Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jan 6, 2020; 8(1): 46-53
Published online Jan 6, 2020. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v8.i1.46
Potential role of the compound Eucommia bone tonic granules in patients with osteoarthritis and osteonecrosis: A retrospective study
Cheng-Xia Hu, Ke-Yao Hu, Jian-Feng Wang
Cheng-Xia Hu, Department of Pain, Haiyang People’s Hospital, Yantai 265100, Shandong Province, China
Ke-Yao Hu, Department of Urology, Yantaishan Hospital, Yantai 264001, Shandong Province, China
Jian-Feng Wang, Department of Pain, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan 250012, Shandong Province, China
Author contributions: Hu CX designed and performed the research; Hu KY analyzed the data; Wang JF wrote the paper.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Qilu Hospital of Shandong University.
Informed consent statement: All patients in our study provided informed consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare having no conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Jian-Feng Wang, MD, Attending Doctor, Department of Pain, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, No. 107, Wenhua West Road, Jinan 250012, Shandong Province, China. 18714779474@163.com
Received: October 28, 2019
Peer-review started: October 28, 2019
First decision: November 13, 2019
Revised: November 19, 2019
Accepted: November 23, 2019
Article in press: November 23, 2019
Published online: January 6, 2020
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Osteoarthritis is a major source of pain, disability, and socioeconomic cost worldwide. Osteonecrosis is a disabling disorder that frequently occurs in the younger population aged from 20-50 years. The compound Eucommia bone tonic granules, a traditional Chinese medicine, can alleviate the damage of osteoarthritis and osteonecrosis.

AIM

To investigate the potential role of the compound Eucommia bone tonic granules (Eucommia) in the treatment of patients with osteoarthritis and osteonecrosis.

METHODS

One-hundred forty osteoarthritis and osteonecrosis cases admitted to our hospital from January 2013 to December 2017 were selected. Patients were divided into two groups: Eucommia-meloxicam group and meloxicam group. Clinical efficacy and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) score were evaluated according to the evaluation criteria of orthopedic diseases. The levels of bone-GLA protein, interleukin-17, recombinant human S100 calcium binding protein A12, sphingosine 1-phosphate, cystatin C, creatinine, and hemoglobin in peripheral blood were determined.

RESULTS

The total effective rate in the two osteoarthritis groups was not different, but the total effective rate in the two osteonecrosis groups was significantly different. The overall efficacy of Eucommia-meloxicam group was superior to that of the meloxicam group. WOMAC showed that pain, stiffness, and dysfunction in the two groups of osteoarthritis and osteonecrosis before and after treatment were significantly different. The concentration of recombinant human S100 calcium binding protein A12, sphingosine 1-phosphate, cystatin C, creatinine, and hemoglobin before and after treatment in the Eucommia-meloxicam group and meloxicam group of osteoarthritis and osteonecrosis were significantly different, and the two treatment groups were significantly different from each other for osteoarthritis.

CONCLUSION

Our findings indicate that Eucommia can effectively enhance the curative effect of meloxicam, and the combination of Eucommia and meloxicam is superior to meloxicam alone.

Keywords: Osteoarthritis, Osteonecrosis, Eucommia, Patients, Meloxicam, Drug

Core tip: Eucommia enhances the curative effect of meloxicam, and combining Eucommia and meloxicam is effective for the treatment of osteoarthritis and osteonecrosis.