BackgroundDietary changes are a major factor in determining cardiovascular risk. n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids modulate the risk factors for metabolic syndrome via multiple mechanisms, including the regulation of the lipid metabolism. We therefore investigated the effect of Odontella aurita, a microalga rich in EPA, which is already used as a food supplement, on the risk factors for high-fat diet induced metabolic syndrome in rats.MethodsMale Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups and were fed with a standard diet (control); with the standard diet supplemented with 3% freeze-dried O. aurita (COA); with a high-fat diet (HF); or with the high-fat diet supplemented with 3% of freeze-dried O. aurita (HFOA) for 7 weeks. In this study we evaluated the impact of these different diets on the risk factors for metabolic syndrome, such as hyperlipidemia, platelet aggregation, thromboxane B2 production, and oxidative stress.ResultsAfter 7 weeks of treatment, high fat feeding had increased final body weight, glycemia, triacylglycerol, and total cholesterol levels in plasma and liver compared to the control diet. Collagen-induced platelet aggregation and basal platelet thromboxane B2 were also higher in the high-fat fed rats than in those in the control group. In the liver, oxidative stress was greater in the HF group than in the control group. O. aurita intake in HFOA-fed rats resulted in lower glycemia and lipid levels in the plasma and liver relative than in the HF group. Thus, in the HFOA group, n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid levels in the tissues studied (plasma, liver, and platelets) were higher than in the HF group. Platelet hyper-aggregability tended to decrease in HFOA-fed rats as basal platelet thromboxane B2 production decreased. Finally, O. aurita reduced oxidative stress in the liver, with lower malondialdehyde levels and increased glutathione peroxidase activity.ConclusionsO. aurita is a marine diatom rich in EPA as well as in other bioactive molecules, such as pigments. The synergistic effect of these microalgal compounds, displayed a beneficial effect in reducing the risk factors for high-fat induced metabolic syndrome: hyperlipidemia, platelet aggregation, and oxidative stress.

Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is a rare hematologic malignancy which was first included as an independent cutaneous lymphoma in the 2008 World Health Organisation (WHO) classification (1). BPDCN usually has an extremely poor prognosis, with quick relapses after chemotherapy (2; 3). Here, we report two cases of patients diagnosed in 2011 with BPDCN and myelodysplasia, and who were treated for the first time with 5-azacytidine (5-Aza); a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and mainly used in the treatment of myelodysplastic syndrome (Kaminskas E, et al. 2005 Clin Cancer Res, 11, 3604-8). The first case was an 81-year-old man who presented with unusual CD10+, CD56- immunohistochemistry and 45X, -Y abnormality using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis. The second case was a 78-year-old woman who manifested monosomy 13 and chromosome instability due to D13S319 locus deletion in 13q14 as determined by FISH. Both patients showed excellent responses of their skin lesions after one cycle of chemotherapy, and their hematological disease was stabilized; however, pulmonary sepsis set in, followed by neutropenia after the fourth and the fifth cycle of treatment, that is, eight and 9 months postdiagnosis, respectively, leading to patient death.

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Dietary supplementation with marine omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) can have beneficial effects on a number of risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). We compared the effects of two n-3 PUFA rich food supplements (freeze-dried Odontella aurita and fish oil) on risk factors for CVD. Male rats were randomly divided into four groups of six animals each and fed with the following diets: control group (C) received a standard diet containing 7 % lipids; second group (HF high fat) was fed with a high-fat diet containing 40 % lipids; third group (HFFO high fat+fish oil) was fed with the high-fat diet supplemented with 0.5 % fish oil; and fourth group (HFOA high fat+O. aurita) received the high-fat diet supplemented with 12 % of freeze-dried O. aurita. After 8 weeks rats fed with the high-fat diet supplemented with O. aurita displayed a significantly lower bodyweight than those in the other groups. Both the microalga and the fish oil significantly reduced insulinemia and serum lipid levels. O. aurita was more effective than the fish oil in reducing hepatic triacyglycerol levels and in preventing high-fat diet-induced steatosis. O. aurita and fish oil also reduced platelet aggregation and oxidative status induced by high fat intake. After an OA supplementation, the adipocytes in the HFOA group were smaller than those in the HF group. Freeze-dried O. aurita showed similar or even greater biological effects than the fish oil. This could be explained by a potential effect of the n-3 PUFA but also other bioactive compounds of the microalgae.

Replacement therapy with plasma‐derived or recombinant FVIII and FIX (pdFVIII/pdFIX or rFVIII/rFIX) concentrates is the standard of treatment in patients with haemophilia A and B, respectively. Measurement of factor VIII (FVIII:C) or factor IX (FIX:C) levels can be done by one‐stage clotting assay (OSA) or chromogenic substrate assay (CSA). The French study group on the Biology of Hemorrhagic Diseases (a collaborative group of the GFHT and MHEMO network) presents a literature review and proposals for the monitoring of FVIII:C and FIX:C levels in treated haemophilia A and B patients, respectively. The use of CSA is recommended for the monitoring of patients treated with pdFVIII or rFVIII including extended half‐life (EHL) rFVIII. Except for rFVIII‐Fc, great caution is required when measuring FVIII:C levels by OSA in patients substituted by EHL‐rFVIII. The OSA is recommended for the monitoring of patients treated with pdFIX or rFIX. Large discordances in the FIX:C levels measured for extended half‐life rFIX (EHL‐rFIX), depending on the method and reagents used, must lead to great attention when OSA is used for measuring FIX:C levels in patients substituted by EHL‐rFIX. Data of most of recent studies, obtained with spiked plasmas, deserve to be confirmed in plasma samples of treated patients.