Adverse reactions in patients transfused with cryopreserved marrow

Marrow is cryopreserved for use in autologous bone marrow transplants, but little is known of the incidence of reactions in patients transfused with these cryopreserved marrows. Reactions in patients transfused during a 4-year period with 134 autologous marrows cryopreserved in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) were compared with those in patients transfused with marrow that had been collected from HLA-compatible donors and that had not been cryopreserved. Patients transfused with cryopreserved marrow had significantly more nausea (44.8 vs. 14.1%; p less than 0.0005), vomiting (23.9 vs. 8.5%; p less than 0.01), chills (31.3 vs. 1.4%; p less than 0.0005), and fever (17.9 vs. 0%; p less than 0.005) than patients transfused with fresh allogeneic marrow. The incidence of emesis correlated with the dose of DMSO received, but that of nausea did not. All cryopreserved marrows were cultured for bacteria at the time of transfusion and 17 (12.7%) were found to be positive. Only 1 of the 17 patients transfused with culture-positive marrow developed sepsis during the transplant course with the same organism that was present in the transfused marrow. Although the reactions in donors transfused with cryopreserved marrow were readily treated, this study suggests that the incidence of some reactions might be decreased by reducing the dose of DMSO transfused. Bacterial contamination of transfused marrow was a worrisome complication, and efforts should be made to improve marrow collection and processing techniques to minimize that risk.     

Low incidence of HTLV infections in random blood donors with indeterminate western blot patterns

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were recovered from platelet units of 61 blood donors who were HTLV-I positive and 3 blood donors who were HTLV-I negative on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Western blot analyses were performed on the sera and DNA was prepared from the PBMCs and analyzed by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Of the 61 repeatably reactive samples, 2 were positive, 26 were negative, and 33 were interpreted as indeterminate on Western blot. HTLV-II sequences were detected by PCR in one of the Western blot-positive samples, as well as in one Western blot-indeterminate sample that showed reactivity to p24 only. HTLV-I sequences were detected in the second Western blot-positive sample. HTLV sequences were not detected in the remaining samples, which suggested that the majority of individuals with indeterminate results on Western blots that used one set of commercially available reagents are not infected with HTLV. It is demonstrated in this study that PCR can be used not only to resolve the infection status of individuals with indeterminate Western blots but also to distinguish between HTLV-I and HTLV-II.     

CAUSTIC SODA BURNS TO THE EXTREMITIES: DIFFICULTIES IN MANAGEMENT

SUMMARY Alkali burns to the extremities are unusual, but they are also a cause of significant morbidity, often because of their late presentation. Their management centres around water lavage, burn debridement and split-skin grafting; there is controversy over the timing of surgery. Three unusual cases of caustic soda burn in adults, and the difficulties encountered in their management, are described, and the literature is reviewed.     

Groundnut Meal and Carrot Fortified Pasta: Optimization of Ingredients Level Using RSM

The present study was undertaken to optimize the level of groundnut meal, carrot juice and refined wheat flour for the development of pasta using response surface methodology. Different experimental combinations were designed using box-benken design of experiments considering 10–20 g groundnut meal, 14–30 mL carrot juice and 80–90 g refined wheat flour. Pasta samples with higher level of groundnut meal and carrot juice showed higher antioxidant activity and overall sensory acceptability. The samples with higher groundnut meal resulted in higher protein content. Pasta samples with higher amount of carrot juice showed higher rehydration ratio and lesser cooking time with low solid loss in cooking water. The food materials were optimized to obtain the best experimental combination for development of groundnut meal and carrot fortified pasta. Different levels of groundnut meal, carrot juice and wheat flour significantly affected the colour as well as cooking quality of pasta. The protein and antioxidant activity of pasta were increased with increasing level of groundnut meal and carrot juice in the sample. Optimized groundnut meal and carrot fortified pasta consisted of 17.64 % groundnut meal and 82.36 % wheat flour with 27.45 mL per 100 g formulation of carrot juice showing overall desirability as 0.849. This pasta sample required 3.49 min to cook with 4.71 % solid loss and rehydration ratio as 4.15 having 17.32 % protein content, 10.63 % antioxidant activity, 301.32 mg/100 g total phenols and overall sensory acceptability score as 8.7.     

Efficacy and safety of Antarth for osteoarthritis

Gupta AK, Acharya K, Sancheti PS, Joshi RS. A double‐blind, randomized, multicentric, placebo‐controlled clinical trial of Antarth, a phytomedicine, in the treatment of osteoarthritis. Indian J Pharmacol 2011; 43: 69–72.