Celastrol in Thunder God Vine May Help to Prevent Bone Damage in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid Arthritis is a nasty disease. It can be manageable for some, crippling for others, and the cost of the medication to mask the symptoms (there is no cure) or help to prevent further damage is high – both in relation to the dollar amount, and the cost to the body in side effects.

Natural cures are being sought after more and more in an age where people are finally realizing that modern medicine may NOT be the answer to a holistic, whole body treatment of ailments. For so many, modern medicine consists of pills to mask symptoms, which produce side effects, which then take more pills to treat, which have their own side effects …. It’s the epitome of the snake eating its own tail.

Since Rheumatoid Arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease, it is constantly battling the body, producing bone erosion and damage to cartilage in the joints. Most of the drugs developed to manage the symptoms of RA fight the pain, but they don’t protect the individual from the devastating bone damage that RA can produce. And the powerful medication used for RA are usually associated with adverse reactions, especially after a prolonged period of use.

So, what can one suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis DO? Just suffer?

No. For centuries, Chinese medical practitioners have been using an herb called thunder god vine. The portion of the plant they use is an extract of the skinned root, the only portion of the vine that is edible. An active compound in the thunder-god vine is called “Celastrol”, and it is being tested in labs for efficiency in treatment of auto-immune induced arthritises.

Dr. Nanjundaiah and his team of researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine tested Celastrol in a laboratory induced rheumatoid Arthritis (called Adjuvant-Induced, meaning they “give” the lab animals RA). What the researchers found with their test was that “The treatment of arthritic rats with celastrus/celastrol suppressed inflammatory arthritis and reduced bone and cartilage damage in the joints as demonstrated by histology and bone histomorphometry”.

According to the group of scientists, the way that Celastrol worked to suppress the disease and reduce damage was that the Celastrol moderated what they call “osteoimmune cross-talk”. Bone marrow is key in developing the immune system, and cells called “cytokines”, produced by immune cells, have an effect on the skeletal system. Celastrol helps to regulate this “communication” between cells which in turn, reduces the damage to cells caused by an out of control immune system (Nanjundaiah et. al).

More About Thunder God Vine

Thunder god vine (Tripteryglum Wilfordii) has been used in Chinese medicine centuries, predominantly as a treatment for inflammation and as a cancer treatment. It has immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory properties that Chinese doctors have exploited for centuries. Thunder god vine extract should not be used by women who are nursing or pregnant, or by couples who are actively trying to procreate, as it may cause suppression of sperm quality.

If you are looking to buy thunder god vine, it is available for you to purchase right here.

References

Nanjundaiah, Siddaraju M. et al. “Celastrus and Its Bioactive Celastrol Protect against Bone Damage in Autoimmune Arthritis by Modulating Osteoimmune Cross-Talk.” The Journal of Biological Chemistry 287.26 (2012): 22216–22226. PMC. Web. 24 July 2015.