Precautions before starting tofacitinib in persons with rheumatoid arthritis

Tofacitinib is an immunosuppressive and disease-modifying therapy in rheumatoid arthritis. It may result in many infections flaring up. It is important to take precautions of all kinds (cardiovascular, malignancy, infections etc.) before starting tofacitinib. In this article, we have highlighted important steps where we need to take precautions before starting tofacitinib.     

Clinicopathological Profile of Myelomatous Pleural Effusion: Single-center Real-world Experience and Review of Literature

Background

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematologic malignancy of plasma cell origin. MM primarily affects bone marrow, but extramedullary sites can also be involved. Myelomatous pleural effusion (MPE) is an atypical and rare complication of MM. We aimed to systematically study the incidence and clinicopathologic profile of patients with MPE in a real-world setting.

Ischemic rat brain extracts induce human marrow stromal cell growth factor production

Intravenous administration of human bone marrow stromal cells (hMSCs) after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) in rats provides functional benefit. We tested the hypothesis that these functional benefits are derived in part from hMSC production of growth and trophic factors. Quantitative sandwich enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) of hMSCs cultured with normal and MCAo brain extracts were performed. hMSCs cultured in supernatant derived from ischemic brain extracts increased production of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), nerve growth factor (NGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). These neurotrophins and angiogenic growth factors increased in a post‐ischemia time‐dependent manner. The hMSC capacity to increase expression of growth and trophic factors may be the key to the benefit provided by transplanted hMSCs in the ischemic brain.     

Studies on the optimal conditions for inactivation of Bordetella pertussis organisms with glutaraldehyde for preparation of a safe and potent pertussis vaccine

The optimal conditions for inactivation of Bordetella pertussis organisms with glutaraldehyde for the production of a safe and potent whole cell pertussis vaccine were investigated. Two bacterial harvests from B. pertussis strain 10536 were treated with glutaraldehyde, each with 0.025, 0.05 and 0.1% concentrations of glutaraldehyde for 10, 60 and 120 min. The nine types of glutaraldehyde-inactivated pertussis vaccine (GIPV) and conventional heat-inactivated pertussis vaccine (HIPV) preparations made from two bacterial harvests were comparatively evaluated for the mouse weight gain test (MWGT), potency, and the histamine-sensitization (HS) and leucocytosis-promoting-factor (LPF) tests. The minimum period for killing the B. pertussis organisms with glutaraldehyde was>10 min for 0.025%, 10 min for 0.05% and 5 min for 0.1% concentration. The average loss in opacity varied from 5 to 10% for GIPV preparations and was 14% for HIPV preparations. The GIPV preparations except those inactivated with 0.025% glutaraldehyde for 10 min (GIPV-A) were much less toxic than the HIPV preparations in the MWGT. The GIPV-A preparations did not pass the MWGT. The GIPV preparations were also much less toxic in HS and LPF tests than the HIPV preparation. The potency of GIPV preparations inactivated with 0.05% glutaraldehyde for 10 min (GIPV-D) was similar to that of HIPV preparations. The prolonged treatments with glutaraldehyde reduced the potency. The GIPV-D preparation with good potency and less toxicity was found to be inactivated with glutaraldehyde under optimal conditions. All the preparations were innocuous in the abnormal toxicity test.