Natural Product Research and Development – Rheumatology Special Topic
Rheumatic diseases are an extremely common clinical syndrome characterized by joint pain and fear of wind and cold, characterized by inflammation, degeneration, or metabolic disorders, especially in bones, joints, and surrounding soft tissues. There are over 100 types of rheumatic diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, dermatomyositis, osteoarthritis, scleroderma, ankylosing spondylitis, etc., which have brought a huge burden to the world. At present, there is no ideal treatment for most rheumatic diseases such as dermatomyositis, scleroderma, and osteoarthritis. Many conventional drugs, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, glucocorticoids, immunosuppressants, etc., although can alleviate pain, slow down disease, and prevent further damage, often cause one or more adverse reactions, such as leukopenia, liver dysfunction, nausea, osteoporosis, etc. Therefore, it is imperative to develop safe, effective, and low side effect drugs.
More and more studies have shown that natural medicines have significant advantages in preventing and treating rheumatic diseases. For example, traditional Chinese medicine has been proven to be effective in using complex formula combinations to treat rheumatic diseases, and can to some extent reduce and inhibit adverse reactions caused by Western medicine. The natural medicines included in it, such as horsehair, aconite, and green wind vine, contain various bioactive ingredients that exert anti rheumatic effects through pathways such as combating inflammatory mediators, inhibiting excessive immune responses, oxidative stress, and cell degeneration. Therefore, this special topic aims to gather original research and review articles, providing references for the research and development of natural products with anti rheumatic diseases.