Cardiovascular changes associated with infusion of hematopoietic cell grafts in oncohematological patients — impact of cryopreservation with dimethylsulfoxide

Aim: Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) is the most frequently used agent for hematopoietic cell (HC) graft cryopreservation. This study aimed to monitor blood pressure and heart rate (HR) during HC graft infusion and assess the impact of cryopreservation with DMSO. Methods: 153 HC graft infusions in 153 consecutive hematological patients (mean age 49.1 ± 12.6 years; 80 males) were evaluated. Cryopreservation with DMSO was used in 133 grafts (DMSO group). Twenty grafts were infused directly without cryopreservation (control group). Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and HR were measured immediately before and after HC graft infusion. Results: SBP and DBP increased significantly after graft infusions cryopreserved with DMSO (p 10 mmHg) in SBP were seen in 42 (31.6%) patients; in DBP in 31 (23.3%) patients. Changes in HR were non-significant in DMSO group. Increases in BP and HR correlated with increasing DMSO dose (p < 0.01; p < 0.05, respectively). Changes in SBP, DBP and HR were non-significant in control group. Conclusion: HC graft infusions cryopreserved with DMSO could cause statistically significant increases in SBP and DBP, without changes in HR. These changes were mostly transient and asymptomatic, not requiring therapeutic intervention. However, they might cause complications, especially in patients with preexisting cardiovascular disease, who should be monitored closely during HC transplantation

Elution kinetics of vancomycin and gentamicin from carriers and their effects on mesenchymal stem cell proliferation: an in vitro study

Background Musculoskeletal infections remain a major complication in orthopedic surgery. The local delivery of antibiotics provides the high levels required to treat an infection without systemic toxicity. However, the local toxicity of antibiotic carriers to the mesenchymal stem cells, as a result of both the peak concentrations and the type of carrier, may be significant. Methods To address this concern, the elution kinetics of vancomycin and gentamicin from several commercially available antibiotic carriers and several carriers impregnated by a surgeon (10 ml of each sterile carrier were manually mixed with a 500 mg vancomycin and an 80 mg gentamicin solution, and the duration of impregnation was 30 min) were assessed. Moreover, the effects of these antibiotic carriers on stem cell proliferation were investigated. The following two types of stem cells were used: bone marrow and dental pulp stem cells. Results The high eluted initial concentrations from antibiotic impregnated cancellous allogeneic bone grafts (which may be increased with the addition of fibrin glue) did not adversely affect stem cell proliferation. Moreover, an increased dental pulp stem cell proliferation rate in the presence of antibiotics was identified. In contrast to allogeneic bone grafts, a significant amount of antibiotics remained in the cement. Despite the favorable elution kinetics, the calcium carriers, bovine collagen carrier and freeze-dried bone exhibited decreased stem cell proliferation activity even in lower antibiotic concentrations compared with an allogeneic graft. Conclusions This study demonstrated the benefits of antibiotic impregnated cancellous allogeneic bone grafts versus other carriers

Targeting retinoic acid receptor alpha-corepressor interaction activates chaperone-mediated autophagy and protects against retinal degeneration

Gomez-Sintes et al. have developed small molecules that selectively activate chaperone-mediated autophagy by stabilizing the interaction between retinoic acid receptor alpha and its co-repressor N-CoR1. They demonstrate the protective effect of boosting chaperone-mediated autophagy against retinal degeneration

Giving and receiving rewards

Awards in the form of orders, medals, decorations, prizes, and titles are ubiquitous in monarchies and republics, private organizations, and not-for-profit and profit-oriented firms. Nevertheless, this kind of nonmaterial extrinsic incentive has been given little attention in the social sciences, including psychology. The demand for awards relies on an individual's desire for distinction, and the supply of awards is governed by the desire to motivate. The technique of analytic narratives is used to show that a number of empirically testable propositions about awards are consistent with observable data