<p>Association of Chinese Herbal Medicines Use with Development of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Among Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Population-Based Cohort Study</p>

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients appear to report a higher risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). While Chinese herbal medicine (CHMs) is proven to lower COPD risk, the scientific evidence regarding its effect in relation to COPD onset among them is limited. This longitudinal cohort study aimed to determine the relationship between CHMs use and the COPD risk in RA patients. Methods: Using the nationwide claim data, 8349 patients newly diagnosed with RA and simultaneously free of COPD between 1998 and 2010 were eligible for enrollment. From this sample, we enrolled 3360 CHMs users and 3360 non-CHMs users, randomly selected using propensity scores matching from the remaining cases. They were followed until the end of 2012 to record COPD incidence. The hazard ratio (HR) of COPD with regard to CHMs use was estimated by the Cox proportional hazards regression model. Results: In the follow-up period, 136 CHMs users and 202 non-CHMs users developed COPD, representing incidence rates of 5.16 and 7.66, respectively, per 1000 person-years. CHMs use was associated with a 32% lower subsequent risk of COPD

Effect of Chinese Herbal Medicines on Hearing Loss Risk in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: Retrospective Claims Analysis

“…Second, a reliable index of RA severity was unavailable from the LHID, and failure to control for this factor may bias the findings. To address this potential problem, we performed two sensitivity analyses: one limited the analysis to the patients without comorbidity, and the other added the prescription of biological agents for 6 months or longer, a common surrogate used for RA severity ( 34 , 35 ), to the analyses. These sensitivity analyses support that disease severity was not likely to introduce a remarkable effect on our conclusion—adding CHM to conventional therapy may reduce the subsequent risk of HL in RA patients.…”

Integrating Chinese Herbal Medicine into Conventional Care Was Related to Lower Risk of Sarcopenia Among Rheumatid Arthritis Patients: A Retrospective, Population-Based Study

“…In this investigation, CHM users were clarified as having ever visited a practitioner and having application of Chinese herbs during the entire time frame analyzed in the study. In accordance with the a priori rule 11 , 12 the enrollees who used CHM for >30 days were defined as CHM users, and those who utilized CHM treatment for fewer than 30 days were considered non-CHM users. To reduce selection bias arising from participation or non-participation in CHM treatment, we randomly selected a comparison using 1:1 propensity score matching.…”

“…10 At present, Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has been widely employed for the treatment of a variety of chronic diseases. 11,12 Several studies have addressed how the ingredients in CHM products may lessen bone disease progression and aid in the prevention of joint deformities. For instance, via the regulation of NF-κB signaling, Corydalis is believed to regulate serum pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-6, TNF-alpha and nitric oxide (NO), 13 all of which may progressively cause muscle wasting and apoptosis.…”

Traditional Chinese Medicine in Patients With Primary Sjogren's Syndrome: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

“…The classification of patients with pSS based on diagnostic methods in Eastern medicine is also a difficult task. The mechanism of Jia-Wei-Xiao-Yao-San (JWXYS) in autoimmune disease was observed to increase synaptic plasticity and decrease the levels of inflammatory markers by upregulating the expression of hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) (5)(6)(7). Suan-Zao-Ren-Tang (SZRT) could regulate the gammaaminobutyric acid-ergic(GABA) system in plasma which is crucial in the etiology of psychiatric disorders (8).…”