J Rheumatol. 2003 Mar; 30(3): 465-7.

A randomized double blind, placebo controlled trial of topical Tripterygium wilfordii in rheumatoid arthritis: reanalysis using logistic regression analysis.

Cibere J, Deng Z, Lin Y, Ou R, He Y, Wang Z, Thorne A, Lehman AJ, Tsang IK, Esdaile JM.

Arthritis Research Centre of Canada and the Canadian HIV Trials Network, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of topical Tripterygium wilfordii (TW), a Chinese herbal therapy, in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: A 6 week randomized double blind placebo controlled study of 61 patients with RA meeting American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria was conducted in China. The primary outcome was a modified ACR-20 response rate, analyzed by logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The modified ACR-20 response rate differed significantly (topical TW 58% vs placebo 20%; p = 0.002). There was an 8.1-fold (95% CI 1.9-35.4) increase in the modified ACR-20 response for the TW compared to the placebo group, adjusted for age and erythrocyte sedimentation rate. CONCLUSION: Topical TW appears efficacious for the treatment of RA, but larger studies are needed.