Hematologic adverse events reported after COVID-19 vaccination in the Philippines: A national database study.

Vaccination is the most important strategy in preventing COVID-19. Vaccine efficacy and safety have been established in clinical trials but real-world data are useful to determine occurrence of adverse events in a population with heterogeneous characteristics. Knowledge on the hematologic events associated with different COVID-19 vaccines would be beneficial for patients as well as hematologists who oversee the care of these patients. This study aimed to determine the rates and outcomes of hematologic adverse events after COVID-19 vaccination in the Philippines. In this self-controlled case series, there were 268 individuals reported to have hematologic adverse events. Most received Comirnaty at 29.85%. Majority (62.31%) reported hematologic adverse events following the first dose of the vaccine. The overall event rate was 0.0182 per 10,000 vaccine doses; and lymphadenopathy was the most common hematologic adverse effect with a rate of 0.011 per 10,000 vaccine doses, followed by anemia at 0.0034 per 10,000 vaccine doses and thrombocytopenia at 0.0017 per 10,000 vaccine doses. Autoimmune cytopenias were also reported with an event rate of 0.0007 per 10,000 vaccine doses for ITP. One-hundred thirty two (49.25%) were fully recovered and 23.88% were recovering from hematologic adverse events as of the time of writing. The study showed a low rate of hematologic adverse events post COVID-19 vaccination with the seven different vaccine brands administered in the Philippines.

THE USE OF INTRADERMAL ALLERGY TESTING FOR ALLERGIC DERMATITIS IN PTEROPID BATS AND TREATMENT WITH ALLERGEN SPECIFIC IMMUNOTHERAPY: A CASE SERIES.

This case series describes the diagnosis of allergic dermatitis and management with allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT) based on intradermal allergy testing (IDAT) and adjunctive medical therapy in six pteropid bats; five large flying foxes (Pteropus vampyrus); and one variable flying fox (Pteropus hypomelanus). The cases ranged from 2 to 15 yr of age at the time of presentation. Clinical signs varied between individuals and included moist ulcerative cutaneous lesions in nonhaired skin, blepharoconjunctivitis, alopecia, and pruritus. All bats underwent IDAT under general anesthesia, and reactive allergens included a mixture of grasses, trees, weeds, and biting insects. Three of the six cases (50%) had reformulation of the ASIT before control of clinical signs was seen, and two bats were treated with the addition of oclacitinib (Apoquel). Severe adverse effects were not identified; however, one bat had self-limiting swelling at the immunotherapy injection site. All six cases showed improvement of clinical signs and perceived comfort level, including in subsequent allergy seasons.

Persistence of Breakage in Specific Chromosome Bands 6 Years after Acute Exposure to Oil.

BACKGROUND: The identification of breakpoints involved in chromosomal damage could help to detect genes involved in genetic disorders, most notably cancer. Until now, only one published study, carried out by our group, has identified chromosome bands affected by exposure to oil from an oil spill. In that study, which was performed two years after the initial oil exposure in individuals who had participated in clean-up tasks following the wreck of the Prestige, three chromosomal bands (2q21, 3q27, 5q31) were found to be especially prone to breakage. A recent follow-up study, performed on the same individuals, revealed that the genotoxic damage had persisted six years after oil exposure. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether there exist chromosome bands which are especially prone to breakages and to know if there is some correlation with those detected in the previous study. In addition, to investigate if the DNA repair problems detected previously persist in the present study. DESIGN: Follow-up study performed six years after the Prestige oil spill. SETTING: Fishermen cooperatives in coastal villages. PARTICIPANTS: Fishermen highly exposed to oil spill who participated in previous genotoxic study six years after the oil. MEASUREMENTS: Chromosome damage in peripheral lymphocytes. For accurate identification of the breakpoints involved in chromosome damage of circulating lymphocytes, a sequential stain/G-banding technique was employed. To determine the most break-prone chromosome bands, two statistical methods, the Fragile Site Multinomial and the chi-square tests (where the bands were corrected by their length) were used. To compare the chromosome lesions, structural chromosome alterations and gaps/breaks between two groups of individuals we used the GEE test which takes into account a possible within-individual correlation. Dysfunctions in DNA repair mechanisms, expressed as chromosome damage, were assessed in cultures with aphidicolin by the GEE test. RESULTS: Cytogenetic analyses were performed in 47 exposed individuals. A total of 251 breakpoints in exposed individuals) were identified, showing a non-uniform distribution in the human ideogram. Ten chromosome bands were found to be especially prone to breakage through both statistical methods. By comparing these bands with those observed in certain exposed individuals who had already participated the previous study, it was found in both studies that four bands (2q21, 3q27, 5q31 and 17p11.2) are particularly sensitive to breakage. Additionally, the dysfunction in DNA repair mechanisms was not significantly higher in oil-exposed individuals than in non-exposed individuals. LIMITATIONS: The sample size and the possibility of some kind of selection bias should be considered. Genotoxic results cannot be extrapolated to the high number of individuals who participated occasionally in clean-up tasks. CONCLUSION: Our findings show the existence of at least four target bands (2q21, 3q27, 5q31 and 17p11.2) with a greater propensity to break over time after an acute exposure to oil. The breaks in these bands, which are commonly involved in hematological cancer, may explain the increase of cancer risk reported in chronically benzene-exposed individuals. In addition, a more efficiency of the DNA repair mechanisms has been detected six years after in fishermen who were highly exposed to the oil spill. To date, only this study, performed by our group on the previous and present genotoxic effects, has analyzed the chromosomal regions affected by breakage after an acute oil exposure.

Follow-Up Genotoxic Study: Chromosome Damage Two and Six Years after Exposure to the Prestige Oil Spill.

BACKGROUND: The north-west coast of Spain was heavily contaminated by the Prestige oil spill, in 2002. Individuals who participated in the clean-up tasks showed increased chromosome damage two years after exposure. Long-term clinical implications of chromosome damage are still unknown. OBJECTIVE: To realize a follow-up genotoxic study to detect whether the chromosome damage persisted six years after exposure to the oil. DESIGN: Follow-up study. SETTING: Fishermen cooperatives in coastal villages. PARTICIPANTS: Local fishermen who were highly exposed (n = 52) and non-exposed (n = 23) to oil seven years after the spill. MEASUREMENTS: Chromosome damage in circulating lymphocytes. RESULTS: Chromosome damage in exposed individuals persists six years after oil exposure, with a similar incidence than those previously detected four years before. A surprising increase in chromosome damage in non-exposed individual was found six years after Prestige spill vs. those detected two years after the exposure. LIMITATIONS: The sample size and the possibility of some kind of selection bias should be considered. Genotoxic results cannot be extrapolated to the approximately 300,000 individuals who participated occasionally in clean-up tasks. CONCLUSION: The persistence of chromosome damage detected in exposed individuals six years after oil exposure seems to indicate that the cells of the bone marrow are affected. A surprising increase in chromosome damage in non-exposed individuals detected in the follow-up study suggests an indirect exposition of these individuals to some oil compounds or to other toxic agents during the last four years. More long-term studies are needed to confirm the presence of chromosome damage in exposed and non-exposed fishermen due to the association between increased chromosomal damage and increased risk of cancer. Understanding and detecting chromosome damage is important for detecting cancer in its early stages. The present work is the first follow-up cytogenetic study carried out in lymphocytes to determine genotoxic damage evolution between two and six years after oil exposure in same individuals.

Diverse roles of Rho family GTPases in neuronal development, survival, and death.

Rho family GTPases (eg., RhoA, Rac1 and Cdc42) are monomeric G-proteins that act as key transducers of extracellular signals to the actin cytoskeleton. In the nervous system, Rho family GTPases are essential regulators of neuronal growth cone motility, axonal migration, and dendritic spine morphogenesis. Given these vital functions, it is perhaps not surprising that mutations in several proteins involved in Rho GTPase signaling are causative in some forms of mental retardation. In addition, numerous recent studies have identified Rho family GTPases as central players in the molecular pathways that determine neuronal survival and death. Interestingly, individual Rho family members have been shown to play either a pro-death or pro-survival role in the nervous system depending on both the type of neuron and the particular neurodegenerative insult involved. This review summarizes current work demonstrating a critical role for Rho family GTPases and their effectors in the regulation of neuronal development, survival, and death. These findings may be particularly relevant in the context of specific neurodegenerative disorders in which Rho family GTPase function is altered, such as loss-of-function of the Rac1 guanine nucleotide exchange factor, alsin, in juvenile-onset amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.