Individual quality assessment of autografting by probability estimation for clinical endpoints: a prospective validation study from the European group for blood and marrow transplantation.

The aim of supportive autografting is to reduce the side effects from stem cell transplantation and avoid procedure-related health disadvantages for patients at the lowest possible cost and resource expenditure. Economic evaluation of health care is becoming increasingly important. We report clinical and laboratory data collected from 397 consecutive adult patients (173 non-Hodgkin lymphoma, 30 Hodgkin lymphoma, 160 multiple myeloma, 7 autoimmune diseases, and 28 acute leukemia) who underwent their first autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT). We considered primary endpoints evaluating health economic efficacy (eg, antibiotic administration, transfusion of blood components, and time in hospital), secondary endpoints evaluating toxicity (in accordance with Common Toxicity Criteria), and tertiary endpoints evaluating safety (ie, the risk of regimen-related death or disease progression within the first year after PBSCT). A time-dependent grading of efficacy is proposed with day 21 for multiple myeloma and day 25 for the other disease categories (depending on the length of the conditioning regimen) as the acceptable maximum time in hospital, which together with antibiotics, antifungal, or transfusion therapy delineates four groups: favorable (≤7 days on antibiotics and no transfusions; ≤21 [25] days in hospital), intermediate (from 7 to 10 days on antibiotics and 7 days on antibiotics, >3 but 30/34 days in hospital after transplantation), and very unfavorable (>10 days on antibiotics, >6 transfusions; >30 to 34 days in hospital). The multivariate analysis showed that (1) PBSC harvests of ≥4 × 106/kg CD34 + cells in 1 apheresis procedure were associated with a favorable outcome in all patient categories except acute myelogenous leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (P = .001), (2) ≥5 × 106/kg CD34 + cells infused predicted better transplantation outcome in all patient categories (P 500 mL) (P = .002), and (5) patients with a central venous catheter during both collection and infusion of PBSC had a more favorable outcome post-PBSCT than peripheral access (P = .007). The type of mobilization regimen did not affect the outcome of auto-PBSCT. The present study identified predictive variables, which may be useful in future individual pretransplantation probability evaluations with the goal to improve supportive care

Blood polymorphism frequencies in the T ofinu, the "Water Men" of Southern Benin

Informations on the genetic constitution (AcP, EsD, PGMl> AK, 6-PGD, Hb, Hp, Cp and Gc blood systems) of the Tofinu, a lacustrine population living in the pile-work of the Guinean coast (Southern Benin), are reported. The Tofinu gene fre¬quencies are much as would be expected from the geographical position of this country. The AcP, Hp and Hb fJ gene frequencies are compared with those of the other eth¬nic groups of Southern Benin as the Goun, Fon, Djedje, and Nago, using the contingen¬cy chi-square test of homogeneity. On the average, the five groups do not show any sig¬nificant differences. Thus it results that there seems to be a common genetic origin and that the cultural-linguistic differentiation followed the evolutive biological process for the populations of this country

Genetic variation at the ApoB 3 ' HVR minisatellite locus in the Mbenzele Pygmies from the Central African Republic

This study analyzes the polymorphic minisatellite ApoB 3' HVR in the Mbenzele Prgmies from the Central African Republic. A total of 14 alleles was observed, with frequencies ranging fi om 0.020 (19, 21, 27, and 45 repeat unit allleles) to 0.210 (37 repeat unit allele). Departure from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was not statistically significant. The estimated heterozygosity was 0.874 +/- 0.016. Taking data from the literature into consideration, the results support the hypothesis that the Africans are different from non-Africans due to greater ApoB 3' HVR genetic diversity and a unimodal profile of ApoB 3' HVR allele frequency distribution. Interpopulational relationships were also analyzed using an Fs, based genetic distance. The results highlight the similarity between the Mbenzele Pygmies and Bantu-speaking groups (Ewondo and Zulu), and the divergence between the Mbenzele and San, the two groups which are often considered to be the most direct descendants of proto-Africans. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc

The determination of the Cp and Hp polymorphisms

The phenotypes of the Cp and Hp serum polvmorphisms were de¬termined on a total of 22 Macaca fuscata fuscata. For the Cp types a single band was observed with a fast mobility in respect to the human Cp B band. Referring to the Hp system for some samples, in addition to the usual single band corresponding to the human Hp 1-1, one additional faint band which migrated in the approximate position of the slower¬moving human Hp 2-1 band was observed. Such a result is discussed

Blood polymorphism frequencies in the T ofinu, the "Water Men" of Southern Benin

Informations on the genetic constitution (AcP, EsD, PGMl> AK, 6-PGD, Hb, Hp, Cp and Gc blood systems) of the Tofinu, a lacustrine population living in the pile-work of the Guinean coast (Southern Benin), are reported. The Tofinu gene fre¬quencies are much as would be expected from the geographical position of this country. The AcP, Hp and Hb fJ gene frequencies are compared with those of the other eth¬nic groups of Southern Benin as the Goun, Fon, Djedje, and Nago, using the contingen¬cy chi-square test of homogeneity. On the average, the five groups do not show any sig¬nificant differences. Thus it results that there seems to be a common genetic origin and that the cultural-linguistic differentiation followed the evolutive biological process for the populations of this country

Ristocetin-induced platelet agglutination stimulates GPIIb-IIIa-dependent calcium influx.

We found that intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) increased during ristocetin-induced agglutination of aequorin loaded platelets resuspended in plasma. Chelation of extracellular Ca2+ had no effect on platelet clumping, but delayed and greatly reduced Ca2+ increase, indicating that it derived for the most part from Ca2+ influx. Nine monoclonal antibodies (MA) against glycoprotein (GP) Ib largely prevented ristocetin-induced platelet clumping and [Ca2+]i increase, while three anti-GPIb MA with no effect on platelet clumping did not interfere with Ca2+ movement. In unstirred samples platelet agglutination was greatly reduced and [Ca2+]i increase was abolished, suggesting that close platelet-to-platelet contact, in addition to von Willebrand factor (vWF) binding to GPIb, is necessary for Ca2+ transient. Nine MA against GPIIb/IIIa, the gly-arg-gly-asp-ser (GRGDS) peptide and GPIIb/IIIa complex dissociation had no effect on platelet agglutination, but significantly reduced Ca2+ increase. Our results suggest that platelet clumping induced by vWF binding to GPIb is responsible for GPIIb-IIIa dependent Ca2+ influx