EA could effectively lower the contents of TNF-α and VEGF in peripheral blood and joint synovia to improve the internal environment for genesis and development of RA, so as to enhance the clinical therapeutic effectiveness.

Many reports have described HLA-DRB1 genes as having an influence on disease severity and susceptibility in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Studies were undertaken to define the effect of RA-associated alleles on disease severity in Korean patients with seropositive RA. The results indicate that the most common RA susceptibility allele, HLA-DRB1*0405, is significantly associated with bony erosion, joint deformity and extra-articular manifestations. However, RA-associated alleles in Koreans have less effect on nodular disease than in Caucasians. This suggests that the presence of RA-associated alleles, especially HLA-DRB1*0405, seems to be a prognostic marker for severe erosive disease in Koreans.

Objective. To compare the efficacy of warming needle moxibustion (WNM) with that of drug therapy for treating knee osteoarthritis (KOA), so as to provide evidence-based reference for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis. Methods. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, VIP, WanFang, and CNKI were searched from inception to March 23, 2022. Literature selection was processed in strict accordance with inclusion and exclusion criteria. Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment tool was applied for quality assessment of included studies. Data analysis and publication bias assessment were performed using Stata 15.0. Results. There were 30 RCTs included, with 1324 participants in the WNM group and 1293 in the control group. Meta-analysis showed that the WNM group yielded more excellent effect than the control group ( R R = 1.22 , 95% CI (1.17, 1.27), p = 0 ), improvement in WOMAC scores was greater in the WNM group than in the control group ( WMD = − 8.48 , 95% CI (-13.13, -3.83), p = 0.002 ), activity of daily living (ADL) score was higher in the WNM group than in the control group ( WMD = − 7.66 , 95% CI (-10.22, -5.09), p = 0.01 ), improvement in joint stiffness scores was greater in the WNM group than in the control group (WMD = -1.72, 95% CI (-2.50, -0.93), p = 0.005 ), and improvement in pain scores was greater in the WNM group than in the control group ( SMD = − 1.09 , 95% CI (-1.38, -0.79), p = 0.001 ). Conclusions. WNM would be more effective in improving quality of life, decreasing WOMAC score, promoting knee function recovery, and alleviating the joint pain and stiffness, compared with orally taken drug therapies. Therefore, WNM could be given prior consideration for the treatment of KOA.

No abstract