Contemporary analysis of the influence of acute kidney injury after reduced intensity conditioning haematopoietic cell transplantation on long-term survival.

We evaluated retrospectively the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI), defined by risk, injury, failure, loss and end-stage kidney disease (RIFLE) and its influence on long-term survival, in 82 patients aged 18-60 years who underwent a reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) haematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Patients (53.6%) developed AKI after HCT: 25% were on risk, 45.5% on injury and 29.5% on failure. In all, 64 patients survived after 100 days of post transplant and were available for long-term survival analysis. At follow-up, 43.7% of patients died. A 5-year overall survival of AKI patients was 41.6% as compared with 67.1% for those who did not develop AKI (P=0.028), and decreased according to AKI severity (risk, 55.6%; injury plus failure, 33.3%; P=0.045). After adjusting for age, history of cardiovascular disease, high-risk disease and chronic GVHD, AKI predicted 5-year overall mortality (AKI: adjusted hazards ratio (AHR), 2.36, 95% CI: 1.03-5.37; P=0.041). Moreover, moderate and severe AKI (injury plus failure) was also associated with an increased 5-year overall mortality (injury plus failure: AHR, 1.64, 95% CI: 1.06-2.54; P=0.024). According to RIFLE, 53.6% of patients had AKI after RIC HCT. Such patients have poor long-term survival, particularly in moderate or severe AKI.

Follow-up of anti-Aspergillus IgG and IgA antibodies in bone marrow transplanted patients with invasive aspergillosis.

A total of 89 patients at risk for, or with invasive aspergillosis (IA) were recruited from bone marrow transplantation (BMT) units in two Lisbon hospitals, and followed for 2(1/2) years to monitor their immune response. Of these patients, six developed probable IA, from which five died. The presence of serum IgG or IgA antibodies against seven Aspergillus recombinant antigens was assessed in patients with IA, using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In parallel, the serum levels of galactomannan (GM) were also monitored, using the Platelia Aspergillus kit (Sanofi Pasteur, Marnes-la-Coquette, France). Superoxide dismutase (Sod) and 94 kDa were the most immunogenic antigens for IgA, while the IgG pattern of recognition changed from patient to patient. From our results we conclude that although follow-up of antibodies against these antigens should not be used as a diagnostic method, patients with IA do produce an immune response that may influence disease outcome.

[Treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia with trans-retinoic acid. Experience of the Santa Maria Hospital, Medical School of Lisbon]. / Terapêutica da Leucemia promielocítica aguda com ácido Trans-Retinóico. Experiência do Hospital de Santa Maria, Faculdade de Medicina de Lisboa.

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a rare subtype of acute myelogenous leukemia that is usually associated with a fatal hemorrhagic diathesis. All trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) is an active metabolite of vitamin A that differentiates the malignant cell clone, corrects the coagulopathy, and induces complete remission in the vast majority of patients with APL. Between June 1992 and September 1993, 8 patients with APL (4 previously untreated, 3 in first relapse and 1 in second relapse) received ATRA. Complete remission was achieved in 7 patients; in 5 with ATRA alone and in 2 with ATRA followed by cytotoxic chemotherapy due to the development of asymptomatic hyperleukocytosis. The earliest signs of response were the correction of the coagulopathy and an increase in the white blood cell count. Sequential morphological and immunophenotypical analyses of the bone marrow revealed differentiation of the malignant cell clone, in the absence of bone marrow hypoplasia. 4 of 5 patients treated only with ATRA until complete remission had late leukopenia. The most frequent adverse effects were dryness of skin and mucosae, hypertrigliceridemia and hypercholesterolemia, and a moderate increase in liver transaminases. An increase in the white blood cell count was common, and in two cases exceeded 35.0 x 10(9)/l. One of these patients developed multiple thrombosis of the extremities after cytotoxic chemotherapy. We frequently observed an increase in lactic dehydrogenase levels that was concomitant with the peak in the white blood cell count. The only patient on whom complete remission was not achieved was 60 years old, had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and died in the third week of therapy with a pulmonary distress syndrome.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Acute promyelocytic leukemia. The therapeutic advances]. / Leucemia promielocítica aguda. Avanços terapêuticos.

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a rare subtype of acute myelogenous leukemia. It is frequently associated with a life-threatening hemorrhagic diathesis, often aggravated by induction cytotoxic chemotherapy. Patients with APL have bone marrow infiltration by abnormal promyelocytes, usually with prominent cytoplasmic granulation. These patients have a unique cytogenetic abnormality, a balanced reciprocal translocation between the long arms of chromosomes 15 and 17. The nuclear retinoic acid receptor alpha gene, on chromosome 17, is translocated to the PML gene region, on chromosome 15, resulting in the synthesis of two fusion messenger ribonucleic acids, PML/RAR-alpha and RAR-alpha/PML, easily detected by the reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. This assay is extremely useful in the diagnosis and detection of minimal residual disease in APL patients. All trans-retinoic acid (ATR) differentiates the malignant cell clone and corrects the coagulopathy associated with this disease. The most important adverse effect is a respiratory distress syndrome, treatable with steroids, if detected at its onset. ATR yields durable remissions in patients with APL, after consolidation with cytotoxic chemotherapy.

Astronotus ocellatus (Cichlidae:Pisces) and Macropodus opercularis (Anabatidae:Pisces) as predators of immature Aedes fluviatilis (Diptera:Culicidae) and Biomphalaria glabrata (Mollusca:Planorbidae).

Two fish species, Astronotus ocellatus (Cichlidae) and Macropodus opercularis (Anabatidae) were tested for predacious behavior toward immature mosquitoes (Aedes fluviatilis, Diptera:Culicidae) and schistosomiasis snail hosts (Biomphalaria glabrata, Mollusca:Planorbidae), in the presence or absence of non-living food and in laboratory conditions. A. ocellatus, a species indigenous to Brazil, was a very efficient predator of both organisms (alpha = 0.05); M. opercularis, an exotic species, preyed well on immature mosquitoes, but small snails and snail egg-masses were ingested only irregularly. Both fish species seemed to prefer live to non-living food.