Infliximabe é eficaz em ceratite ulcerada periférica de difícil controle. Um relato de três casos / Infliximab is effective in difficult-to-control peripheral ulcerative keratitis. A report of three cases

Ceratite ulcerada periférica é causada por um processo inflamatório e destrutivo da córnea periférica perilimbar. Essa inflamação se deve à deposição de imunocomplexos nessa região da córnea e nos vasos adjacentes a ela. Pode ser idiopática ou uma manifestação de doença sistêmica como artrite reumatoide, vasculites de pequenos vasos associadas ao ANCA, à policondrite recidivante, ao lúpus eritematoso sistêmico e à doença de Crohn. O tratamento inclui o uso de corticoide em dose alta e em alguns casos o uso concomitante de imunossupressores, como metotrexate, azatioprina, micofenolato mofetil, ciclofosfamida ou ciclosporina. O uso de agentes imunobiológicos pode ser uma estratégia nos casos de difícil controle. Os autores descrevem o tratamento de três pacientes que após falha ao uso de corticoide ou imunossupressores apresentaram boa resposta após o uso de infliximabe.

Peripheral ulcerative keratitis is caused by an inflammatory and destructive process of the perilimbal peripheral cornea. This inflammation is due to immune complex deposition in this region of the cornea and in adjacent vessels. It can be idiopathic, or a manifestation of systemic disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, vasculitis of small vessels associated with ANCA, relapsing polychondritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and Crohn's disease. Its treatment includes the use of high-dose corticosteroids and, in some cases, the concomitant use of immunosuppressants such as methotrexate, azathioprine, mycophenolate mofetil, cyclophosphamide or cyclosporine. The use of immunobiological agents can be a strategy in cases of difficult control. The authors describe the treatment of three patients who, after failure with the use of corticosteroids or immunosuppressants, showed good response after the use of infliximab.

Association between maternal and fetal factors and quality of cord blood as a source of stem cells

Objectives: To comparatively analyze maternal and fetal factors and quality markers of blood samples in a public umbilical cord blood bank. Method: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study that revisited 458 records of donations from September 2009 to March 2013 at the Hemocentro de Santa Catarina. The means of markers were used to define cutoff points for the quality of cord blood. Results: Most donations came from women with ages between 18 and 29 years (62.8%), gestational age ≥ 40 weeks (55.2%), vaginal delivery (51.3%), primiparous (41.4%), and with male newborns (54.4%) weighing between 3000 and 3499 g (41.8%). The volume of the dona- tions ranged from 71.6 to 275.2 mL, the total nucleated cell count ranged from 4.77 × 108 to 31.0 × 108 cells and CD34+ cells ranged from 0.05 to 1.23%. There were statistically significant differences in the volume with respect to gestation age > 38 weeks (p-value = 0.001), cesarean section (p-value < 0.001) and birth weight > 3500 g (p-value < 0.001). The total nucleated cell count was positively affected by cesarean section (p-value = 0.022) and birth weight > 3500 g (p-value < 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference between the variables and the percentage of CD34+ cells. Conclusions: Delivery route and birth weight influence the volume of cord blood and the total nucleated cell count. Gestational age influences only the volume of cord blood. .