Table 2. Effect of silibinin on ESR and CRP levels and the clinical evaluation scores of patients with active RA maintained on MTX.
| Clinical score | Silibinin, n = 15 | Placebo, n = 15 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-treatment | Post-treatment | Pre-treatment | Post-treatment | |
| TJC | 14.1±0.23 | 9.6±0.37*a | 14.7±0.23 | 13.1±0.22*b |
| SJC | 6.2±0.2 | 4.9±0.18*a | 5.7±0.18 | 5.1±0.2*b |
| VAS, mm | 70.5±0.89 | 58.0±1.5*a | 68.8±1.0 | 62.5±1.0*b |
| EGA, cm | 7.1±0.2 | 4.9±0.24*a | 6.1±0.2 | 5.5±0.16b |
| ESR, mm/hr | 59.8± 3.0 | 48.1±2.0*a | 61.5±2.1 | 57.6±2.3b |
| CRP, mg/dL | 1.0±0.01 | 0.94±0.001*a | 1.01±0.01 | 0.98±0.007*a |
| DAS28 | 6.9±0.06 | 5.8±0.07*a | 6.6±0.1 | 6.1±0.1*b |
| SDAI | 35.9±0.3 | 26.6±0.27*a | 35.1±0.3 | 26.4±0.21*a |
| HAQDI | 1.7± 0.01 | 1.2±0.01*a | 1.7±0.008 | 1.3±0.003*b |
*significantly different compared to pre-treatment (p < 0.050); post-treatment values with different superscripts (a,b) within each parameter are significantly different (p < 0.050). RA: rheumatoid arthritis; TJC: tender joint count; SJC: swollen joint count; VAS: visual analogue scale; EGA: evaluator global assessment; ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate; CRP: C-reactive protein; DAS28: 28-joint disease activity score; SDAI: simple disease activity index; HAQDI: health assessment questionnaire disability index.