Experience with MAD on children with epilepsy in Egypt after classic KD failure.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Modified Atkins diet (MAD) is a less restrictive type of ketogenic diet (KD) as compared to the classic one. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of 9 months MAD treatment on the growth and seizure control in patients with intractable epilepsy as well as the quality of life (QoL) of their mothers. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study included 15 patients with intractable epilepsy who could not tolerate their classic KD management plan. From the 15 recruited cases, only seven patients completed this nine months prospective study. After neurological reassessment, the patients were prescribed MAD tailored from the local Egyptian ingredients. Arabic translation of the WHO Quality of life Instruments (WHOQOL-BREF) scale was calculated for the mothers initially and 9 months later. Daily seizure frequency with severity assessment by Chalfont scale was recorded as well as monthly weight and length throughout the study period. RESULTS: Mothers 'QoL in all WHOQOL-BREF domains significantly improved (P < .001) after nine months follow-up coupled by significant decrease in Chalfont scores from 51.00 ± 15.45 to 20.57 ± 21.45 and daily seizure frequency from 13.29 ± 6.99 to 2.71 ± 3.68. Regarding anthropometric data, there was significant increase in patients' weight and length as well as in the z-score for weight and length. CONCLUSION: After nine months of MAD, growth and seizure parameters significantly improved in the intractable epilepsy patients as well as their mothers& QoL. We thus recommend MAD as a more flexible alternative in intractable epilepsy patients who can not tolerate classic KD.

Multi-center analysis of the effect of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia subtype and minimal residual disease on allogeneic stem cell transplantation outcomes.

This study aims to provide a detailed analysis of allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) outcomes in a large T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) cohort with a specific emphasis on the effects of pre-transplant minimal residual disease (MRD) and disease subtype, including the aggressive early-thymic precursor (ETP) subtype. Data from 102 allo-SCT patients with a diagnosis of T-ALL from three centers were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were grouped into four T-ALL subtypes: ETP, early, cortical and mature. At 3 years, overall survival (OS), PFS, non-relapse mortality and cumulative incidence (CI) progression were 35, 33, 11 and 55%, respectively. Patients transplanted in first complete remission (CR1) had a 3-year OS of 62% versus those transplanted in CR2 or greater (24%) (hazards ratio 1.6, P=0.2). Patients with MRD positivity at the time of transplant had significantly higher rates of progression compared with those with MRD negativity (76 vs 34%, hazards ratio 2.8, P=0.006). There was no difference in OS, PFS or cumulative incidence (CI) progression between disease subtypes, including ETP (n=16). ETP patients transplanted in CR1 (n=10) had OS of 47%, comparable to other disease subtypes, suggesting that allo-SCT can overcome the poor prognosis associated with ETP. MRD status at transplant was highly predictive of disease relapse, suggesting novel therapies are necessary to improve transplant outcomes.