Eficacia y seguridad del tratamiento con lenalidomida y dexametasona en pacientes con mieloma múltiple no candidatos a trasplante en recaída

PO-019 Introducción: En la actualidad existe una amplia diversidad de tratamientos en pacientes con Mieloma Múltiple (MM) refractarios a tratamiento en primera línea y no candidatos a trasplante de progenitores hematopoyéticos. El tratamiento de estos pacientes con lenalidomida y dexametasona ha sido una de las opciones terapeúticas más utilizadas en los últimos años. El objetivo de este estudio es evaluar la eficacia y tolerabilidad de este tratamiento en un centro hospitalario de tercer nivel. Material Y Métodos: Estudio descriptivo, observacional y retrospectivo en el que se incluyeron todos los pacientes no candidatos a TPH que iniciaron un esquema con lenalidomida entre Enero 2012 a Marzo 2019 y además recibieron al menos una línea previa de quimioterapia. Fuentes: historia clínica electrónica, registro de dispensación de pacientes ambulatorios y externos (FarmaTools) del Servicio de Farmacia. Resultados: En total 22 pacientes (50% mujeres) fueron incluidos en el estudio. La mediana de numero de líneas que recibieron previamente fue de 1(rango entre 1-2). 17 pacientes (77%) recibieron RD como 2º línea y para 5 pacientes (33%) fue la 3ª línea. Como tratamiento en 1ª línea, solo 1 paciente recibió tratamiento con QT convencional (VAD), ..

Effectiveness analysis of resistance and tolerance to infection

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Tolerance and resistance provide animals with two distinct strategies to fight infectious pathogens and may exhibit different evolutionary dynamics. However, few studies have investigated these mechanisms in the case of animal diseases under commercial constraints.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The paper proposes a method to simultaneously describe (1) the dynamics of transmission of a contagious pathogen between animals, (2) the growth and death of the pathogen within infected hosts and (3) the effects on their performances. The effectiveness of increasing individual levels of tolerance and resistance is evaluated by the number of infected animals and the performance at the population level.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The model is applied to a particular set of parameters and different combinations of values. Given these imputed values, it is shown that higher levels of individual tolerance should be more effective than increased levels of resistance in commercial populations. As a practical example, a method is proposed to measure levels of animal tolerance to bovine mastitis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The model provides a general framework and some tools to maximize health and performances of a population under infection. Limits and assumptions of the model are clearly identified so it can be improved for different epidemiological settings.</p

Experiencia en un centro de la suspension de inhibidores de tirosin cinasa en pacientes con lmc en respuesta molecular completa prolongada

PO-178 Introducción: Los inhibidores de tirosin cinasas (ITK) han mejorado ostensiblemente el pronóstico y evolución de los pacientes con Leucemia Mieloide Crónica (LMC). En la actualidad la remisión libre de tratamiento (RLT) está siendo considerada como un nuevo objetivo para los pacientes que presentan respuestas profundas y prolongadas, aunque la mayoría de la información corresponde a ensayos clínicos. Con la discontinuación se mejora la calidad de vida de los pacientes y es una medida de contención del gasto sanitario. Presentamos la experiencia de discontinuación de tratamiento de un centro. Pacientes y métodos: Desde 2002 hasta la actualidad hemos tratado 63 pacientes con LMC e ITK, de los que siguen en tratamiento 55 (6 muertes, 4 de ellas no por LMC y 2 pérdida de seguimiento). De ellos han discontinuado el tratamiento con ITK 15 pacientes (27%), de los cuales 3 han sido en el contexto de ensayo clínico y 12 en práctica de vida real. El motivo de discontinuación fueron efectos adversos en 3 pacientes (edemas, estreñimiento y claudicación intermitente), 3 en ensayo clínico y 9 por consenso médico/paciente. El motivo de cambio de ITK en el caso 1 fue por intolerancia, caso 2 por falta de respuesta (<RMM) a Imatinib, con presencia de la mutación G250E y en el caso 3 por falta de respuesta (<RMM). Los casos 7, 8 y 9 dentro de ensayo clínico. Se realizó monitorización de la PCR cuantitativa BCR/ABL mensual durante los primeros 6 meses y después bimensual hasta el año y posteriormente cada 3 meses. Las características de los pacientes se reflejan en Tabla 1. ..

A Bovine Model of Respiratory Chlamydia psittaci Infection: Challenge Dose Titration

This study aimed to establish and evaluate a bovine respiratory model of experimentally induced acute C. psittaci infection. Calves are natural hosts and pathogenesis may resemble the situation in humans. Intrabronchial inoculation of C. psittaci strain DC15 was performed in calves aged 2–3 months via bronchoscope at four different challenge doses from 106 to 109 inclusion-forming units (ifu) per animal. Control groups received either UV-inactivated C. psittaci or cell culture medium. While 106 ifu/calf resulted in a mild respiratory infection only, the doses of 107 and 108 induced fever, tachypnea, dry cough, and tachycardia that became apparent 2–3 days post inoculation (dpi) and lasted for about one week. In calves exposed to 109 ifu C. psittaci, the respiratory disease was accompanied by severe systemic illness (apathy, tremor, markedly reduced appetite). At the time point of most pronounced clinical signs (3 dpi) the extent of lung lesions was below 10% of pulmonary tissue in calves inoculated with 106 and 107 ifu, about 15% in calves inoculated with 108 and more than 30% in calves inoculated with 109 ifu C. psittaci. Beside clinical signs and pathologic lesions, the bacterial load of lung tissue and markers of pulmonary inflammation (i.e., cell counts, concentration of proteins and eicosanoids in broncho-alveolar lavage fluid) were positively associated with ifu of viable C. psittaci. While any effect of endotoxin has been ruled out, all effects could be attributed to infection by the replicating bacteria. In conclusion, the calf represents a suitable model of respiratory chlamydial infection. Dose titration revealed that both clinically latent and clinically manifest infection can be reproduced experimentally by either 106 or 108 ifu/calf of C. psittaci DC15 while doses above 108 ifu C. psittaci cannot be recommended for further studies for ethical reasons. This defined model of different clinical expressions of chlamydial infection allows studying host-pathogen interactions

Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineage 4 comprises globally distributed and geographically restricted sublineages

Generalist and specialist species differ in the breadth of their ecological niches. Little is known about the niche width of obligate human pathogens. Here we analyzed a global collection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineage 4 clinical isolates, the most geographically widespread cause of human tuberculosis. We show that lineage 4 comprises globally distributed and geographically restricted sublineages, suggesting a distinction between generalists and specialists. Population genomic analyses showed that, whereas the majority of human T cell epitopes were conserved in all sublineages, the proportion of variable epitopes was higher in generalists. Our data further support a European origin for the most common generalist sublineage. Hence, the global success of lineage 4 reflects distinct strategies adopted by different sublineages and the influence of human migration.We thank S. Lecher, S. Li and J. Zallet for technical support. Calculations were performed at the sciCORE scientific computing core facility at the University of Basel. This work was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grants 310030_166687 (S.G.) and 320030_153442 (M.E.) and Swiss HIV Cohort Study grant 740 to L.F.), the European Research Council (309540-EVODRTB to S.G.), TB-PAN-NET (FP7-223681 to S.N.), PathoNgenTrace projects (FP7-278864-2 to S.N.), SystemsX.ch (S.G.), the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF; S.N.), the Novartis Foundation (S.G.), the Natural Science Foundation of China (91631301 to Q.G.), and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (5U01-AI069924-05) of the US National Institutes of Health (M.E.)

Clostridium difficile infection.

Infection of the colon with the Gram-positive bacterium Clostridium difficile is potentially life threatening, especially in elderly people and in patients who have dysbiosis of the gut microbiota following antimicrobial drug exposure. C. difficile is the leading cause of health-care-associated infective diarrhoea. The life cycle of C. difficile is influenced by antimicrobial agents, the host immune system, and the host microbiota and its associated metabolites. The primary mediators of inflammation in C. difficile infection (CDI) are large clostridial toxins, toxin A (TcdA) and toxin B (TcdB), and, in some bacterial strains, the binary toxin CDT. The toxins trigger a complex cascade of host cellular responses to cause diarrhoea, inflammation and tissue necrosis - the major symptoms of CDI. The factors responsible for the epidemic of some C. difficile strains are poorly understood. Recurrent infections are common and can be debilitating. Toxin detection for diagnosis is important for accurate epidemiological study, and for optimal management and prevention strategies. Infections are commonly treated with specific antimicrobial agents, but faecal microbiota transplants have shown promise for recurrent infections. Future biotherapies for C. difficile infections are likely to involve defined combinations of key gut microbiota

Interpreting whole genome sequencing for investigating tuberculosis transmission: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Whole genome sequencing (WGS) is becoming an important part of epidemiological investigations of infectious diseases due to greater resolution and cost reductions compared to traditional typing approaches. Many public health and clinical teams will increasingly use WGS to investigate clusters of potential pathogen transmission, making it crucial to understand the benefits and assumptions of the analytical methods for investigating the data. We aimed to understand how different approaches affect inferences of transmission dynamics and outline limitations of the methods. METHODS: We comprehensively searched electronic databases for studies that presented methods used to interpret WGS data for investigating tuberculosis (TB) transmission. Two authors independently selected studies for inclusion and extracted data. Due to considerable methodological heterogeneity between studies, we present summary data with accompanying narrative synthesis rather than pooled analyses. RESULTS: Twenty-five studies met our inclusion criteria. Despite the range of interpretation tools, the usefulness of WGS data in understanding TB transmission often depends on the amount of genetic diversity in the setting. Where diversity is small, distinguishing re-infections from relapses may be impossible; interpretation may be aided by the use of epidemiological data, examining minor variants and deep sequencing. Conversely, when within-host diversity is large, due to genetic hitchhiking or co-infection of two dissimilar strains, it is critical to understand how it arose. Greater understanding of microevolution and mixed infection will enhance interpretation of WGS data. CONCLUSIONS: As sequencing studies have sampled more intensely and integrated multiple sources of information, the understanding of TB transmission and diversity has grown, but there is still much to be learnt about the origins of diversity that will affect inferences from these data. Public health teams and researchers should combine epidemiological, clinical and WGS data to strengthen investigations of transmission