[Effects of thymosin-alpha1 on cell immunity function in patients with septic shock]

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial paper looks at Thymosin Alpha-1.

To investigate the effects of thymosin-alpha1 on cell immunity function and outcome in the patients with septic shock.

Who Took Part

The age groups tagged for this paper are adults, middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

Forty-two patients with septic shock in the department of intensive care unit (ICU) and acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) scores between 15 and 25.

Patients with tumor, organ transplantation, chronic end-stage diseases and those who had used immunity inhibitor in recent 3 months or hormones were excluded.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized study.

The participants were allocated by chance, so the Thymosin Alpha-1 group and the comparison group should start out alike.

The patients were randomized into two groups: thymosin group (n=21) and control group (n=21).

The levels of T lymphocyte subtype and natural killer (NK) cell were determined on the day 1, 3 and 7.

At the same time, temperature, ICU stay days and duration of artificial ventilation, 28-day mortality and the expenses of hospitalization were recorded.

What Was Measured

PubMed files the paper under topics including Adjuvants, Immunologic, Killer Cells, Natural, Prognosis, Shock, Septic, T-Lymphocyte Subsets, Thymalfasin and Thymosin.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized study of Thymosin Alpha-1.

Its findings take up roughly 4 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 2007 (Zhongguo wei zhong bing ji jiu yi xue = Chinese critical care medicine = Zhongguo weizhongbing jijiuyixue), a journal based in China.

More context: the Thymosin Alpha-1 compound page, all human trials.