Allopurinol desensitization with A 2 weeks modified protocol in an elderly patients with multiple comorbidities: a case report

BACKGROUND: Allopurinol is an effective urate-lowering drug that is well tolerated by the majority of patients. Patients with chronic renal insufficiency have an increased risk of hypersensitivity reactions with allopurinol. CASE PRESENTATION: 75 year old male patient with gout, renal insufficiency, history of metastatic colorectal carcinoma status post-resection was referred to Allergy clinic for a maculopapular eruption that developed 1 week after initiating therapy with allopurinol. The rash resolved with discontinuation of allopurinol. However, his serum urate level rose to 19.9 mg/dl. We initially proposed a slow 4 week oral allopurinol desensitization. The treating nephrologist felt it was critical to lower urate more rapidly. As a result, we modified the dose and standard 4 week protocol down to 2 weeks. A suspension of allopurinol was prepared by the allergy nurse practitioner with a 300 mg allopurinol tablet. The sensitization protocol was modified as a starting dose of 0.3 mg escalating to a final dose of 300 mg/day in 2 weeks. There was no reaction during or after the desensitization. The patient’s urate level normalized (6.3 mg/dl) and has continued on 300 mg allopurinol daily without reaction. CONCLUSION: A 2 week modified allopurinol desensitization protocol is a safe alternative for elderly patients with multiple comorbidities

Cardiogenic Induction of Pluripotent Stem Cells Streamlined Through a Conserved SDF-1/VEGF/BMP2 Integrated Network

BACKGROUND: Pluripotent stem cells produce tissue-specific lineages through programmed acquisition of sequential gene expression patterns that function as a blueprint for organ formation. As embryonic stem cells respond concomitantly to diverse signaling pathways during differentiation, extraction of a pro-cardiogenic network would offer a roadmap to streamline cardiac progenitor output. METHODS AND RESULTS: To resolve gene ontology priorities within precursor transcriptomes, cardiogenic subpopulations were here generated according to either growth factor guidance or stage-specific biomarker sorting. Innate expression profiles were independently delineated through unbiased systems biology mapping, and cross-referenced to filter transcriptional noise unmasking a conserved progenitor motif (55 up- and 233 down-regulated genes). The streamlined pool of 288 genes organized into a core biological network that prioritized the "Cardiovascular Development" function. Recursive in silico deconvolution of the cardiogenic neighborhood and associated canonical signaling pathways identified a combination of integrated axes, CXCR4/SDF-1, Flk-1/VEGF and BMP2r/BMP2, predicted to synchronize cardiac specification. In vitro targeting of the resolved triad in embryoid bodies accelerated expression of Nkx2.5, Mef2C and cardiac-MHC, enhanced beating activity, and augmented cardiogenic yield. CONCLUSIONS: Transcriptome-wide dissection of a conserved progenitor profile thus revealed functional highways that coordinate cardiogenic maturation from a pluripotent ground state. Validating the bioinformatics algorithm established a strategy to rationally modulate cell fate, and optimize stem cell-derived cardiogenesis

Allergy Workup for Suspected Folic Acid Hypersensitivity

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Nonimmediate Maculopapular Erythema Induced by a Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agent

International audienc

An Unusual Case of Occupational Rhinitis

International audienceAllergic rhinitis, when not related to proteic allergens, is difficult to diagnose. We report a case in which no association with a high-molecular-weight allergen was identified

Anaphylaxis to Bovine Serum Albumin Tissue Adhesive in a Non–Meat-Allergic Patient

International audienc