An ancient Chinese herbal remedy called “thunder god vine” helps reduce inflammation in people with rheumatoid arthritis, a new study shows.

The remedy is an extract of the medicinal plant Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F (TwHF) — known in China as “lei gong teng” — and has been used for centuries to treat a variety of inflammatory diseases.

The study compared reduction in joint swelling among people with rheumatoid arthritis who took either the herb or an anti-inflammatory drug.

Rheumatoid arthritis causes chronic and painful inflammation of the joints that, over time, can lead to joint damage and loss of function.

The 121 participants in the study all had at least six swollen joints. One group took 60 milligrams of TwHF root extract three times a day, and the others 1 gram of sulfasalazine (Azulfidine), a prescription anti-inflammatory drug, twice a day.

After 24 weeks, about 65 percent of those taking the herbal extract showed at least a 20 percent improvement in their joints, based on American College of Rheumatology criteria, a standard measure of the effectiveness of arthritis treatments. About 33 percent of those taking sulfasalazine improved to that degree.

A report on the findings is published Aug. 18 in Annals of Internal Medicine.

“This study is a reminder of the potential importance of supplements and herbs in the management of arthritis,” said Dr. John H. Klippel, president and chief executive of the Arthritis Foundation.

For me, it represents all the false valuations people place on the external. They want a better car, better muscles, bigger boobs, nicer teeth and it’s all really bullsh-t. Do you want to end up with all that and still be thinking small little thoughts? No.

After about two years, a German tattoo artist named Kevin Heath took me under his wing, and I did my apprenticeship with him. I started a tattoo studio there, then moved back to the states and started another studio, Tattoo Revolution, in Las Vegas.

I tattooed Jesse’s sleeve, from INKED and also taught Big E (from Ultimate Fighting Championship), to tattoo. Now I work at Raven Tattoo.”

This tattoo says my name, Dominguez, in a custom script that a friend of mine came up with. I met him in art class a long time ago and he is an aspiring tattoo artist and has been sketching forever.

The actual script is based on Aztec writing and the imagery is based on the Aztec Wall of the Dead. The Wall of the Dead is an Aztec story that after a battle, the Aztecs would pile the bodies of their victims into a wall as a warning to their enemies and an appeasement to the gods of war.

I’m supposedly of Aztec descent but I grew up in a small and racist town. Life was never easy for my brother and I. He and I came to a great separation of beliefs at a certain point. He decided to go into the military and be a traditional American. Me, I opted for extremism and individuality though it has not been easy.

This tattoo for me is about protecting my family. I do not want anyone to ever mess with us again, and I will use the spirits of my ancestry to show this warning.”

– Justin Pelegano

INKEDblog: You got your first tat at 16…what was the occassion?

Cara: My best friend and I were the “bad ass” kinda Catholic school girls that hung with these skeevy dudes that knew how to tattoo so we decided to get tattooed in her boyfriend’s bedroom one day. I sat backwards on a chair and held onto a baseball bat while they smoked cigarettes and watched me get my “sweet tribal” which was oh so cool in ‘96. It was above my ass and I thought I was the hottest with my new tatt and Jnco’s. (I have since covered it). I got the whole tattoo and I was pretty proud because when it came to be my friend’s turn she got 2 lines and then chickened out.

INKEDblog: Which is your favorite piece?

Cara: My favorite tattoo so far would have to be my chest/shoulders. I think it’s the prettiest and I was able to take part in the design. I have a star/flower theme so this one incorporates the two.

INKEDblog: And now you’re addicted! I sort of love to hear that — I mean, considering the addictions out there…an ink addiction ain’t that bad…and makes for some amazing art. What inspires you to choose a certain design?

Cara: The majority of my tattoos are flowers and stars. I really like them. I have stars and flowers all throughout my apt and my classroom. I have a few tattoos that don’t fit the theme, but eventually I will become a botanical garden.

INKEDblog: “The Tattooed Teacher” — that’s some nickname. What do your students think about your tattoos? Do you think it changes they way they perceive you in the classroom?

Cara: Only a few of my tattoos show when I go to work. Some of my students have made comments about it but I just pretend that they’re seeing things or deny having a tattoo. They giggle and I call them crazy. It’s cute. Tattoos are becoming so common now that it’s not THAT big of a deal to them. I still run a tight ship and they see me as their teacher and not some tattooed freak. One time I had a tattoo that got infected. I had to walk with a cane. So when my students asked what happened I didn’t want them to know that I had an infected tattoo. Instead, I told them that I fell into the bear pit at the Bronx Zoo and got bit by a bear cub. By the end of the day the whole school thought I was bitten.

INKEDblog: The principal [of your school] and the superintendent…what are their worries about the ink? Do you sense an unfair bias towards you because of your tats.

Cara: My principal is very conservative and I was worried that she would give me sh– for having tattoos. Legally she can’t. When I first got hired she noticed a tattoo when I bent over and reminded me to keep it covered. Since then I have proven to her that I do my job well and now she loves me. I feel as though I might have changed her opinion on tattooed people or at least broke the stereotype. She’s never had anything bad to say about the ones that show, but she almost had a heart attack when I showed her my chest and back. I keep those covered at work and surprisingly enough, she has actually made me show a few of my superiors. She has me show them after they observe me doing a lesson. I usually get the “great lesson and oh my, what pretty tattoos” response. Which makes me think that they’re thinking… “wow a tattooed person can actually do a great job”

One time in the teacher’s lounge the topic of tattoos came up. I was fairly new at the school and didn’t’ know everyone. This particular day none of my tatts were visible. A teacher started going on about people with tattoos. He called them lowlifes and said that they never amount to anything. He said that people with tattoos are idiots because they can’t get a career and all they do is drink and listen to “that punk rock music”. I kept my mouth shut and just listened to his opinions and then I asked him what made him feel that way and he could only say that he would never get a tattoo so he doesn’t get it. I simply said that I know several people in various professions that are covered in tattoos, showed him some of mine, said I wasn’t stupid or a low life and then walked out of the teacher’s room. He now kisses my ass.

INKEDblog: If you had to give up getting ink to keep on teaching…would it be a no-brainer or a difficult decision?

Cara: At this point I have plenty of space left so I think that I will be getting tattooed for awhile. However, I don’t like cluttered tattoos so I place them strategically enough so that they’re not taking over each other or highly visible. Do I want half sleeves? Sure do.. but I work in an unairconditioned classroom and having to wear long sleeves in sept and june would just kill me. I am addicted, I do love tattoos but I’m also highly educated and far from stupid. I’m not gonna lose my job because I want to decorate myself more. That’s why I will one day find that rockstar husband that will support me so that I can be covered! Ha. Yeah right.

Life then separates them for a while to see each develop their solo skills. One day SOAP got his first peek at Orko’s artwork – it’s love at first sight, truly fallen into a ring of fire. More and more days pass, many long-haul flights later. SOAP tells anyone who’ll listen that he wants to get an Orko tattoo. Orko agrees to do an exclusive design for SOAP, after all SOAP wants something special. Skip another year, still no design, so SOAP just tweaks an existing Orko design and strolls into Frith Street Tattoo. After spending two hours, including spliff breaks, getting the word ‘LOYALTY’ inked from elbow to wrist on the underside of his right arm, SOAP finally gets the first ink done for his Orko tattoo on his left upper arm. He couldn’t wipe the smile off his face even though he’d spent over two hours in the chair. Now Orko has to work out the colour scheme and do a couple more characters because SOAP wants to make it a half sleeve. The work in progress continues, watch this space…