Second allogenic bone marrow transplantation after late graft rejection in a patient with severe aplastic anemia

Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is the treatment of choice in young patients (pts) with severe aplastic anemia (SAA) who have an HLA identical sibling donor. Late graft rejection to following allogeneic BMT for SAA is a significant clinical problem and is associated with a high risk of mortality. The optimal treatment strategy for patients with late graft rejection after first BMT is still an open question. We report 12-year-old patient with acquired SAA who underwent BMT from his HLA identical sister. BMT was first-line treatment within 3 months of diagnosis. Preparative therapy was Cyclophosphamide (Cy) 200 mg/kg body mass (BM) during 4 days. Graft versus host disease (GVHD) was prevented with Methotrexate (MTX), Methylprednisolone (MPDN) and Cyclosporin A (CsA). After 17 months, during which patient was with normal blood counts and full donor chimaerism, graft rejection occurred. The patient was re-engrafted from the same donor after conditioning with Cy 200 mg/kg BM plus horse antithymocyte globulin (ATG)--2 vials (á 25 mg)/10 kg BM over 4 days. Before the collection, donor's bone marrow was activated with low dose rhGM-CSF (3 micrograms/kg one day). Following a secondary BMT engraftment has sustained. The patient is alive with full donor chimaerism 26 months from secondary transplantation, without acute or chronic GVHD.     

Delayed epidural hematoma after mild head injury

BACKGROUND: Traumatic delayed epidural hematoma (DEH) can be defined as insignificant or not seen on the initial CT scan performed after a trauma but seen on the subsequent CT scan as a "massive" epidural bleeding. CASE REPORT: We presented two cases of traumatic DEH after mild head injury. Both patients were conscious and without neurological deficit on the admission. Initial CT scan did not reveal intracranial hematoma. Repeated CT scan, that was performed after neurological deterioration, revealed epidural hematoma in both cases. The patients were operated with a favorable surgical outcome. CONCLUSION: Traumatic DEH could occur in the patients with head injuries who were conscious on the admission with a normal initial CT scan finding. Early detection of DEH and an urgent surgical evacuation were essential for a good outcome.     

Stable expression of CD1a molecule in human epithelial cell lines shows temperature-dependent expression and affects cell morphology and growth

Received: 9 July 1996     

Expression of MUCI splice variants correlates with invasive growth of breast cancer cell lines

On the basis of alternative splicing the human breast cancer associated MUCI gene codes for different protein products. MUCI splice variants A and B have been shown to be determined by a single A/G nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in exon 2 of the MUCI gene. We now describe two new splice variants C and D and show by that in human breast cancer cell lines there is selective co-expression of these variants, namely co-expression of variants A and D. We have found that the expression of variants C and D is also determined by the same SNP in exon 2. Since the overexpression of MUCI proteins has been associated with increased invasive behavior of cancer cell lines, we quantitatively determined the mRNA expression levels of the splice variants A, B, C, and D in breast cancer cell lines and correlated them with the in vitro invasiveness of these cell lines. We revealed a significant correlation between the lack of MUCI splice variants B and C and the invasiveness of the cell lines tested. Furthermore, we showed that concomitant expression of variants A and D is associated with a GG in the genotype. These findings suggest that the invasive behavior of breast cell lines may depend on different expression patterns of the MUCI gene determined by a genetic polymorphism.     

Testicular biopsy helping assisted reproduction

Authors have performed testis biopsy on 21 male patients according to the predesigned protocol. The biopsy has been carried out from scrotal excision, with the exposure of both testis with microsurgical method. The results have been evaluated according to the spermogram groups. Correlation of FSH values and histological appearance of both testis was analyzed. Their method and experiences have been evaluated the effectiveness of assisted reproduction.