Trial reportAnnals of the rheumatic diseases1997
Putative analgesic activity of repeated oral doses of vitamin E in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Results of a prospective placebo controlled double blind trial.
Trial report in Annals of the rheumatic diseases, 1997. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 139 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- The Efficacy of Antioxidative Stress Therapy on Oxidative Stress Levels in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Antioxidant supplements for prevention of mortality in healthy participants and patients with various diseases.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2012Pooled it
- Trial
- Effect of vitamin E on oxidative stress level in blood, synovial fluid, and synovial tissue in severe knee osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled study.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2017Trial
- Anti-inflammatory response of dietary vitamin E and its effects on pain and joint structures during early stages of surgically induced osteoarthritis in dogs.Canadian journal of veterinary research = Revue canadienne de recherche veterinaire · 2013Trial
- Vitamin E in the primary prevention of rheumatoid arthritis: the Women's Health Study.Arthritis and rheumatism · 2008Trial
- Antioxidant intervention in rheumatoid arthritis: results of an open pilot study.Clinical rheumatology · 2008Trial
- Nutrient supplementation with polyunsaturated fatty acids and micronutrients in rheumatoid arthritis: clinical and biochemical effects.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2004Trial
- Antioxidant intake, plasma antioxidants and oxidative stress in a randomized, controlled, parallel, Mediterranean dietary intervention study on patients with rheumatoid arthritis.Nutrition journal · 2003Trial
- Vitamin E is ineffective for symptomatic relief of knee osteoarthritis: a six month double blind, randomised, placebo controlled study.Annals of the rheumatic diseases · 2001Trial
- Hepatic control of immunometabolism: implications for the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of rheumatic diseases.Nature reviews. Rheumatology · 2026Review
- The Pathophysiological Role of Mitochondrial Oxidative Stress in Rheumatic Diseases.Journal of inflammation research · 2025Review
- Nrf2-mediated ferroptosis inhibition: a novel approach for managing inflammatory diseases.Inflammopharmacology · 2024Review
- Review
- Review of Liquid Vitamin A and E Formulations in Veterinary and Livestock Production: Applications and Perspectives.Veterinary sciences · 2024Review
- Effect of surgery on oxidative stress and endogenous tocopherol concentrations in juvenile female dogs.Acta veterinaria Scandinavica · 2024Article
- Ironing out the role of ferroptosis in immunity.Immunity · 2024Review
- Oxidative Stress Mediated Therapy in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveVitamin E, the most potent naturally occurring lipid soluble antioxidant has been suggested to possess both anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity in humans. This double blind and randomised study used a broad spectrum of clinical and laboratory parameters to investigate whether there was any additional anti-inflammatory or analgesic effects, or both, of orally administered alpha-tocopherol in rheumatoid arthritis patients who were already receiving anti-rheumatic drugs.
methodsForty two patients were enrolled and treated with alpha-tocopherol (n = 20) at a dose of 600 mg twice a day (2 x 2 capsules) or with placebo (n = 22) for 12 weeks. The following parameters were measured: (1) Three clinical indices of inflammation--the Ritchie articular index, the duration of morning stiffness, and the number of swollen joints; (2) three measures of pain--pain in the morning, pain in the evening, and pain after chosen activity; (3) haematological and biochemical measures of inflammatory activity; (4) assays for the oxidative modification of proteins and lipids.
resultsAll laboratory measures of inflammatory activity and oxidative modification were unchanged. Furthermore, the clinical indices of inflammation were not influenced by the treatment. However, the pain parameters were significantly decreased after vitamin E treatment when compared with placebo.
conclusionThe results provide preliminary evidence that vitamin E may exert a small but significant analgesic activity independent of a peripheral anti-inflammatory effect, but which complements standard anti-inflammatory treatment.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.