Factor IX concentrate versus prothrombin complex concentrate for the treatment of hemophilia B during surgery

Hemophilia B patients are usually treated for the prevention and control of bleeding episodes with a plasma derivative containing the four vitamin K-dependent clotting factors (PPSB). Prothrombin complex concentrate and the French PPSB concentrate are known to be thrombogenic when used in long-term treatment of surgical patients. The present study reports two cases of thrombotic episodes following surgery in PPSB-treated hemophilia B patients. Since 1986, there has been available a factor IX (FIX) concentrate depleted of the other vitamin K-dependent clotting factors and virally inactivated by the solvent-detergent method. This preparation has been used as replacement therapy in six patients with severe hemophilia B who were to undergo orthopedic surgery. The management of the patients before and after operation was without any thrombotic complication or undesirable side effects. The present study suggests that there is a need for an FIX preparation devoid of the other vitamin K-dependent clotting factors for long-term therapy of hemophilia B patients.     

When should antibody screening tests be done for recently transfused patients?

The American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) requires that blood samples used for pretransfusion testing of recently transfused (or pregnant) patients must be obtained within 3 days of scheduled transfusions. This requirement, which became effective in July 1988, amended Standard G2.000 of the AABB, which previously required that pretransfusion testing must be done on blood samples obtained within 2 days of scheduled transfusions. The present study was designed to estimate the risk associated with adopting the amended version of Standard G2.000. Sixty patients who developed significant unexpected alloantibodies after transfusion were studied retrospectively. Thirteen of the 60 patients were found to have newly detectable antibodies within 83 hours of a sample reported to be negative for the new antibody. Had the amended version of Standard G2.000 been in effect, the detection of some of these antibodies might have been delayed up to 24 hours. It was estimated that the implementation of the new AABB requirement at the authors' institution could potentially place about 1 in 3000 transfused patients at risk for an acute or delayed hemolytic transfusion reaction.     

Contribution of polymerase chain reaction and radioimmunoprecipitation assay in the confirmation of human T-lymphotropic virus infection in French blood donors. Retrovirus Study Group of the French Society of Blood Transfusion

BACKGROUND: To verify the criteria for human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) seropositivity in Western blot (WB) proposed by the Retrovirus Study Group of the French Society of Blood Transfusion, 186 blood donations that were repeatedly reactive in HTLV enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, selected according to their WB pattern, were tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and radioimmunoprecipitation assay (RIPA). STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: In two commercially available WBs, 12 samples were confirmed as positive (rgp21+p19+p24) and 174 were interpreted as indeterminate (one or two reactivities to these proteins). The primer pairs used for the PCR allowed the amplification of type I (HTLV-I) or type II (HTLV-II) (or both) sequences. The RIPA was performed with two 35S-labeled cell lines: HTLV-I infected HUT 102/B2 and HTLV-II-infected MoT. RESULTS: Of the 12 positive samples, 11 were classified as HTLV-I-positive and one as HTLV-II-positive. Among the 174 indeterminate samples, three (WB pattern: rgp21+, p19+, p24-) were HTLV-I positive in PCR (one of them was positive in RIPA also); the other 171 were HTLV negative. CONCLUSION: In the study of a population in which 97 percent of HTLV infections are due to HTLV-I, these data support the three-protein criteria (rgp21, p19, and p24) for a positive blot reading. No HTLV infection was observed when rgp21 did not react. Consequently, p19 and/or p24 band patterns represent false reactivity and do not require PCR or RIPA confirmation. To discriminate between false- and true-positive results in the absence of MTA-1 or K55 reactivity, PCR and/or RIPA is required only when rgp21 reactivity is associated with one gag band (p19 or p24).     

Isolated headache as the presenting clinical manifestation of intracranial tumors: a prospective study

Isolated headache as the presenting clinical manifestation of intracranial tumors: a prospective study. Cephalalgia 1994;1'4:270-1. Oslo. ISSN 0333-1024We prospectively studied over two years the incidence of headache as the initial and isolated clinical manifestation of adult patients suffering from intracranial tumors ( n = 183). Fifteen patients (8%) exhibited headache as their first and isolated clinical manifestation. Age, sex, neoplasm localization, or pathological diagnosis did not correlate with the presence of headache. Posterior fossa location and hydrocephalus, though not reaching statistical significance, were more frequent in patients who presented with headache as the first symptom. At the moment of diagnosis, 59 (31%) of the patients admitted to headache, though only I out of the 15 patients starting as headache still had this symptom as the only manifestation. From our experience in adults, isolated headache for longer than 10 weeks will only exceptionally be secondary to an intracranial neoplasm.     

Loss of high-affinity thrombin receptors during platelet concentrate storage impairs the reactivity of platelets to thrombin

BACKGROUND: The storage of platelet concentrates (PCs) induces a reduction in the platelet surface expression of glycoprotein (GP) Ib alpha. The location of the platelets' high-affinity binding site for thrombin has been postulated as being located on GPIb alpha. This study attempts to determine whether loss or alteration of GPIb alpha during storage of PCs is related to impairment in the reactivity of platelets to thrombin. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: In this study, platelet surface expression of GPIb alpha was monitored by means of flow cytometry, throughout standard storage of PCs for up to 10 days. Two thrombin- induced platelet responses, the binding of radiolabeled fibrinogen and the platelet surface expression of P-selectin, were evaluated. Thrombin- binding assays were also performed to assess the number of thrombin receptors in platelets. RESULTS: The surface expression of the GPIb/IX complex declines during storage of PCs. The thrombin-induced maximal binding of fibrinogen in platelets stored for 3, 7, and 10 days was 77 +/? 7 percent, 60 +/? 20 percent, and 34 +/? 25 percent, respectively, of that found in fresh platelets. Moreover, the concentration of thrombin needed for 50 percent of platelets to express the CD62 antigen P-selectin at the surface increased from 0.05 U per mL in fresh platelets to 0.11, 0.56, and 1.2 U per mL in platelets stored for 3, 7, and 10 days, respectively. Thrombin-binding experiments demonstrated a significant reduction in the number of high-affinity binding sites throughout storage of PCs (55 +/? 21 sites/platelet in 10-day-stored platelets vs. 73 +/? 25 in fresh platelets). A significant correlation was also observed between the number of high-affinity thrombin-binding sites and surface expression of GPIb alpha. Selective blockage of the thrombin-binding site on GPIb alpha with monoclonal antibody LJ-Ib10 also inhibited the response of fresh platelets to thrombin, up to a level equivalent to that found in 3-day-stored platelets. CONCLUSION: The loss of the GPIb alpha-located high-affinity thrombin-binding site may impair the ability of platelets to become activated by thrombin as storage time increases.     

氧化应激对糖尿病肾病时细胞、细胞外基质及血管通透性的影响机制

目的:糖尿病肾病及其引起的终末期肾病近年来在全球的发病情况逐年提高,该病预后差、治疗费用高,成为世界范围内严重危害人类健康的公共卫生问题。糖尿病肾病发病机制错综复杂,氧化应激被认为是重要的共同的机制之一。本文探讨氧化应激对糖尿病肾病的影响。资料来源:应用计算机检索MEDLINE,CBM,CNKI数据库及手工检索1997-01/2006-11期间的相关文献。包括临床研究(不限研究对象的年龄、性别、种族。)和基础研究,不限体内或体外研究。中文检索词包括“氧化应激”,“活性氧类”,“糖尿病肾病”和“发病机制”;英文检索词有“diabetic nephropathies”,“oxidative stress”,“reactive oxygen species”,“PKC”和“TGF-β”。资料选择:共收集到相关文献991篇,阅读全部文章的文题和大部分文章的摘要。选择文献所述内容与糖尿病肾病时氧化应激作用相关的文献。排除重复性研究和Meta分析类文章。资料提炼:共得到符合纳入条件的文献142篇,排除849篇。选择其中30篇进行分析,其中英文25篇,中文5篇,英文有1篇为手工检索的增刊。资料综合:糖尿病肾病的发病机制错综复杂,肾脏的结构和功能变化包括高滤过、肾脏和肾小球的肥大、细胞外基质的堆积、肾小球基底膜的增厚和肾小球滤过屏障功能的异常。这些变化是多因素共同作用的结果,在众多发病机制中,氧化应激被认为是共同机制之一。在正常情况下,活性氧的产生和抗活性氧水平二者处于平衡状态,当活性氧蓄积过多就会攻击机体,即氧化应激。氧化应激的产生主要是活性氧类产生过多和清除减少以及糖尿病肾病患者体内氧化应激水平增加导致的。氧化应激对糖尿病肾病的影响包括活性氧类可以增加细胞膜的通透性;使肾细胞内的谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶、超氧化物歧化酶和过氧化氢酶等抗氧化酶发生糖化或氧化,肾组织抗氧化能力降低,细胞内关键酶和转运蛋白Na-K-ATP酶失活等。结论:氧化应激作用可以增加细胞膜的通透性,使肾组织抗氧化能力降低,是糖尿病肾病的重要发病机制之一。     

Sentinel lymph node biopsy in melanoma: Which hot nodes should be harvested and is blue dye really necessary?

Objectives

The ‘10% rule’ has become widely accepted by surgeons performing sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for melanoma. The purpose of this study was to compare the ‘10% rule’ with alternative node harvesting criteria. In particular, we were interested to see whether the use of blue dye had any impact on the sensitivity of the test and whether it is necessary to remove all hot nodes.