A comparison of choline magnesium trisalicylate and acetylsalicylic acid in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Choline and Aspirin in the context of rheumatoid arthritis in this randomized controlled trial publication.

Who Took Part

The study group was 19 patients.

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were teenagers, adults, middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

Patients were allocated to receive 3-weeks' treatment with each trial drug in random sequence and were assessed at Weeks-1, 0, 3 and 6.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized, double-blind and crossover study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Choline and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

As a double-blind Choline study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

Each person switched between Choline and the comparison at some point, usually with a gap in between.

What Was Measured

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal, Arthritis, Rheumatoid, Aspirin, Choline, Disability Evaluation, Pain Measurement and Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and crossover study of Choline and Aspirin in 19 patients in people with rheumatoid arthritis.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The publication is from 1990 (Current medical research and opinion), a journal based in England.

More context: Rheumatoid arthritis research.