RESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: Total parenteral nutrition (TPN), recommended during bone-marrow transplant (BMT), is often withheld following complications. We aim to determine the effective amount of energy supplied and its short-term effects in children requiring BMT. METHODS: Twenty children (11 males, 9 females, mean age 8 years, range 1-18 years) receiving 13 allogenic and 7 autologous BMT for malignant (13) and nonmalignant (7) diseases, were retrospectively evaluated for energy/protein intakes, weight changes, time to engraftment and on TPN, occurrence of complications, and metabolic abnormalities. RESULTS: Each child received approximately 72% of the prescribed calories, an average of 0.87 +/- 0.2 x basal-metabolic rate, 1.14 +/- 0.4 g protein/kg/day, and 176 +/- 34:1 nonprotein calories:nitrogen ratio. Body weight improved during the 35 days (range 14-62) of TPN, with loss thereafter. Engraftment occurred in 20 +/- 7.5 days. Caloric intake and time to engraftment were related (p = 0.002). Ten central-venous-line and 12 gastrointestinal infections occurred. Among laboratory abnormalities, liver function tests resulted temporarily altered in 10 patients, and permanently in 1 child with cholestasis. Eight children developed graft-versus-host disease. Five died of cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The energy supplied with TPN in BMT is less than expected and approximately covers the BMR with mixed effects. Energy intake needs to be calibrated during TPN and adjusted during feeding resumption to expedite recovery.
Asunto(s)
Trasplante de Médula Ósea , Metabolismo Energético , Leucemia Linfoide/terapia , Nutrición Parenteral Total , Adolescente , Peso Corporal , Niño , Preescolar , Ingestión de Energía , Femenino , Enfermedad Injerto contra Huésped , Humanos , Lactante , Masculino , Pronóstico , Estudios RetrospectivosRESUMEN
Twenty-one children (16 males, 5 females) with malignant primary hepatic tumors were admitted to the Pediatric Clinic of the University of Bologna between June 1973 and July 2001. The diagnosis was hepatoblastoma (HBL) in 16 cases; hepatocellular carcinoma (HCA) in 3 cases; undifferentiated sarcoma in 1, malignant rhabdoid tumour of the liver in 1. Median age at diagnosis was 1.8 year (1 mounth-13 years). As to intrahepatic tumor's extension, patients were classified in groups (from I to IV) according to International Society of Pediatric Oncology staging. 2 patients were ascribed to group I; 9 to group II; 9 to group III and I to group IV. At diagnosis 3 pts presented lung metastases. Seventeen patients (81%) were treated with surgery, in 11 cases as first approach to the tumor. In 10 patients, initially with unresesectable tumor, chemotherapy was started first. Drugs used were mostly Cisplatinum or Carboplatinum with Doxorubicin. Sussequently 6 patients were submitted to surgery. At a median follow up of 12.5 years, 52.3% of patients is alive without disease. This percentage rises to 58% taking into consideration only HBL and HCA cases (alive 11/19). We conclude that excluding metastases at diagnosis (3 deaths), the main prognostic factor is resectability and radical surgery: in our experience 4 patients with unresectable tumor died, as 2 patients with microscopical residual after surgery.
Asunto(s)
Neoplasias Hepáticas/epidemiología , Algoritmos , Protocolos de Quimioterapia Combinada Antineoplásica/uso terapéutico , Niño , Terapia Combinada , Femenino , Estudios de Seguimiento , Humanos , Neoplasias Hepáticas/terapia , Masculino , Estudios RetrospectivosRESUMEN
Using high resolution core level photoemission, we investigated the disordering transition of the fullerene molecules at the (111) surface of C (60) films. The experimental evidence of a two-step mechanism for the rotational disordering of surface fullerene molecules is provided. The data are consistent with a recent model in which the rotational degrees of freedom of one molecule, out of the four inequivalent C (60) molecules of the low temperature (2x2) surface unit cell, melt about 100 K before the bulk phase transition.
RESUMEN
The temperature dependence of the surface resistivity for a metallic K(3)C(60) ordered film in the nonsuperconducting state has been obtained by reflection electron energy loss spectroscopy. We demonstrate that the normal state electronic and transport properties of the top molecular layer of K(3)C(60) are similar to the corresponding properties measured with bulk sensitive techniques. These observations strengthen and give a general character to the experimental results obtained with surface sensitive techniques on fullerene compounds. In addition, the transport properties may deviate from the Fermi-liquid behavior above 500 K.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In March 1987 AIEOP started the AIEOP-ALL-87 study, based on the previous AIEOP-ALL-82. The aim of this new study was to evaluate, for all risk groups: a) the efficacy of treatment intensification achieved by adding a fourth drug (daunomycin) in the induction phase and a 3-drug reinduction phase for all risk groups; b) the impact of the addition of three doses of intrathecal methotrexate during cranial radiotherapy and extended exposure to weekly high-dose L-aspariginase during late intensification in high risk patients. We report the long-term results of the AIEOP ALL-87 study. DESIGN AND METHODS: From 1987 to 1991, a total of 632 eligible and evaluable children (age 1 to < or =16 years) with non-B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), were enrolled and stratified as follows: standard risk (SR, 79 patients, 12.5%) had WBC <10,000/mm3, age > or = 3 and <7 years, and FAB L1 morphology. The high risk (HR, 175 patients, 27.7%) group included patients with WBC > or =50,000/mm3 or FAB L3 morphology or T immunophenotype or acute undifferentiated leukemia (AUL) or leukemia-lymphoma syndrome. All the remaining patients formed the intermediate risk group (IR, 378 patients, 59.8%). All patients received a 4-drug induction therapy; intermediate-dose methotrexate was given to HR patients; cranial radiotherapy was given to IR and HR patients, while SR patients received extended intrathecal methotrexate; all patients received a 3-drug reinduction phase; high dose L-asparaginase (HD-L-ASP; E.Coli, Bayer) was given to HR patients; continuation therapy with 6-mercaptopurine, i.m. methotrexate, and monthly vincristine and prednisone pulses was given to all patients. Treatment duration was 2 years. RESULTS: Six hundred and nineteen patients (97.9%) achieved complete remission. The remission rate was 98.7% in the SR group, 98.1% in the IR group, and 97.1% in the HR group. The overall 10-year survival and event-free survival (EFS) rates (SE) are 74.7% (1.8) and 62.8% (2.0) respectively; EFS rates by risk group are 67.5% (5.5) in SR, 62.8% (2.6) in IR, and 61.9% (3.8) for HR. The 10-year EFS for all eligible patients was 63.9% (1.9). INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS: When compared to the results of the AIEOP-ALL-82 study, treatment intensification in the ALL-87 study has improved long-term survival and EFS from 66.4% and 53.6% to 74.7% and 62.8%, respectively. Failures were mostly due to marrow or extramedullary relapses suggesting that further treatment intensification, as being used in current therapeutic strategies, is appropriate, although patients relapsing after less intensive treatment may have better chances of rescue. These results, although obtained in a relatively large proportion of patients, in which infants were not included, indicate that the addition of high-dose L-asparaginase to a relatively non-intensive treatment may be of major benefit for HR patients and that the addition of intrathecal methotrexate during CRT, may improve the central nervous system-disease control with a marked reduction of nervous system relapses.
Asunto(s)
Protocolos de Quimioterapia Combinada Antineoplásica/administración & dosificación , Leucemia-Linfoma Linfoblástico de Células Precursoras/terapia , Adolescente , Asparaginasa/administración & dosificación , Niño , Preescolar , Daunorrubicina/administración & dosificación , Femenino , Humanos , Lactante , Estudios Longitudinales , Masculino , Prednisona/administración & dosificación , Pronóstico , Inducción de Remisión , Factores de Riesgo , Resultado del Tratamiento , Vincristina/administración & dosificaciónRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The complementarity determining region 3 (CDR3) of the immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy chain variable region (VH) is the most reliable molecular fingerprint for most if not all human B cells. The nucleotide sequence encoding for any B-cell tumor-specific VH CDR3 is currently identified by PCR sequencing based on procedures involving the usage of either radioactive materials, patient/family-specific primers, or bacterial cloning. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In six consecutive patients with follicular lymphoma we assessed the feasibility of a method that allows for identification of the tumor-specific VH CDR3 using consensus primers while avoiding both radioactive materials and bacterial cloning procedures. RESULTS: The tumor-specific VH CDR3 was successfully identified in all six patients in nearly half the time typically required by any other method currently utilized. The feasibility of the proposed method was not significantly affected either by the tumor-specific Ig isotype, or by the tumor infiltration in the original biopsy specimen. In the three patients for whom tumor specimen-derived hybridomas were available, the tumor-specific VH CDR3 was also found in at least 8 of 10 of them. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed method allows the ability to quickly identify the B-cell tumor-specific VH CDR3 using consensus primers while avoiding radioactive materials and bacterial cloning procedures.
Asunto(s)
Biomarcadores de Tumor/análisis , Dermatoglifia del ADN , ADN de Neoplasias/análisis , Cadenas Pesadas de Inmunoglobulina/genética , Linfoma de Células B/genética , Linfoma Folicular/genética , Secuencia de Bases , Cartilla de ADN , ADN Complementario , Humanos , Hibridomas , Linfoma de Células B/patología , Linfoma Folicular/patología , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa , Sensibilidad y Especificidad , Análisis de Secuencia de ADN , Programas Informáticos , Factores de TiempoRESUMEN
Congenital amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia (CAMT) without physical anomalies is a rare disease, presenting isolated thrombocytopenia and megakaryocytopenia in infancy, which can evolve into aplastic anemia and leukemia. Recently, two heterozygous truncating mutations of the thrombopoietin (TPO) receptor MPL, coded by the c-mpl gene, were identified in a 10-year-old Japanese patient with CAMT transmitted in an autosomal recessive manner. Here, we report for the first time two different MPL amino-acid substitutions in a 2-year-old Italian boy with CAMT and compound heterozygosis for two (c-mpl point mutations. C-to-T transitions were detected on exons 5 and 12 at the 769 and 1904 cDNA nucleotide positions, respectively. The mutation in exon 5 substitutes an arginine with a cysteine (R257C) in the extracellular domain, 11 amino acids distant from the WSXWS motif conserved in the cytokine-receptor superfamily. The mutation in exon 12 substitutes a proline with a leucine (P635L) in the last amino acid of the C-terminal intracellular domain, responsible for signal transduction. As in the Japanese family, the mutations were both transmitted from the parents. TPO plasma levels were highly increased in the patient. The patient's 7-year-old brother, who was a candidate donor for allografting, turned out to be an asymptomatic heterozygous carrier of P635L and showed defective megakaryocyte colony formation from bone-marrow progenitor cells. The present study provides important confirmation that CAMT can be associated with (c-mpl) mutations.
Asunto(s)
Megacariocitos , Proteínas de Neoplasias , Mutación Puntual , Proteínas Proto-Oncogénicas/genética , Receptores de Citocinas , Trombocitopenia/congénito , Secuencia de Aminoácidos , Células de la Médula Ósea , Preescolar , Femenino , Heterocigoto , Humanos , Italia , Masculino , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Linaje , Receptores de Trombopoyetina , Homología de Secuencia de AminoácidoAsunto(s)
Antibacterianos/administración & dosificación , Gentamicinas/administración & dosificación , Infecciones por Bacterias Gramnegativas/tratamiento farmacológico , Activadores Plasminogénicos/administración & dosificación , Infecciones Relacionadas con Prótesis/tratamiento farmacológico , Rhizobium/aislamiento & purificación , Activador de Plasminógeno de Tipo Uroquinasa/administración & dosificación , Adolescente , Trasplante de Médula Ósea , Cateterismo Venoso Central/efectos adversos , Niño , Quimioterapia Combinada , Infecciones por Bacterias Gramnegativas/etiología , Humanos , Masculino , Infecciones Relacionadas con Prótesis/etiología , Terapia RecuperativaRESUMEN
The various components in the N 1s photoemission spectra of amorphous carbon nitride are identified by measuring their photon energy dependence and comparing the experimental results with ab initio multiple scattering calculations. The intensity modulations with photon energy are due to the extended x-ray absorption fine structure effects.
RESUMEN
Hereditary thrombocytopenias represent heterogeneous clinical and genetic syndromes. They include a consistent group of families which are considered as a separate clinical entity, characterized by autosomal dominant transmission, incomplete penetrance in females, chronic thrombocytopenia with early age of onset and frequently increased platelet volume, without any other hematologic abnormality. The molecular defect in these families is still unknown. We describe 2 families in 3 generations (10 patients), and report the first study of the TPO/c-mpl system in autosomal dominant thrombocytopenia. We performed mutational screening of c-mpl coding, flanking introns and promoter regions in 2 probands from the two families by DNA sequencing. The results do not provide evidence of c-mpl sequence alterations in either of the 2 families investigated. Moreover, the normal TPO serum levels detected in 5 patients from each family leads us to exclude the possibility of a defect in TPO production in our families. Finally, the involvement of both c-mpl and TPO genes in the pathogenesis of thrombocytopenia in these two families was excluded by negative results of linkage analysis.
Asunto(s)
Plaquetas/citología , Proteínas de Neoplasias , Receptores de Citocinas , Trombocitopenia/etiología , Adolescente , Adulto , Anciano , Niño , Preescolar , Análisis Mutacional de ADN , Salud de la Familia , Femenino , Frecuencia de los Genes , Ligamiento Genético , Pruebas Genéticas , Hematopoyesis , Humanos , Intrones , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Linaje , Mutación Puntual , Polimorfismo Genético , Regiones Promotoras Genéticas/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogénicas/genética , Receptores de Trombopoyetina , Trombocitopenia/genética , Trombopoyetina/sangre , Trombopoyetina/genética , Regiones no TraducidasRESUMEN
Linalool is a monoterpene compound reported to be a major component of essential oils in various aromatic species. Several linalool-producing species are used in traditional medical systems. Among these is Aeolanthus suaveolens G. Dom (Labiatae) which is used as an anticonvulsant in the Brazilian Amazon. Psychopharmacological in vivo evaluation of linalool showed that this compound has dose-dependent marked sedative effects at the central nervous system (CNS), including hypnotic, anticonvulsant and hypothermic properties. It has been suggested that these neurochemical effects might be ascribed to the local anaesthetic activity of linalool. The present study reports an inhibitory effect of linalool on the acetylcholine (ACh) release and on the channel open time in the mouse neuromuscular junction. These findings could provide a rational basis to confirm the traditional medical use of linalool-producing plant species. Indeed, our data demonstrate some interactions in the modulation of the ACh release at the mouse neuromuscular junction, which are well correlated with the suggested molecular mechanisms. Linalool induced a reduction of the ACh-evoked release. The possibility that this effect could be ascribed to some interaction with pre-synaptic function is noteworthy. Moreover, the inhibitory effect induced on the kinetics of the miniature end-plate current decay demonstrates a local anaesthetic action, either on the voltage or on the receptor-activated channels.
Asunto(s)
Monoterpenos , Unión Neuromuscular/efectos de los fármacos , Receptores Nicotínicos/fisiología , Terpenos/farmacología , Acetilcolina/metabolismo , Monoterpenos Acíclicos , Animales , Concentración de Iones de Hidrógeno , Técnicas In Vitro , Activación del Canal Iónico/efectos de los fármacos , Canales Iónicos/efectos de los fármacos , Cinética , Masculino , Potenciales de la Membrana/efectos de los fármacos , Ratones , Placa Motora/efectos de los fármacos , Placa Motora/fisiología , Unión Neuromuscular/metabolismo , Antagonistas Nicotínicos/farmacología , Técnicas de Placa-ClampRESUMEN
UNLABELLED: The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of inhibin B and the determination of its concentration to diagnose testicular damage after treatment for a childhood malignancy. Thirty-seven males treated for Hodgkin disease (n = 11) or non-Hodgkin lymphoma (n = 26) were examined at a mean age of 16.9+/-2.9 years. Mean age at the stop of therapy was 11.3+/-3.0 years and in most cases the chemotherapy regimen included gonadal damaging alkylating agents. Thirty-three normal males (mean age 17.9+/-4.1 years) were examined as controls. Serum samples were collected for determination of inhibin B, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and testosterone. Median inhibin values were significantly lower in patients than in controls (96.0 vs. 225.0 pg/ml, P<0.0001) and a strong negative correlation was found between inhibin B and FSH (r = -0.86, P<0.0001), a weak correlation with LH (r = -0.32, P<0.05) and no correlation with testosterone. In post-pubertal patients (i.e., over 16 years) a positive correlation was found between testicular size and inhibin level (r = 0.53, P<0.05), but not between testicular size and testosterone level. Pathological low levels (values that differed by more than 2 SD from the mean value of control subjects) were found in 20 patients for inhibin B and 8 for testosterone (P<0.01) and pathological high values in 19 patients for FSH and 3 for LH. CONCLUSION: This study confirms the role that inhibin B plays in the regulation of FSH secretion and provides further evidence of the utility of its evaluation as a direct indicator of male gonadal dysfunction.
Asunto(s)
Antineoplásicos Alquilantes/efectos adversos , Enfermedad de Hodgkin/tratamiento farmacológico , Inhibinas/sangre , Linfoma no Hodgkin/tratamiento farmacológico , Testículo/efectos de los fármacos , Testículo/patología , Adolescente , Antineoplásicos Alquilantes/uso terapéutico , Biomarcadores , Niño , Preescolar , Hormona Folículo Estimulante/sangre , Humanos , Hormona Luteinizante/sangre , Masculino , Testículo/fisiopatología , Testosterona/sangreRESUMEN
The first multicentric approach to childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treatment in Italy started in the early 1970s when the Associazione Italiana di Ematologia ed Oncologia Pediatrica (AIEOP) was founded. Since then the AIEOP has conducted nationwide chemotherapy protocols. Results obtained in three different periods (1982-1986, 1987-1990, 1991-1995) are reported here. Treatment schedules have been characterized by a progressive intensification of systemic therapy and by a progressive substitution of protracted intrathecal therapy for cranial irradiation as central nervous system (CNS) preventive therapy. In the third period cranial radiotherapy (CRT) has been administered only to patients at high risk of relapse or with CNS involvement at diagnosis (about 15% of the overall population). A progressive improvement of therapeutic results, with a steady reduction of isolated CNS relapse rates have been obtained in the three periods considered here. The AIEOP experience shows that CRT can be safely omitted in non-high risk patients, unless they are T-ALL patients with WBC count at the diagnosis > or =100,000/mm3, and that intensification of treatment allows the improvement of overall results with a reduction of the impact of NCI prognostic criteria. Over the years, AIEOP has also continued to foster active cooperation at an international level. In the ongoing AIEOP ALL 2000 study, conducted in cooperation with the BFM group, patients are stratified according to the presence of translocations t(9;22) and t(4;11) and to treatment response (either initial steroid therapy or induction) or minimal residual disease). This cooperation will allow an adequate recruitment of patients to answer relevant randomized questions in the context of a study in which patients are stratified according to minimal residual disease findings.
Asunto(s)
Protocolos de Quimioterapia Combinada Antineoplásica/uso terapéutico , Ensayos Clínicos como Asunto , Leucemia-Linfoma Linfoblástico de Células Precursoras/tratamiento farmacológico , HumanosRESUMEN
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Ewing's tumors (ET) are primary malignancies of bone and soft tissues characterized in at least 96% of cases by specific fusion transcripts originating from recurrent chromosomal translocations. Clinical protocols for high-risk metastatic ETs include high-dose radiation/chemotherapy followed by autologous peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) reinfusion. We used nested reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to search for the presence of ET-specific transcripts in PBSC collections from patients with high-risk ET in order to collect harvests free from neoplastic cells but still sufficient to obtain early stable engraftment. DESIGN AND METHODS: Thirty-seven harvest samples from 15 ET patients treated with mobilizing chemotherapy were analyzed. Nested RT-PCR was performed to detect ET-specific transcripts in RNA extracted from the PBSC collections. RESULTS: A total of 30 harvests was performed. On average, 2 harvests (range 1-4) were sufficient to collect the minimum required number of mononuclear cells (2.5
Asunto(s)
Trasplante de Células Madre Hematopoyéticas/métodos , Proteínas de Fusión Oncogénica/análisis , Proteínas Recombinantes de Fusión/análisis , Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa de Transcriptasa Inversa/métodos , Sarcoma de Ewing/sangre , Sarcoma de Ewing/genética , Niño , Cromosomas Humanos Par 11 , Cromosomas Humanos Par 22 , Supervivencia sin Enfermedad , Humanos , Proteínas de Fusión Oncogénica/genética , Proteínas Recombinantes de Fusión/genética , Recurrencia , Factores de Riesgo , Sarcoma de Ewing/epidemiología , Sensibilidad y Especificidad , Transcripción Genética , Translocación Genética/genética , Trasplante AutólogoRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The aim of this phase I study was to define the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of thiotepa (TT), administered with busulfan (BU) 480 mg/m(2) and etoposide 2,400 mg/m(2), followed by autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT) or peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (APBSCT) support in children with solid tumors either disseminated at diagnosis or after relapse. PROCEDURE: Nineteen patients, between 2 and 16 years of age, received a high-dose chemotherapy regimen including escalating doses of TT starting from 150 mg/m(2). Subsequent dose escalation was determined by a modified Fibonacci scheme. Whenever one patient at one dosage level showed a grade III or grade IV reversible toxicity, additional patients were admitted (one by one) up to a maximum number of 6. Upon observing grade III or IV reversible toxicity in two or more systems, in 3 of the 6 patients, no further escalation was performed, and the corresponding dosage was taken as the MTD. WHO criteria were adopted to assess grade of toxicity. RESULTS: All patients had hematological recovery; and neutrophils and platelet engraftment were observed after median times of 12 and 29 days from stem cell infusion, respectively. The MTD of TT was determined to be 750 mg/ m(2). At this level, 3 of 6 patients experienced grade III mucositis and/or grade III gastrointestinal toxicity. No patient died of treatment-related toxicity. CONCLUSIONS: A dose of 750 mg/m(2) TT is the MTD when it is associated with BU 480 mg/m(2) and etoposide 2, 400 mg/m(2). This ablative regimen represents a feasible and tolerable combination for high-dose chemotherapy followed by hematopoietic stem cell rescue (HSCR). Phase II studies in children with poor-prognosis solid tumors are required to evaluate the effectiveness of this treatment.
Asunto(s)
Protocolos de Quimioterapia Combinada Antineoplásica/uso terapéutico , Trasplante de Médula Ósea , Trasplante de Células Madre Hematopoyéticas , Neuroblastoma/terapia , Rabdomiosarcoma/terapia , Sarcoma de Ewing/terapia , Tiotepa/administración & dosificación , Adolescente , Busulfano/administración & dosificación , Niño , Preescolar , Terapia Combinada , Relación Dosis-Respuesta a Droga , Etopósido/administración & dosificación , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Neuroblastoma/patología , Pronóstico , Rabdomiosarcoma/patología , Sarcoma de Ewing/patología , Tiotepa/efectos adversosRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: In 1991, the Italian Association for Pediatric Hematology-Oncology and the National Council of Research (CNR) initiated an Italian Cooperative Study (SE 91-CNR Protocol) with the main objective of improving the overall survival (SUR) and the event free survival (EFS) of children and young adults with localized Ewing sarcoma and primitive neuroectodermal tumors of bone compared with a previous study (IOR/Ew2 Protocol). METHODS: Between November 1991 and November 1997, 165 patients were enrolled in this study, 160 of whom were evaluable. The patients were treated with a multimodal approach characterized by intensified chemotherapy, hyperfractionated and accelerated radiation therapy, and the addition of ifosfamide and etoposide to standard chemotherapy with vincristine, actinomycin-D, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide. RESULTS: After a median follow-up of 37 months, 126 of the 160 evaluable patients remained free of disease recurrence. Thirty-one patients developed a disease recurrence (20 with disseminated disease). CONCLUSIONS: The 3-year SUR and EFS rates found in the current study (83.6% and 77.8%, respectively) may be considered satisfactory. Only age at diagnosis < or =14 years and a good histologic response appeared to affect the outcome of patients with localized Ewing sarcoma positively. These results appear to demonstrate the efficacy of the addition of ifosfamide in induction chemotherapy to four-drug standard combination chemotherapy, as confirmed by the improved outcome in terms of 3-year EFS reported in the SE 91-CNR Protocol compared with the IOR/Ew2 Protocol (77.8% vs. 60.7%). In addition, the better outcome also could be explained by the change in treatment strategy with a trend toward the use of more surgery than radiation therapy compared with the authors' previous protocol.
Asunto(s)
Neoplasias Óseas/terapia , Tumores Neuroectodérmicos Primitivos/terapia , Sarcoma de Ewing/terapia , Adolescente , Adulto , Amputación Quirúrgica , Protocolos de Quimioterapia Combinada Antineoplásica/uso terapéutico , Neoplasias Óseas/patología , Neoplasias Óseas/radioterapia , Niño , Preescolar , Protocolos Clínicos , Terapia Combinada , Progresión de la Enfermedad , Femenino , Estudios de Seguimiento , Humanos , Masculino , Tumores Neuroectodérmicos Primitivos/patología , Tumores Neuroectodérmicos Primitivos/radioterapia , Complicaciones Posoperatorias , Inducción de Remisión , Sarcoma de Ewing/patología , Sarcoma de Ewing/radioterapia , Análisis de SupervivenciaRESUMEN
Natural extracts have been proved to be useful in different human pathological conditions. The scientific consideration of the therapeutic potential of plant extracts is still inappropriate due to the lack of both pharmacological and epidemiological basic studies. Here, we started from an electrophysiological point of view, a study on the effects of two extracts on the acetylcholine (ACh) release at the neuromuscular junction. The extracts purified from Sugar cane (policosanol) and Psidium guajava (quercetin) have been submitted to this study. The wide epidemiology of these agents suggests therapeutic potentials not yet well outlined at the basic level. Our data demonstrate some interactions in the modulation of the ACh release at the mouse neuro-muscular junction, which are well correlated with the suggested molecular mechanisms. Policosanol enhances to a small extent either the spontaneous or the evoked ACh release. Furthermore, an increase of the rate of the conformational change induced at the nicotinic receptor-channel complex by ACh is also observed. Quercetin induced a reduction of the ACh evoked release. The possibility that this effect could be ascribed to some interaction with presynaptic calcium channel is noteworthy. The results are discussed in terms of a possible interference with acetylcholinesterase by policosanol and of a presynaptic molecular action of quercetin modulating the cytosolic calcium concentration.
Asunto(s)
Acetilcolina/metabolismo , Anticolesterolemiantes/farmacología , Alcoholes Grasos/farmacología , Magnoliopsida/química , Unión Neuromuscular/efectos de los fármacos , Poaceae/química , Quercetina/farmacología , Animales , Electrofisiología , Concentración de Iones de Hidrógeno , Técnicas In Vitro , Masculino , Potenciales de la Membrana/efectos de los fármacos , Ratones , Unión Neuromuscular/metabolismo , Técnicas de Placa-Clamp , Extractos Vegetales/farmacología , Transmisión Sináptica/efectos de los fármacosRESUMEN
A patient with Wilms' tumor and severe failure to thrive required total parenteral nutrition (TPN) for "catch-up" growth. This case underscores how TPN might be useful in the management of a child with cancer. Cancer cachexia, chemotherapy, radiation, and infections caused by immune suppression can lead to potentially serious macro- and micronutrient deficiencies.
Asunto(s)
Insuficiencia de Crecimiento/terapia , Nutrición Parenteral en el Domicilio , Tumor de Wilms/complicaciones , Insuficiencia de Crecimiento/complicaciones , Humanos , Lactante , Masculino , Trastornos Nutricionales/etiología , Trastornos Nutricionales/terapia , Nutrición Parenteral TotalRESUMEN
The hematopoietic defect of Diamond-Blackfan anemia (DBA) results in selective failure of erythropoiesis. Thus far, it is not known whether this defect originates from an intrinsic impediment of hematopoietic progenitors to move forward along the erythroid pathway or to the impaired capacity of the bone marrow (BM) microenvironment to support proliferation and differentiation of hematopoietic cells. Reduced longevity of long-term bone marrow cultures, the most physiologic in vitro system to study the interactions of hematopoietic progenitors and hematopoietic microenvironment, is consistent with a defect of an early hematopoietic progenitor in DBA. However, stromal adherent layers from DBA patients generated in a long-term culture system, the in vitro counterpart of BM microenvironment, did not show evidence of any morphologic, phenotypic, or functional abnormality. Our major finding was an impaired capacity of enriched CD34+ BM cell fraction from DBA patients, cultured in the presence of normal BM stromal cells, to proliferate and differentiate along the erythroid pathway. A similar impairment was observed in some DBA patients along the granulomacrophage pathway. Our result points to an intrinsic defect of a hematopoietic progenitor with bilineage potential that is earlier than previously suspected as a relevant pathogenetic mechanism of the disease. The finding of impaired granulopoiesis in some DBA patients underlines the heterogeneity of this rare disorder.
Asunto(s)
Células de la Médula Ósea/patología , Anemia de Fanconi/patología , Granulocitos/patología , Células Madre Hematopoyéticas/patología , Macrófagos/patología , Adolescente , Adulto , Antígenos CD34/análisis , Células de la Médula Ósea/inmunología , Células de la Médula Ósea/fisiología , Diferenciación Celular , División Celular , Supervivencia Celular , Células Cultivadas , Niño , Preescolar , Medios de Cultivo Condicionados/farmacología , Citocinas/genética , Células Precursoras Eritroides/efectos de los fármacos , Células Precursoras Eritroides/metabolismo , Células Precursoras Eritroides/patología , Femenino , Hematopoyesis/fisiología , Células Madre Hematopoyéticas/efectos de los fármacos , Células Madre Hematopoyéticas/metabolismo , Humanos , Inmunofenotipificación , Lactante , Masculino , ARN Mensajero/biosíntesis , Células del Estroma/fisiología , Factores de TiempoRESUMEN
Thrombocytopenia with absent radii (TAR) is a rare autosomal recessive disease characterized by hypomegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia and bilateral radial aplasia. We performed mutational screening of coding and promoter regions of the c-mpl gene, encoding thrombopoietin (TPO) receptor, by sequence analysis in four unrelated patients affected by TAR syndrome. Our results indicate that c-mpl gene mutations are not a common cause of thrombocytopenia in TAR syndrome.