Zhongxiyi jiehe zazhi = Chinese journal of integrated traditional and Western medicine), a journal based in China.

More context: the ACTH (Corticotropin) compound page, Rheumatoid arthritis research.

Our Notes on the Compound

ACTH (Corticotropin): The 39-amino-acid pituitary hormone that drives cortisol production; given as repository corticotropin (Acthar Gel).

Source: PubMed record. This explanation is written by PeptideWhiz from the public record. For research and education only. Not medical advice; no dosing information is given.