Objective : This study was performed in order to evaluate the effect of bee venom therapy on rheumatoid arthritis by randomized controlled double blind method. Methods : RA patients were recruited and divided into an experiment group and a control gro...
Objective : This study was performed in order to evaluate the effect of bee venom therapy on rheumatoid arthritis by randomized controlled double blind method. Methods : RA patients were recruited and divided into an experiment group and a control group by random selection. As a double blind test, the experiment group was treated with bee venom injection on acupoints, and the control group was treated with normal saline injection on acupoints twice a week for 8 weeks. Tender joint count, swollen joint count, morning stiffness, pain, health assessment questionnaire, ESR, and CRP were estimated and analyzed at baseline, and at 1 month and 2 months after bee venom therapy. Results : Compared to the control group, the experiment group showed significant decrease in tender joint count, swollen joint count, morning stiffness, and health assessment questionnaire after 2 months. Pain, ESR and CRP showed significant decrease in the experiment group after 1 & 2 months. Conclusions : These results suggests that bee venom therapy could be an effective method in the treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.