Drug-induced liver injury in the elderly: Consensus statements and recommendations from the IQ-DILI Initiative

The elderly demographic is the fastest-growing segment of the world\u27s population and is projected to exceed 1.5 billion people by 2050. With multimorbidity, polypharmacy, susceptibility to drug-drug interactions, and frailty as distinct risk factors, elderly patients are especially vulnerable to developing potentially life-threatening safety events such as serious forms of drug-induced liver injury (DILI). It has been a longstanding shortcoming that elderly individuals are often a vulnerable population underrepresented in clinical trials. As such, an improved understanding of DILI in the elderly is a high-priority, unmet need. This challenge is underscored by recent documents put forward by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) that encourage data collection in the elderly and recommend improved practices that will facilitate a more inclusive approach. To establish what is already known about DILI in the elderly and pinpoint key gaps of knowledge in this arena, a working definition of elderly is required that accounts for both chronologic and biologic ages and varying states of frailty. In addition, it is critical to characterize the biological role of aging on liver function, as well as the different epidemiological factors such as polypharmacy and inappropriate prescribing that are common practices. While data may not show that elderly people are more susceptible to DILI, DILI due to specific drugs might be more common in this population. Improved characterization of DILI in the elderly may enhance diagnostic and prognostic capabilities and improve the way in which liver safety is monitored during clinical trials. This summary of the published literature provides a framework to understand and evaluate the risk of DILI in the elderly. Consensus statements and recommendations can help to optimize medical care and catalyze collaborations between academic clinicians, drug manufacturers, and regulatory scientists to enable the generation of high-quality research data relevant to the elderly population

Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil: setting the baseline knowledge on the animal diversity in Brazil

The limited temporal completeness and taxonomic accuracy of species lists, made available in a traditional manner in scientific publications, has always represented a problem. These lists are invariably limited to a few taxonomic groups and do not represent up-to-date knowledge of all species and classifications. In this context, the Brazilian megadiverse fauna is no exception, and the Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil (CTFB) (http://fauna.jbrj.gov.br/), made public in 2015, represents a database on biodiversity anchored on a list of valid and expertly recognized scientific names of animals in Brazil. The CTFB is updated in near real time by a team of more than 800 specialists. By January 1, 2024, the CTFB compiled 133,691 nominal species, with 125,138 that were considered valid. Most of the valid species were arthropods (82.3%, with more than 102,000 species) and chordates (7.69%, with over 11,000 species). These taxa were followed by a cluster composed of Mollusca (3,567 species), Platyhelminthes (2,292 species), Annelida (1,833 species), and Nematoda (1,447 species). All remaining groups had less than 1,000 species reported in Brazil, with Cnidaria (831 species), Porifera (628 species), Rotifera (606 species), and Bryozoa (520 species) representing those with more than 500 species. Analysis of the CTFB database can facilitate and direct efforts towards the discovery of new species in Brazil, but it is also fundamental in providing the best available list of valid nominal species to users, including those in science, health, conservation efforts, and any initiative involving animals. The importance of the CTFB is evidenced by the elevated number of citations in the scientific literature in diverse areas of biology, law, anthropology, education, forensic science, and veterinary science, among others

Tratamento do linfoma de Hodgkin após falha do transplante autólogo Treatment of Hodgkin's lymphoma after failure of autologous stem cell transplant

O linfoma de Hodgkin (LH) é uma neoplasia do tecido linfóide de excelente prognóstico, porém, aproximadamente 15% dos pacientes em estádios precoces e 35% dos em estádios avançados progridem após o tratamento inicial. O transplante autólogo de medula óssea ou de células-tronco periféricas (ATMO) é o tratamento de escolha nesses casos. Nosso estudo tem como objetivo avaliar o tipo de tratamento utilizado, a taxa de resposta e a sobrevida de pacientes recidivados ou refratários ao ATMO. De 38 pacientes com LH submetidos a ATMO entre abril de 1996 e novembro de 2005, foram avaliados 17 que apresentaram recidiva/refratariedade ao ATMO. Nesses casos, o tratamento de resgate foi individualizado, a depender das condições clínicas de cada um, sendo constituído usualmente de drogas citotóxicas não utilizadas previamente. Após o ATMO, dez (59%) dos 17 pacientes obtiveram remissão completa, um (6%) remissão parcial e seis (35%) foram refratários. Em 14 dos 17 pacientes foi instituída quimioterapia de resgate com diversos esquemas no momento da recidiva/refratariedade após ATMO; um paciente foi tratado com radioterapia exclusiva e dois foram a óbito antes de qualquer terapia. Observamos uma taxa de resposta global de 57,4% (IC95%: 23,2 - 90,7%). A mediana da sobrevida livre de progressão foi de 19 meses e a mediana de sobrevida global foi de 32 meses. Apesar do LH recidivado/refratário ao ATMO não ser curável com os quimioterápicos atualmente disponíveis, os pacientes apresentaram longa sobrevida, com freqüentes exacerbações da doença.<br>Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) is a lymphoid malignancy with excellent prognosis, however nearly 15% of the patients in early stages and 35% in advanced stages have progressive disease after initial treatment. Autologous bone marrow or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (ABMT) are the treatments of choice in these cases. This report presents the therapeutic approach and the outcome of HL patients who experience relapse after or are refractory to ABMT. Of 38 patients with LH who underwent ABMT between April 1996 and November 2005, 17 presented with relapsed/refractory disease and were included in this analysis. In these cases, the choice of rescue therapy varied upon the clinical conditions of each patient and was based on previously unused chemotherapy agents. After ABMT, 10 (59%) of the 17 patients were in complete remission, one (6%) in partial remission and six (35%) were refractory. Fourteen of the 17 patients received different schemes of rescue therapy at the time of ABMT failure, one patient was treated exclusively with radiotherapy and two died before any treatment. We observed an overall response rate of 57.4% (95% CI: 23.2 - 90.7%). The median progression-free survival was 19 months and the median overall survival was 32 months. Despite ABTM, relapsed/refractory LH can not be cured with currently available chemotherapeutic agents, the patients had long survival times with frequent exacerbations of the diseas

(18)F-FDG PET After 2 Cycles of ABVD Predicts Event-Free Survival in Early and Advanced Hodgkin Lymphoma

Our objective was to assess the prognostic value of (18)F-FDG PET after 2 cycles of chemotherapy using doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD) in Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) patients overall and in subgroups of patients with early and advanced stages and with low and high risks according to the International Prognostic Score (IPS). Methods: One hundred fifteen patients with newly diagnosed HL were prospectively included in the study. All underwent standard ABVD therapy followed by consolidation radiotherapy in cases of bulky disease. After 2 cycles of ABVD, the patients were evaluated with PET (PET2). Prognostic analysis compared the 3-y event-free survival (EFS) rate to the PET2 results, clinical data, and IPS. Results: Of the 104 evaluated patients, 93 achieved complete remission after first-line therapy. During a median follow-up of 36 mo, relapse or disease progression was seen in 22 patients. Treatment failure was seen in 16 of the 30 PET2-positive patients and in only 6 of the 74 PET2-negative patients. PET2 was the only significant prognostic factor. The 3-y EFS was 53.4% for PET2-positive patients and 90.5% for PET2-negative ones (P < 0.001). When patients were categorized according to low or high IPS risk and according to early or advanced stage of disease, PET2 was also significantly associated with treatment outcome. Conclusion: PET2 is an accurate and independent predictor of EFS in HL. A negative interim (18)F-FDG PET result is highly predictive of treatment success in overall HL patients, as well as in subgroups with early or advanced-stage disease and with low or high IPS risk

Primeiro registro de Rhynchopsyllus pulex (Siphonaptera: Tungidae) em Nyctinomops laticaudatus (Chiroptera: Molossidae) no Brasil First record of Rhynchopsyllus pulex (Siphonaptera: Tungidae) in Nyctinomops laticaudatus (Chiroptera: Molossidae) in Brazil

Descreve-se o parasitismo de Rhynchopsyllus pulex (Siphonaptera: Tungidae) em Nyctinomops laticaudatus (Chiroptera) no município de Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.<br>The parasitism of Rhynchopsyllus pulex (Siphonaptera: Tungidae) is described in Nyctinomops laticaudatus (Chiroptera) in the county of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Cost Effectiveness of Positron Emission Tomography in Patients With Hodgkin`s Lymphoma in Unconfirmed Complete Remission or Partial Remission After First-Line Therapy

Purpose To assess the cost effectiveness of fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) in patients with Hodgkin`s lymphoma (HL) with unconfirmed complete remission (CRu) or partial remission (PR) after first-line treatment. Patients and Methods One hundred thirty patients with HL were prospectively studied. After treatment, all patients with CRu/PR were evaluated with FDG-PET. In addition, PET-negative patients were evaluated with standard follow-up, and PET-positive patients were evaluated with biopsies of the positive lesions. Local unit costs of procedures and tests were evaluated. Cost effectiveness was determined by evaluating projected annual economic impact of strategies without and with FDG-PET on HL management. Results After treatment, CRu/PR was observed in 50 (40.0%) of the 127 patients; the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of FDG-PET were 100%, 92.0%, 92.3%, and 100%, respectively (accuracy of 95.9%). Local restaging costs without PET were $350,050 compared with$283,262 with PET, a 19% decrease. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio is -$3,268 to detect one true case. PET costs represented 1$56,498,314, which is $516,942 less than without restaging PET, resulting in a 1% cost saving. Conclusion FDG-PET demonstrated 95.9% accuracy in restaging for patients with HL with CRu/PR after first-line therapy. Given the observed probabilities, FDG-PET is highly cost effective and would reduce costs for the public health care program in Brazil.Brazilian Health Ministr

Consistency of FDG-PET Accuracy and Cost-Effectiveness in Initial Staging of Patients With Hodgkin Lymphoma Across Jurisdictions

Introduction: Two hundred ten patients with newly diagnosed Hodgkin`s lymphoma (HL) were consecutively enrolled in this prospective trial to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of fluorine-18 ((18)F)-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) scan in initial staging of patients with HL. Methods: All 210 patients were staged with conventional clinical staging (CCS) methods, including computed tomography (CT), bone marrow biopsy (BMB), and laboratory tests. Patients were also submitted to metabolic staging (MS) with whole-body FDG-PET scan before the beginning of treatment. A standard of reference for staging was determined with all staging procedures, histologic examination, and follow-up examinations. The accuracy of the CCS was compared with the MS. Local unit costs of procedures and tests were evaluated. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was calculated for both strategies. Results: In the 210 patients with HL, the sensitivity for initial staging of FDG-PET was higher than that of CT and BMB in initial staging (97.9% vs. 87.3%; P < .001 and 94.2% vs. 71.4%, P < 0.003, respectively). The incorporation of FDG-PET in the staging procedure upstaged disease in 50 (24%) patients and downstaged disease in 17 (8%) patients. Changes in treatment would be seen in 32 (15%) patients. Cumulative cost for staging procedures was $3751/patient for CCS compared to$5081 for CCS + PET and $4588 for PET/CT. The ICER of PET/CT strategy was$16,215 per patient with modified treatment. PET/CT costs at the beginning and end of treatment would increase total costs of HL staging and first-line treatment by only 2%. Conclusion: FDG-PET is more accurate than CT and BMB in HL staging. Given observed probabilities, FDG-PET is highly cost-effective in the public health care program in Brazil.Brazilian Health Ministr