Hyper-CVAD-Based Stem Cell Microtransplant as Post-Remission Therapy in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Post-remission strategies for patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are limited to the multiagent chemotherapy and allogeneic stem cell transplant (allo-SCT), and cellular therapies are seldom involved. Although chemotherapy combined with mismatched granulocyte colony-stimulating factor mobilized peripheral blood mononuclear cell infusion (microtransplant, MST) has been studied in patients with acute myeloid leukemia, its efficacy in ALL is still undetermined. We enrolled 48 patients receiving hyper-CVAD-based MST between July 1, 2009, and January 31, 2018. No acute or chronic graft-versus-host disease occurred in patients receiving MST. Four-year overall survival (OS) and leukemia-free survival (LFS) were 62% and 35%, respectively, and the 4-year relapse rate was 65%. No patient experienced non-relapse mortality. Subgroup analysis showed that OS rates were comparable between groups with different age, risk stratification, minimal residual disease status prior to MST and immunophenotype. Adult patients tended to achieve better 4-year LFS (62% vs. 26%, P = .058) and lower hematologic relapse rate (38% vs. 74%, P = .058) compared with adolescent and young adult patients. Donor chimerism/microchimerism was detectable ranging from 0.002% to 42.78% in 78% (42/54) available samples within 14 days after each infusion and at 3 months or one year after the last cell infusion. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that white blood cells <30 × 109/L at diagnosis and sufficient hyper-CVAD cycles were prognostic factors for better 4-year OS and LFS, while the B-cell phenotype and higher number of infused CD34+ cells in the first cycle were predictors for favorable 4-year LFS. The hyper-CVAD-based MST was a feasible strategy for treating ALL patients with mild toxicity.

Antibacterial activity of Lansiumamide B to tobacco bacterial wilt (Ralstonia solanacearum).

Tobacco bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum is one of the most serious diseases of tobacco in the area of tobacco cultivation. As there is no effective control method for tobacco bacterial wilt diseases, developing new antibacterial agents in tobacco will make great practical sense. The antibacterial activity against R. solanacearum of Lansiumamide B which is isolated from the seeds of Clausena lansium is reported in this paper for the first time. The bioassay results indicate that Lansiumamide B could completely inhibit the growth of R. solanacearum at the concentration of 125 mg/L in vitro, the EC50 and EC90 are 48.82 mg/L and 86.26 mg/L, respectively. The result of pot experiments indicates that the control efficiency of the Lansiumamide B on tobacco bacterial wilt are 95.84%, 91.67% and 86.38% at 7 days, 14 days and 21 days after treatment at the concentration of 100mg/kg, respectively, nearly 40 times higher than Streptomycin, a special fungicide to the disease, at 21 days after treatment with root irrigation method. These results suggest that Lansiumamide B has the potential of developing as a new type of plant-type fungicide on controlling the diseases of tobacco bacterial wilt.

A randomized, crossover comparison of herbal medicine and bromocriptine against risperidone-induced hyperprolactinemia in patients with schizophrenia.

Hyperprolactinemia is a common adverse effect that occurs as a result of antipsychotic therapies, which often results in discontinuation. Empirical evidence has shown that some herbal medicines have suppressive effects on prolactin (PRL) hyperactivities. This study was designed to compare the herbal preparation called Peony-Glycyrrhiza Decoction (PGD) with bromocriptine (BMT), a dopamine agonist widely used for PRL-secreting disorders, in the treatment of risperidone-induced hyperprolactinemia. Twenty schizophrenic women who were under risperidone maintenance treatment, diagnosed with hyperprolactinemia (serum PRL levels >50 mug/L), and currently experiencing oligomenorrhea or amenorrhea were selected for the study. Subjects were randomized to additional treatment with PGD (45 g/d) followed by BMT (5 mg/d) or BMT followed by PGD at the same doses for 4 weeks each, with an interval of 4-week washout period between 2 treatment sessions. The severity of psychotic symptoms, adverse events, serum PRL, estradiol, testosterone, and progesterone levels were examined at baseline and end point. Peony-Glycyrrhiza Decoction treatment produced a significant baseline-end point decrease in serum PRL levels, without exacerbating psychosis and changing other hormones, and the decreased amplitudes were similar to those of BMT (24% vs 21%-38%). Moreover, there was a significantly greater proportion of patients during PGD treatment than BMT treatment showing improvements on adverse effects associated with hyperprolactinemia (56% vs 17%, P = 0.037). These results suggest that the herbal therapy can yield additional benefits while having comparable efficacy in treating antipsychotic-induced hyperprolactinemia in individuals with schizophrenia.