Objective: To observe the effect and adverse reaction of tripterygium polyglycosides (TP) combined with small dose of methotrexate (MTX) in treating senile rheumatoid arthritis (RA).Methods: Sixty old patients with RA were equally divided into two groups

the treated group was treated with oral intake of TP (10 mg three times per day) plus MTX (7.5 mg

once per week)

and the control group was treated with MTX (15 mg per week) respectively for 3 months. The changes from before to after treatment in resting pain

morning rigidity

bilateral grip strength

local tenderness index

arthroncus index

patient’s evaluation

doctor’s evaluation

erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)

C-reaction protein (CRP) and rheumatoid factor(RF) titre were observed and the clinical therapeutic effect assessed.Results: The total effective rate in the treated group was 86.67% and that in the control group 83.33%

showing insignificant difference between them (P>0.05). But the improvement in local tenderness index

arthroncus index

morning rigidity and ESR in the treated group was significantly better than those in the control group (P<0.01 orP<0.05). The occurrence rate of adverse reaction in the treated group was 26.67%

which was lower than that in the control group (43.33%)

showing significant difference (P<0.01).Conclusion: TP combined with small dose of MTX is a favorable therapeutic method for treating senile RA.