To observe the effect of warm needle moxibustion (WNM) on knee-joint swelling and expression of sirtuin 1 (SIRT 1, a class Ⅲ histone/protein deacetylase) and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) in synovial tissue in rats with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Fifty SD rats were randomly divided into five groups:normal control, model, SIRT 1-inhibitor, WNM, and SIRT 1-inhibitor plus WNM (inhibitor+WNM), 
After modeling, the knee-joint volume, serum IL-1 β, IL-6 and IL-8 contents, and the expression of NF-κB p 65 protein in synovial tissue of knee-joint were considerably increased relevant to the normal control group (
Warm needle moxibustion can relieve inflammatory reactions of RA rats, which may be associated to its effect in modulating SIRT 1/NF-κB p 65 signaling in the synovial tissue.