Plasma IL-33 levels are decreased in patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome and show no correlation with pro-inflammatory IL-6 levels.

Aberrant inflammatory signaling has been shown to be a key pathogenic driver in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Abnormal IL-33 expression has been implicated in inflammatory, immune-related disorders and, some tumors. However, its role in MDS remains widely unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between plasma levels of IL-33, clinical and prognostic data and, IL-6 levels in 101 patients with MDS. A comparative group of 59 healthy individuals was also evaluated. Plasma levels of cytokines were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Lower levels of IL-33 were found in patients with MDS when compared to the control group (p = 0.001), mainly in patients with more advanced stages of the disease and worse prognosis. No significant correlation between the levels of IL-33 and IL-6 was observed (r = 0.175; p = 0.081). These results reinforce the close association between immunological disorders and the pathogenesis of MDS. A greater understanding of the role of inflammatory cytokines in the disease can potentially provide new diagnosis and prognosis markers and new therapeutic targets.

Daily and Weekly Iron Supplementations are Effective in Increasing Hemoglobin and Reducing Anemia in Infants.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of daily and weekly iron supplementation compared with control on hemoglobin values and anemia prevalence in infants. METHODS: In this cluster-randomized study, we evaluated infants aged 12-24 months (n = 210) from three public daycare centers, during 4 months. Intervention-group A was allocated 25 mg elemental iron once weekly; intervention-group B received 12.5 mg elemental iron once daily; control-group C received 0.5 ml of a natural color additive. Hemoglobin was assessed before and after intervention. RESULTS: Baseline mean hemoglobin was 8.81 ± 0.89 g/dl (group A), 9.70 ± 1.56 g/dl (group B) and 10.96 ± 0.92 g/dl (group C); after intervention, mean hemoglobin was 10.03 ± 0.78 g/dl (p < 0.0001), 10.65 ± 0.97 g/dl (p < 0.0001) and 11.30 ± 0.80 g/dl (p = 0.0034) for groups A, B and C, respectively. Anemia prevalence was as follows: group A, 100% at baseline and 83.3% at end of study, p = 0.0001; group, B 75.0% and 41.7%, p = 0.0002; group C, 50.0% and 37.5%, p = 0.182. CONCLUSIONS: Weekly and daily iron supplementation were effective in increasing hemoglobin levels and reducing anemia in infants.