Relationship and significance between anti-b2-glycoproteinⅠantibodies and platelet activation state in patients with ulcerative colitis

AIM： To study the relationship between anti-β2- glycoprotein Ⅰ （aβ2GPⅠ） antibodies and platelet activation state in patients with ulcerative colitis （UC） and its significance. METHODS： Peripheral blood samples were collected from 56 UC patients （34 males and 22 females, aged 43.5 years, range 21-66 years）, including 36 at active stage and 20 at remission stage, and 25 sex-and age-matched controls. The level of aβ2GP Ⅰ was measured by ELISA. The platelet activation markers, platelet activation complex- Ⅰ （PAC- Ⅰ ） and P-selectin （CD62P） were detected by flow cytometry. RESULTS： The A value for IgG aβ2GP Ⅰ in the active UC group was 0.61 ± 0.13, significantly higher than that in the remittent UC and control groups （0.50 ± 0.13 and 0.22 ± 0.14, P 〈 0.01）. There was a significant difference between the two groups （P 〈 0.01）. The A value for IgM aβ2GP Ⅰ in the active and remittent UC groups was 0.43 ± 0.13 and 0.38 ± 0.12, significantly higher than that in the control group （0.20 ± 0.12, P 〈 0.01）. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups （P 〉 0.05）. The PAC- Ⅰ positive rate for the active and remittent UC groups was 30.6% ± 7.6% and 19.6% ± 7.8% respectively, significantly higher than that for the control group （6.3% ± 1.7%,P 〈 0.01）. There was a significant difference between the two groups （P 〈 0.01）. The CD62P positive rate for the active and remittent UC groups was 45.0% ± 8.8% and 31.9% ± 7.8% respectively, significantly higher than that for the control group （9.2% ± 2.7%, P 〈 0.01）. There was a significant difference between the two groups （P 〈 0.01）. In the active UC group, the more severe the state of illness was, the higher the A value for IgG aβ2GP Ⅰ was, and the positive rate for PAC-Ⅰ and CD62P was positively correlated with the state of illness （Faβ2GP Ⅰ = 3.679, P 〈 0.05; FPAC-Ⅰ （%） = 5.346, P 〈 0.01; and FCD62P （%） = 5. 418, P 〈 0.01）. Meanwhile, in the same state of illness, the A value for IgG aβ2GP Ⅰ was positively correlated to the positive rates for PAC-Ⅰ and CD62P. CONCLUSION： aβ2GP Ⅰ level, platelet activation state and their relationship of them are closely correlated with the pathogenesis and development of UC.

Blinding assessment in clinical trials of traditional Chinese medicine:Exploratory principles and protocol

As one of the key components of clinical trials, blinding, if successfully implemented, can help to mitigate the risks of implementation bias and measurement bias, consequently improving the validity and reliability of the trial results. However, successful blinding in clinical trials of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) is hard to achieve, and the evaluation of blinding success through blinding assessment lacks established guidelines. Taking into account the challenges associated with blinding in the TCM field, here we present a framework for assessing blinding. Further, this study proposes a blinding assessment protocol for TCM clinical trials, building upon the framework and the existing methods. An assessment report checklist and an approach for evaluating the assessment results are presented based on the proposed protocol. It is anticipated that these improvements to blinding assessment will generate greater awareness among researchers, facilitate the standardization of blinding, and augment the blinding effectiveness. The use of this blinding assessment may further advance the quality and precision of TCM clinical trials and improve the accuracy of the trial results. The blinding assessment protocol will undergo continued optimization and refinement, drawing upon expert consensus and experience derived from clinical trials.