Comparison of sampling methods for international normalized ratio monitoring in haemodialysis patients (INRHaemo study)

Background: Haemorrhagic and thrombotic complications are common in dialysis patients on warfarin; thus, accurate international normalized ratio (INR) monitoring is critical. For expediency and patient comfort, blood sampling from the haemodialysis access or circuit is commonly performed. Point-of-care (POC) INR machines allow both peripheral vein preservation and rapid results, yet are not validated in the haemodialysis population. Methods: A prospective cohort study in haemodialysis patients taking warfarin was undertaken. Three paired samples were drawn over a single session: peripheral blood INR, POC INR, and dialysis INR. Agreement using Bland-Altman analysis and correlation coefficients between the peripheral blood INR, haemodialysis INR, and POC INR were calculated. Inappropriate dosing decisions based on haemodialysis or POC INR were quantified. Results: Amongst 34 patients, agreement between the dialysis INR and peripheral blood INR was high, with the haemodialysis INR differing from the peripheral INR by <±0.2, 85.2% of the time. Correlation between the 2 methods was high (r = 0.914; p < 0.001). POC INR differed from peripheral INR values by <±0.2, 67.6% of the time, with less agreement at higher INR values. Dosing decisions were incongruent between the dialysis and peripheral INR in 6%, whilst the POC and peripheral INR disagreed in 26%. Conclusions: There was good agreement and correlation between the peripheral blood, haemodialysis access/circuit, and POC INR values. POC INR was less reliable at higher values, and dosing decisions differed from the peripheral INR in a quarter of cases

Determining and characterizing if deer placenta stem cells are present in commercial food supplement capsules : utilizing microscopy, elemental analysis, cytology, histology, immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry

There are many products on the market claiming the presence of live deer placenta stem cells (SC) in certain food supplement capsules. It has been claimed these live stem cells are able to remain bioactive for 2-4 years, providing live stem cell therapy and therapeutic benefits such as curing or helping to treat many diseases or altering human physiology for better health [1-7]. This research is aimed at determining the presence/absence of live deer placenta stem cells in commercially available capsules

Associations between early-life growth pattern and body size and follicular lymphoma risk and survival : a family-based case-control study

Background: The influence of early-life growth pattern and body size on follicular lymphoma (FL) risk and survival is unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between gestational age, growth during childhood, body size, changes in body shape over time, and FL risk and survival. Methods: We conducted a population-based family case-control study and included 706 cases and 490 controls. We ascertained gestational age, growth during childhood, body size and body shape using questionnaires and followed-up cases (median=83 months) using record linkage with national death records. We used a group-based trajectory modeling approach to identify body shape trajectories from ages 5–70. We examined associations with FL risk using unconditional logistic regression and used Cox regression to assess the association between body mass index (BMI) and all-cause and FL-specific mortality among cases. Results: We found no association between gestational age, childhood height and FL risk. We observed a modest increase in FL risk with being obese 5 years prior to enrolment (OR=1.43, 95 %CI=0.99–2.06; BMI ≥30 kg/m2) and per 5-kg/m2 increase in BMI 5 years prior to enrolment (OR=1.14, 95 %CI=0.99–1.31). The excess risk for obesity 5 years prior to enrolment was higher for ever-smokers (OR=2.00, 95 %CI=1.08–3.69) than never-smokers (OR=1.14, 95 %CI=0.71–1.84). We found no association between FL risk and BMI at enrolment, BMI for heaviest lifetime weight, the highest categories of adult weight or height, trouser size, body shape at different ages or body shape trajectory. We also observed no association between all-cause or FL-specific mortality and excess adiposity at or prior to enrolment. Conclusion: We observed a weak association between elevated BMI and FL risk, and no association with all-cause or FL-specific mortality, consistent with previous studies. Future studies incorporating biomarkers are needed to elucidate possible mechanisms underlying the role of body composition in FL etiology