Acupuncture for rheumatoid arthritis: A randomized, sham-controlled clinical trial

Objective: To assess the clinical effects of acupuncture in treating rheumatoid arthritis. Methods: Seventy patients fulfilled at least 4 items of the diagnostic criteria for rheumatoid arthritis of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). All patients were instructed not to receive other relevant therapies during research. Patients were randomized into a treatment group and a control group by computer generated assigned codes to receive real acupuncture and sham acupuncture respectively. The codes of randomization were hidden from doctors and patients. Patients were studied before and after the whole acupuncture treatment sessions (36 treatments). The results were assessed according to changes of ESR mm/h, CRP mg/L, rheumatoid factor (RF), the radiological changes (the erosion and osteoporosis of hand or wrist joint), the intensity of pain by visual analogue scale (VAS), the modified questionnaire according to Laitinen and Zytkowski (the intensity of pain, frequency of pain, medicines, limitation of motive activity). Results: No significant differences in comparison of any parameters were shown before treatment. After treatment, the results of VAS and modified questionnaire were far better in the treatment group than in the control. Conclusion: Acupuncture can achieve a positive result compared with the sham, and it is effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis. © 2011 Shanghai Research Institute of Acupuncture and Meridian and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.