Wangbi capsule for active rheumatoid arthritis:a multicenter,randomized,double-blind,parallel-controlled study

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Wangbi Capsule(WBC)in the treatment of active rheumatoid arthritis(RA).Methods Totally 101 patients in line with inclusion criteria from 114 patients with active RA were assigned to the treatment group(52 cases)and the control group(49 cases)by using block randomization method,which was stratified by center with a selected segment length of 2 and the PROC PLAN procedure statement in SAS9.4 Software used to give the number of seeds.Patients in the treatment group took WBC+methotrexate(MTX),while those in the control group took WBC placebo+MTX.The treatment course lasted for 12 weeks.By comparing the 28 joint disease activity scores(DAS28-ESR)based1onerythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR),28 joint disease activity scores(DAS28-CRP)based onC-reactive protein(CRP),DAS28-ESR remission rate,DAS28-CRP remission rate,ESR,CRP,rheumatoid factor(RF),and anti-cyclic citrulline antibody(ACPA)before and after treatment,patient visual analogue score(VAS),physician VAS score,joint pain count,joint swelling count.

The correlation between different smoking status and serum uric acid in a middle-aged male population

Objective To explore the correlation between differ-ent smoking status and serum uric acid(SUA)in a middle-aged male in health check-up population.Methods In this cross-sectional study,a total of 26701 middleaged men who underwent health check-up in Taihu Sanatorium of Jiangsu Province from January 2014 to June 2015 were studied.The correlation between smoking status and SUA was analyzed by questionnaires,physical examination and serum biochemical assay.

Huzhen Qingfeng capsule for treatment of acute gouty arthritis:a multicenter,randomized,double-blind,controlled trial

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of Huzhen Qingfeng Capsule(HZQFC)in the treatment of acute gouty arthritis patients with damp-heat accumulation syndrome(DHAS).Methods A randomized,double-blind,placebo-controlled,multicenter,superiority testing clinical trial was performed.

The clinical significance of circulating follicular helper T cells in patients with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic myeloperoxidase antibody-associated vasculitis

Objective To investigate the change of circulating follicular helper T cells(cTfh)in patients with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic myeloperoxidase antibody-associated vasculitis(MPO-AAV),and to analyze the relationship between cTfh and disease activity.Methods Thirty-eight untreated MPO-AAV patients(patient group)and thirty-eight healthy volunteers(control group)were enrolled in this study.cTfh and membrane expression of inducible co-stimulator(ICOS)and programmed cell death protein 1(PD-1)were detected by flow cytometry(FCM).Serum anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic myeloperoxidase antibody(MPO-ANCA)was measured by ELISA.Disease activity was evaluated by Birmingham vasculitis activity score(BVAS).Results Compared with those in the control group,the proportions of cTfh,ICOS^+Tfh and PD-1^+ Tfh cells in patient group were significantly higher [(25.9±3.8)% vs.(21.0±5.3)%,P<0.001;(1.8±0.8)% vs.(0.8±0.5)%,P<0.001 and(10.2±2.8)% vs.(8.2±2.2)%,P=0.001,respectively].Meanwhile,the expression of ICOS and PD-1 on cTfh in the patient group was markedly more intensive(59.6±10.0 vs.49.2±6.9,P<0.001 and 532.6±104.2 vs.485.1±73.4,P=0.025,respectively).In the patient group,the proportion of cTfh was positively correlated with the ratio of ICOS+Tfh,the expression of ICOS,the level of MPO-ANCA and BVAS(r=0.407,P=0.011;r=0.705,P<0.001;r=0.737,P<0.001 and r=0.663,P<0.001,respectively).The expression intensity of ICOS on cTfh was positively associated with ICOS^+Tfh ratio,serum MPO-ANCA and BVAS(r=0.388,P=0.016;r=0.645,P<0.001 and r=0.653,P<0.001,respectively).Nevertheless,the expression of PD-1 on cTfh was only positively correlated with the ratio of PD-1^+Tfh(r=0.473,P=0.003).Conclusion Enhanced cTfh in patients with MPO-AAV might produce MPO-ANCA,which is related to the aggravation of MPO-AAV.Thus,cTfh and its ICOS could be potentially targeted for the treatment of MPO-AAV.