Effects of Rebixiao Granules (热痹消颗粒剂) on Blood Uric Acid in Patients with Repeatedly Attacking Acute Gouty Arthritis

Objective: To observe the clinical effect of Rebixiao granule (热痹消颗粒剂, RBXG) in treating repeatedly attacking acute gouty arthritis and through experimental study on blood uric acid to explore RBXG's therapeutic mechanism. Methods: Ninety repeatedly attacking acute gouty arthritis patients were divided into the treated group ( n =60) and control group ( n =30). The treated group was treated with RBXG, and the control group was treated with Futalin tablets (diclofenac sodium). The baseline treatment including good rest, low purine diet, sufficient water drinking and urine alkalization, etc. was then given to both groups. Hypoxanthine 600 mg/kg and niacin 100 mg/kg was applied to hyperuricemic mice by gastrogavage to establish the animal models. Results: The clinical effective rate of the treated group was 95.0% and that of the control 90.0%. Good therapeutic effects were won, insignificant difference ( P >0.05)was shown between the two groups. However, the cure rate of the treated group was 26.7% while that of the control group was 10.0%, with significant difference ( P <0.01) shown between them. The treated group had its blood uric acid lowered, which was significantly different ( P <0.05) from that of the control group. The animal experiment indicated that all the three groups treated with different dosages of RBXG, as well as the Ash bark and Smilax glabra rhizome groups had their blood uric acid content reduced in the hyperuricemic mice. Conclusion: RBXG has a quicker initiation and better treatment effects than sole anti-inflammatory and analgesic agents on the treatment of repeatedly attacking acute gouty arthritis, showing no obvious toxic or adverse reactions and therefore good for long-term administration and likely to be a safe TCM preparation to control the symptoms and reduce the onsets of repeatedly attacking of acute gouty arthritis. The animal experiment shows that both the compound preparation and part of the single ingredients in the recipe have the function of reducing blood uric acid. However, the compound recipe has better therapeutic effects, proving to be superior to single drugs.

Effect of Simiao Liangxue Granule on Acute Gouty Arthritis in Rats

[Objectives]To study the anti-inflammatory effect of Simiao Liangxue granule on the rats with acute gouty arthritis(AGA).[Methods]A total of 60 male SD rats were randomly divided into 6 groups with 10 rats in each group.The rats in the colchicine group were intragastrically administered with 0.65 mg/kg colchicine,and the rats in low,medium and high dose groups of Simiao Liangxue granule were intragastrically administered with Simiao Liangxue granule with mass concentration of 0.4,0.8 and 1.6 g/kg,respectively.The rats in the normal control group and the model group were given the same amount of normal saline for 7 d,and the acute gouty arthritis model was prepared 1 h after administration on the 5th d.At the end of the experiment,the degree of joint swelling and joint inflammation index,the content of interleukin-1β,tumor necrosis factor-a and cyclooxygenase-2 in articular cartilage,and the content of interleukin-8,NO and UA in serum of rats were measured,and the histomorphological observation was performed.[Results]Compared with the normal control group,the joints of rats were swollen to different degrees,the inflammation score was significantly increased,and the content of IL-1β,TNF-αand COX-2 in the soft tissue of the joints was significantly increased in each group(P<0.05);compared with the model group,the joint swelling degree and inflammation score of rats in the colchicine group and Simiao Liangxue granule group were significantly decreased,the content of IL-1β,TNF-αand COX-2 in the joint soft tissue was also significantly decreased(P<0.05),and the indexes of each dose group of Simiao Liangxue granule were similar to those of the colchicine group;compared with the normal control group,the content of IL-8,NO and UA in the joint soft tissue of rats was significantly increased in each group(P<0.05);compared with the model group,the content of all indexes in joint soft tissue of rats in normal control group,colchicine group and Simiao Liangxue granule group were significantly decreased(P<0.05);the content of various indexes in the joint soft tissue of rats in the low and medium dose groups of Simiao Liangxue granule was higher than that in the colchicine group,and decreased significantly with the increase of the dose of Simiao Liangxue granule(P<0.05);the inflammatory index decreased significantly with the increase of the dose of Simiao Liangxue granule(P<0.05);the inflammation and degeneration in each dose group of Simiao Liangxue granule were milder than those in the model group,and the symptoms were relieved to some extent with the increase of dose(P<0.05).[Conclusions]Simiao Liangxue granule has the effect of anti-inflammation and detumescence,and its mechanism may be related to the content of factors that reduce inflammation including IL-1β,TNF-α,C0X-2,IL-8,NO and UA.

A network pharmacology approach to explore action mechanisms of Si Miao decoction for treating acute gouty arthritis

Objective:To Find the core targets and drug action mechanism of Si Miao decoction for the treatment of acute gouty arthritis.Methods:Through the TCMSP database,the chemical composition of all the drugs in Si Miao decoction was obtained.The Perl script was compiled and the UniProt database was searched to determine the corresponding target of the chemical composition.Then,the disease databases such as OMIM,DisGeNET,and GeneCards were searched in order to determine acute gouty arthritis Related targets.Finally,screen common targets for drugs and diseases,use the STRING database and Cytoscape software to build a network control map of drugs-chemical components-targets-disease.Use R language software to screen common targets and find the four best The core targets of San for the treatment of acute gouty arthritis.The GO and KEGG analysis of the core targets were performed to clarify the core targets and mechanism of Si Miao decoction for the treatment of gout.Results:There are 64 effective chemical components in Si Miao decoction,197 genetic targets,600 disease targets,and 58 common targets.It is predicted that IL6,VEGFA,IL1B,JUN,PTGS2,and CCL2 may be treated by Si Miao decoction for gout The core target of arthritis.GO enrichment analysis identified 85 entries,of which biological processes mainly included the regulation of cytokine activity,protease activation,nucleic acid expression,etc.;KEGG pathway enrichment analysis identified 135 signaling pathways,of which signaling pathways involved the IL-17 signaling pathway,TNF signaling pathway,Th17 cell differentiation and other pathways.Conclusion:Si Miao decoction acts on acute gouty arthritis by regulating the occurrence of inflammation,and has significant anti-inflammatory and immune effects.The formula is rigorous and scientific,and it is worthy of clinical application.

Study on anti-inflammatory mechanism and effects of Flemingia Roxb.exAit extract intervene acute gouty arthritis in rats

Objective:To investigate the effect and anti-inflammatory mechanism the effect of Flemingia Roxb.exAit extract on acute gouty arthritis.Methods:Sixty SD rats were randomly divided into 6 groups by weight,control and model group,(100、150、200 mg/kg)of Flemingia Roxb.exAit extract group and colchicine group.The rats of each group were given by intragastric for 7 days of continuous administration,meanwhile,there were given 0.9%NaCl solution instead as control and model group.The acute gouty arthritis model was constructed through right ankle joint cavity injection of sodium urate crystal solutionon day 5 after 1 h,but rats in the negative control group were injected with 0.9%NaCl solution into the articular cavity of the right foot.The general condition of rats and the degree of joint swelling,and the gait was observed after constructed model.To detected the joint fluid IL-1β、TNF-α、IL-6 indicators,and the expression of NLRP3,Caspase-1 protein in ankle joint tissue for 2 hours after the last administration.Results:Groups of Flemingia Roxb.exAit extract could markedly reduce the joint swelling on acute gouty arthritis rat model,improve gait in a dose-dependent manner,high dose group of Flemingia Roxb.exAit extract did particularly well(Pjoint swelling<0.01;Pgait<0.05),close to the therapeutic effect colchicine group.Further mechanism studies show that the joint fluid IL-1β、TNF-α、IL-6 level was reduced by Flemingia Roxb.exAit extract group,the expressions of NLRP3、Caspase-1 protein of Flemingia Roxb.exAit extract group was decreased observbly than model group,but the most obvious is that high dose group as well as colchicine group(PNALP3<0.01;PCaspase-1<0.01).Conclusion:Flemingia Roxb.exAit extract has the effect of treating acute gouty arthritis and its mechanism may be related toinhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation and inhibiting inflammatory response.

Efficacy and safety of Huzhang Granule,a compound Chinese herbal medicine,for acute gouty arthritis:A double-blind,randomized controlled trial

Background:Acute gouty arthritis(AGA)is an inflammatory joint disease with a high prevalence.Typical medical interventions,including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs,colchicine and glucocorticoids,can have serious adverse reactions.Huzhang Granule(HZG),a compound Chinese herbal medicine,has been used to treat AGA for more than 30 years with satisfactory effects and no significant adverse reactions.However,the efficacy and safety of HZG in AGA patients remains unknown.Objective:The present investigation was designed to examine the efficacy and safety profile of HZG in managing AGA patients.Design,setting,participants and interventions:The current study was conducted as a noninferiority,randomized controlled clinical trial on 180 eligible enrolled participants.Participants were randomly assigned into the HZG and etoricoxib groups.Treatments were administered for 5 d,during which the HZG group received HZG and placebo etoricoxib,while the etoricoxib group received etoricoxib and placebo HZG in the same ratio(1:1).Main outcome measures:The primary outcome was pain experienced by the patient in the gout-afflicted joint from days 2 to 5 of the treatment window.The pain level was measured via a visual analogue scale,ranging from 0 mm to 100 mm.The secondary outcomes comprised joint tenderness and swelling,reduction of inflammatory biomarkers,and the patient’s and investigator’s global evaluations of therapeutic response.Results:The mean reduction in pain was-51.22 mm(95%confidence interval[CI],[-53.42,-49.03]mm)for the HZG and-52.00 mm(95%CI,[-54.06,-49.94]mm)for the etoricoxib groups.The mean difference between the two groups was 0.78 mm(95%CI,[-2.25,3.81]mm).All additional efficacy endpoints,covering decreased inflammation and pain relief,yielded compelling proof of noninferiority.Patients in the HZG group exhibited a comparatively lower rate of adverse events compared to those in the etoricoxib group(4.44%vs 13.33%;P≤0.05).Conclusion:HZG and etoricoxib groups demonstrated similar levels of analgesic effectiveness.The safety and efficacy of HZG indicates that it can be used as a potential therapeutic option for treating AGA.

Randomized and Controlled Clinical Study of Modified Prescriptions of Simiao Pill(四妙丸) in the Treatment of Acute Gouty Arthritis

Objective： To investigate the compatibility of a modified prescription of Simiao Pill （四妙丸） in the treatment of acute gouty arthritis and to verify the clinical efficacy and safety of the drug through a clinical trial. Methods： A randomized and controlled clinical trial was designed based on clinical epidemiological principles. A total of 107 patients with acute gouty arthritis were enrolled and randomly assigned to four groups. The first group （Group Ⅰ ） included 27 patients taking gout prescription Ⅰ ; the second group （Group Ⅱ ） included 27 patients taking gout prescription Ⅱ ; the third group （Group Ⅲ） included 28 patients taking gout prescription Ⅲ; and the fourth group （control group） included 25 patients taking indomethacin and Benzobromarone as a control group. The duration of the treatment in all 4 groups was two weeks. After the treatment, the index of blood uric acid, blood leukocyte count, score of clinical symptoms, etc. were observed and measured. Results： The total clinical effective rate of the three different modified prescriptions of the Simiao Pill was above 96%, significantly superior to that of the control group （68%, P〈0.05）. In terms of the improvement of main symptoms, the scores of four symptoms in all TCM treatment and control groups decreased after treatment, with statistically significant differences （P〈0.05）. Moreover, the scores markedly fell more so in the three Chinese herb groups than in the control group, and especially in Group Ⅲ （P〈0.05）. There was a statistically significant difference in blood uric acid values before and after the treatment in the same group but no significant inter-group difference was seen. Conclusion： The modified prescriptions, based on the clinical research, clinical experience and traditional Chinese medicine theory, did show a better effect than Western medicine in this clinical study. Moreover, the prescriptions were precise, with the herbs inexpensive and readily available. The patients had good compliance with less adverse reactions noted. The modified prescription has a favorable prospect for future development and is worthy of further blind trials with larger samples. KEY WORDS Simiao Pill, acute gouty arthritis, randomized and controlled, clinical research

Comparative Study on Treatment of Acute Gouty Arthritis by Electroacupuncture with Different Frequency

Objective： To study the therapeutic effect of treatment of acute gouty arthritis （AGA） respectively by electroacupuncture （EA） with different frequency and oral intake of Western medicine. Methods： Seventy-two patients of AGA were randomly assigned into three groups, 24 in each group. Group A was treated with EA 100 Hz; Group B with EA 2 Hz; and Group C with Western medicine. The analgesic effect, initiating time and sustaining time of analgesia were observed and the level of serum uric acid was measured before and after treatment. Results： The initiating time of analgesia was shorter while the sustaining time of analgesia was longer in Group A and B than those in Group C （all P〈0.01）. The efficacy of analgesia was higher in Group B than that in Group A , and a better effect was shown in Group B in reducing serum uric acid level than that in Group A （P〈0.01）, which was near that in Group C （P〉0.05）. Conclusion： EA is an effective treatment for AGA, and low frequency （2 Hz） EA showed a better efficacy.