Functional Inflammatory Genotypes in Ischemic Stroke: Could We Use Them to Predict Age of Onset and Long-Term Outcome?

Functional single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of inflammatory cytokines have been previously related to the occurrence of an ischemic stroke (IS). We investigated whether five functional SNPs (i.e., TNF-α-308G>A, IL6-174G>C, IL12B 1188A>C, IL4-589C>T, and IL10-1082G>A) might be associated with the age of onset and 6-month outcome of an acute IS. A probe-free real-time PCR methodology was used to genotype 145 consecutively admitted cases with a first-ever IS. Simple Kaplan-Mayer and adjusted Cox regression analyses showed no association between inflammatory genotypes and the age of IS onset. IL6-174G>C, IL12B 1188A>C, IL4-589C>T, and IL10-1082G>A were not found to significantly contribute to the long-term outcome of the disease. However, carriage of the TNF-α-308 GG genotype was significantly associated with reduced odds for an adverse outcome. Larger studies are needed to confirm our results

A perspective for biomedical data integration: Design of databases for flow cytometry

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The integration of biomedical information is essential for tackling medical problems. We describe a data model in the domain of flow cytometry (FC) allowing for massive management, analysis and integration with other laboratory and clinical information. The paper is concerned with the proper translation of the Flow Cytometry Standard (FCS) into a relational database schema, in a way that facilitates end users at either doing research on FC or studying specific cases of patients undergone FC analysis</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The proposed database schema provides integration of data originating from diverse acquisition settings, organized in a way that allows syntactically simple queries that provide results significantly faster than the conventional implementations of the FCS standard. The proposed schema can potentially achieve up to 8 orders of magnitude reduction in query complexity and up to 2 orders of magnitude reduction in response time for data originating from flow cytometers that record 256 colours. This is mainly achieved by managing to maintain an almost constant number of data-mining procedures regardless of the size and complexity of the stored information.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>It is evident that using single-file data storage standards for the design of databases without any structural transformations significantly limits the flexibility of databases. Analysis of the requirements of a specific domain for integration and massive data processing can provide the necessary schema modifications that will unlock the additional functionality of a relational database.</p

Phagocytic ability of neutrophils and monocytes in neonates

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Infections by a variety of pathogens are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality during perinatal period. The susceptibility of neonates to bacterial infections has been attributed to immaturity of innate immunity. It is considered that one of the impaired mechanisms is the phagocytic function of neutrophils and monocytes. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the phagocytic ability of neonates at birth.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The phagocytic ability of neutrophils and monocytes of 42 neonates was determined using the Phagotest flow cytometry method, that assesses the intake of <it>E. Coli </it>by phagocytes, in cord blood and in peripheral blood 3 days after birth. Fifteen healthy adults were included in the study as controls.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The phagocytic ability of neutrophils in the cord blood of neonates was significantly reduced compared to adults. The 3^rdpostnatal day the reduction of phagocytic ability of neutrophils was no longer significant compared to adults. The phagocytic ability of monocytes did not show any difference from that of adults either at birth or the 3^rdpostnatal day.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings indicate that the intake of <it>E. Coli </it>by phagocytes is impaired at birth in both preterm and full term neonates compared to adults. This defect is transient, with the phagocytic ability in neonates reaching that of the adults 3 days after birth.</p

Proceedings of Patient Reported Outcome Measure’s (PROMs) Conference Oxford 2017: Advances in Patient Reported Outcomes Research

A33-Effects of Out-of-Pocket (OOP) Payments and Financial Distress on Quality of Life (QoL) of People with Parkinson’s (PwP) and their Carer

A comparison of peripheral blood stem cell collection outcomes for multiple myeloma; mobilization matters in the era of IMiD induction

Abstract Collection of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs) for autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) requires mobilization from the bone marrow. There is variation in mobilization choice; during the COVID‐19 pandemic BSBMT&CT guidelines recommended using granulocyte‐colony stimulating factor (G‐CSF) alone to minimize the use of chemotherapy. We report on the impact of mobilization regimen on stem cell collection, and whether IMiD‐containing induction therapy impacts on mobilization and consequently transplant engraftment times for 83 patients undergoing ASCT at Leeds Teaching Hospitals. Cyclophosphamide plus G‐CSF (cyclo‐G) mobilization yielded more CD34+ cells (8.94 vs. 4.88 ×106/kg, p =  8×106/kg were more frequent with Cyclo‐G (62% vs. 11%, p = 0.0001), including for those receiving IMiD 1st line induction (50% vs. 13.3%, p = 0.0381). Note that 92.6% of those receiving IMiD‐free inductions were mobilized with Cyclo‐G. The novel agents used in modern induction regimens (e.g Daratumumab) have been shown to impair yields, increasing the importance of optimizing mobilization regimens in the first instance. Furthermore, as cellular therapies become established in the management of multiple myeloma emerging data highlights the potential benefits of stem cell top up in the management of the haematological toxicities of these therapies. Our findings support re‐adoption of Cyclo‐G as the gold standard for mobilization to optimize PBSC harvesting and ensure sufficient cells for subsequent ASCTs

High Alloreactivity of Low-Dose Prophylactic Donor Lymphocyte Infusion in Patients with Acute Leukemia Undergoing Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation with an Alemtuzumab-Containing Conditioning Regimen

AbstractThe value of prophylactic donor lymphocyte infusion (pDLI) is unclear and differs among diseases and transplantation protocols. Experience with this approach in patients with acute leukemia undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) with an alemtuzumab-incorporating conditioning protocol is lacking. We conducted a single-center prospective study to investigate the applicability and efficacy of prophylactic donor lymphocyte infusion (pDLI) in patients with leukemia undergoing HCT with a low-dose alemtuzumab-containing conditioning regimen. Inclusion criteria were high-risk acute myelogenous leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or increasing mixed chimerism. All patients included were tapered off of immunotherapy. Exclusion criteria were a history of ≥grade II or active graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Of the 56 consecutive patients who underwent HCT with an alemtuzumab-containing regimen, 15 patients (8 with acute myelogenous leukemia and 7 with acute lymphoblastic leukemia) met the study inclusion criteria and received prophylactic DLI (total of 45 infusions) from 7 sibling donors and 8 unrelated donors. The first infusion was given at a median of 162 days posttransplantation. The median number of DLIs was 3, and the median cumulative CD3+ cell dose was 2 × 106cells/kg. Six of the 8 patients (75%) who received pDLI while in mixed chimerism converted to stable, complete donor chimerism. Some 47% of DLI recipients developed GVHD (4 acute GVHD and 3 with chronic GVHD) after a median cumulative dose of 2 × 106 CD3+ cells/kg. After a median follow-up of 575 days, 11 (73%) pDLI recipients were alive. All 4 deaths were due to GVHD-related causes. None of the patients who received pDLIs relapsed. Patients with leukemia who received low-dose pDLI after conditioning with alemtuzumab are at low risk for relapse; however, this approach is associated with a relatively high incidence of severe GVHD