Parenteral amino acid intakes: possible influences of higher intakes on growth and bone status in preterm infants.

OBJECTIVE: To study the possible influences of amino acid (AA) intakes on growth and bone status in preterms. STUDY DESIGN: Newborns, weighing <1250 g, received standard (S) or higher (H) parenteral AA intakes (3 or 4 g kg(-1) per day). Anthropometry, biochemistry and quantitative ultrasound (metacarpus bone transmission time (mcBTT), in µs) were measured prospectively. RESULT: A total of 55 patients in group S and 60 in group H were studied. Significantly better growth rate was found in the H group during the study without signs of intolerance. We found a significant decrease in mcBTT from birth to 21 days in the H group; nonetheless, mcBTT at 36 weeks of gestational age significantly positively correlated with early AA and energy intakes. A significant positive correlation between mcBTT and lower limb length (LLL) at 21 days was found. CONCLUSION: Early higher AA intakes improved growth without short-term AA intolerance. Nutritional parameters could influence bone growth. LLL was the anthropometric parameter that best correlated to bone status.

Unrelated bone marrow transplantation for high-risk anaplastic large cell lymphoma in pediatric patients: a single center case series.

OBJECTIVES: The use of allogeneic stem cell transplantation in NHL patients is not yet clearly defined, especially in children and adolescents, but this option offers the advantages of a tumor-free graft and the possible induction of a graft-vs.-tumor effect. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We report the results of four consecutive pediatric patients affected by anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) and treated with allogeneic stem cell transplantation from an unrelated donor. The conditioning regimen was based on total body irradiation given in association with etoposide in three patients, and with thiotepa and cyclophoshamide in one patient. Graft-vs.-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis consisted of cyclosporin, a short course of methotrexate and rabbit antithymocyte globulin. RESULTS: All patients had rapid engraftment within 3-4 wk for neutrophils and platelets, and achieved a stable full donor chimerism that has been maintained to the last follow-up visit. One patient later developed a restrictive pneumonopathy. This patient had been heavily pretreated during the course of the disease having suffered four relapses and had received a cumulative dose of bleomycin of 160 mg/m(2). After a follow-up of 11-42 months, all patients are alive in complete hematological and molecular remission; and three of them without any chronic GVHD. CONCLUSIONS: The increasing number of volunteer bone marrow donors and the reduced toxicity of unrelated stem cell transplantation, especially in children, make this therapeutic option worth more extensive investigation in the treatment of high-risk failure ALCL, although more data is needed to evaluate the long-term benefits. In this regard, the presence of factors predictive of worst outcome such as an early relapse (within 12 months from diagnosis), a refractory or relapsing ALCL and the persistent detection on blood or bone marrow of nucleophosmin-anaplastic lymphoma kinase protein (NPM-ALK) transcript may help select the patients eligible to allogeneic related or unrelated stem cell transplantation.

Constituents of euphorbiaceae 12. Comm. (1). Isolation and structure elucidation of four new cerebrosides from Euphorbia biglandulosa Desf.

Four new cerebrosides 4-6 were isolated from the latex of Euphorbia biglandulosa Desf. and their structures determined. Normal and reverse-phase flash chromatography was effective for the isolation of the cerebrosides, and FAB-MS spectrometry, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, DQF-COSY and HMQC experiments and chemical reactions were useful in elucidating their structure. EI-MS of the dimethyl disulfide derivatives of the long chain bases and glucosphingoside-heptaacetates was decisive for the determination of the double bond position on the long chain parts.

[Co-agglutination as an alternative to precipitin testing in streptococcal grouping (author's transl)]. / La co-agglutinazione come alternativa al test di precipitazione in capillare nell'identificazione di gruppo degli streptococchi.

Grouping of beta-hemolytic streptococcal strains was performed over a six months period on a total of 102 isolates. The purpose was to compare the Lancefield method with three different possibilities offered by the Co-agglutination technique. The results show that the Co-agglutination is as reliable as precipitin testing but it can be much more sensitive and rapid than any other method.