Effects Of Compound Rhubarb Powder On PI3K-AKT?VEGF In Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis

This study performed to observe the effect of Compound Rhubarb Powder on rheumatoid arthritis(RA)by detecting serum levels of PI3 K,AKT and VEGF.Sixty untreated RA patients were grouped randomly into two groups: control group(methotrexate only),experimental group(methotrexate combined with compound rhubarb powder),with 30 in each group treated for one month.Assessment of joint pain was made by visual analogue scale(VAS),the safety indexes and DAS28 were examined before and after treatments.Meanwhile outcome measures included erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR),Rheumatoid factor(RF),C-reactive protein(CRP).The expressions of PI3 K,AKT and VEGF in blood serum and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide(CCP)antibody were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).The results showed that two groups of patients with joint swelling,joint tenderness,VAS and DAS28 were both decreased after treatment,espcially experimental group(P<0.05).After treatment,the ESR,CRP and RF of the experimental group decreased obviously(P<0.05)besides anti-CCP-antibody.The levels of serum PI3 K and AKT were decreased in the two groups,and the level of AKT in the experimental group was decreased significantly(P<0.05).The level of VEGF in the experimental group was decreased,but the levels of VEGF in two groups had no significant difference after treatment.Results of ourstudy demonstrated that external application of compound rhubarb powder combined with methotrexate can alleviate joint inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis patients,and its mechanism may be related to inhibition of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and VEGF expression.