saline + human serum albumin

Saline + human serum albumin is a placebo formulation developed by Beijing 302 Hospital (now the Fifth Medical Center of the Chinese PLA General Hospital) for use in clinical trials. Specifically, it serves as the control arm in studies evaluating the efficacy and safety of human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) for patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis. The formulation typically consists of a saline solution supplemented with 1% human serum albumin to match the appearance and protein content of the active stem cell treatment, thereby maintaining the study's double-blind design. While the components themselves (sodium chloride and albumin) have physiological roles in maintaining oncotic pressure and fluid balance, in this context, the mixture functions as an inactive comparator administered intravenously alongside standard medical therapy.

Other names

Saline containing 1% Human serum albumin