Current Issue : July - September Volume : 2013 Issue Number : 3 Articles : 5 Articles
Anemia is common in critically ill patients. As a consequence packed red blood cell (PRBC) transfusions are frequent in the\r\ncritically ill. Over the past two decades a growing body of literature has emerged, linking PRBC transfusion to infections,\r\nimmunosuppression, organ dysfunction, and a higher mortality rate. However, despite growing evidence that risk of PRBC\r\ntransfusion outweighs its benefit, significant numbers of critically ill patients still receive PRBC transfusion during their intensive\r\ncare unit (ICU) stay. In this paper, we summarize the current literature concerning the impact of anemia on outcomes in critically\r\nill patients and the potential complications of PRBC transfusions....
Background. Infections with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are currently\r\nmajor public health problems. Methods. A retrospective study was conducted from January to June 2008 at the Blood Bank of the\r\nCentral Hospital, Yaound�´e (Cameroon). The objective was to study the prevalence of HIV, HBV, and HCV and their coinfections\r\namong blood donors. Results. A total of 4650 donors were identified, and the sex ratio (male/female) was 14/1. The median\r\nage of donors was 28 years (range: 16 to 69 years). Among blood donors, HBV, HIV, and HCV infection prevalences were\r\n12.14% (n = 565) , 4.44% (n = 206), and 1.44% (n = 67), respectively. Coinfection with HIV and HBV was observed among\r\n0.77% donors, followed by hepatitis B and C co-infection (0.21%) and HIV and HCV coinfection (0.06%). Co-infection with\r\nHIV-HBV-HCV was encountered in 2 donors. The HIV, HBV, and HCV infections lead to a destruction of one out of six sets of\r\nblood collected. Conclusion. There is a need to review policies for blood collection from donors, by modifying the algorithm of\r\nblood donors testing. Pretesting potential donors using rapid tests could help to avoid collection and destruction of (infected)\r\nblood....
A lectin detected in haemolymph from the Australian spiny lobster Panulirus cygnus agglutinated human ABO Group A cells to a\r\nhigher titre than Group O or B. The lectin also agglutinated rat and sheep erythrocytes, with reactivity with rat erythrocytes strongly\r\nenhanced by treatment with the proteolytic enzyme papain, an observation consistent with reactivity via a glycolipid. The lectin,\r\npurified by affinity chromatography on fixed rat-erythrocyte stroma, was inhibited equally by N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylgalactosamine.\r\nComparison of data from gel filtration of haemolymph (behaving as a 1,800,000 Da macromolecule), and polyacrylamide\r\ngel electrophoresis of purified lectin (a single 67,000 Da band), suggested that in haemolymph the lecin was amultimer.\r\nThe purified anti-A lectin autoprecipitated unless the storage solution contained chaotropic inhibitors (125 mmol/L sucrose:\r\n500 mmol/L urea). The properties of this anti-A lectin and other similar lectins are consistent with a role in innate immunity\r\nin these invertebrates....
Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common form of non-Hodgkin�s lymphoma (NHL) in adults. Even if the\r\nnatural history of DLBCL has been improved with the advent of immunochemotherapy, the survival results obtained with current\r\ntreatment options clearly indicate that new agents or novel approaches are needed. Lenalidomide (Revlimid, Celgene Corporation,\r\nSummit, NJ, USA), an analogue of thalidomide, is an immunomodulatory drug with pleiotropic mechanisms of action potentially\r\nadding to immunochemotherapy. We present here the biological rational for the use of lenalidomide in DLBCL in light of recent\r\nadvances in the pathophysiology of the disease and the therapeutic results of the most recent trials published in literature or\r\nreported in meetings in relapsed/refractory situations as well as in first-line treatment....
Neonatal stromal cells from umbilical cord blood (CB) are promising alternatives to bone marrow- (BM-) derived multipotent\r\nstromal cells (MSCs). In comparison to BM-MSC, the less mature CB-derived stromal cells have been described as a cell population\r\nwith higher differentiation and proliferation potential that might be of potential interest for clinical application in regenerative\r\nmedicine. Recently, it has become clear that cord blood contains different stromal cell populations, and as of today, a clear distinction\r\nbetween unrestricted somatic stromal cells (USSCs) and CB-MSC has been established. This classification is based on the\r\nexpression of DLK-1, HOX, and CD146, as well as functional examination of the adipogenic differentiation potential and the\r\ncapacity to support haematopoiesis in vitro and in vivo. However, a marker enabling a prospective isolation of the rare cell populations\r\ndirectly out of cord blood is yet to be found. Further analysis may help to reveal even more subpopulations with different\r\nproperties, which could be useful for the directed application of these cells in preclinical models....
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