To our knowledge, only a few epidemiological reports on the prevalence of hepatitis E antibodies in Saudi blood donors have been published. Men of several nationalities, donating blood at King Khalid National Guard Hospital (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) were selected (n = 593) for this study examining the seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) in the local male donor population and testing the relationship of the antibody to HEV (anti-HEV) to donor characteristics using Odds Ratio (OR) and Chi-square statistic. The prevalence of anti-HEV in the group examined was 16.9 per cent (100/593). The seroprevalence for Saudi donors was 14.8 per cent compared with 33.3 per cent for non-Saudis of Middle Eastern origin. Donors who were 40 yr and over had significantly higher seroprevalence than those donors who were 30 yr or younger (OR = 2.5, p = 0.006). There was a significant association between anti-HEV and anti-HCV with donors who were positive to anti-HCV having about 5 times the risk of HEV than those who were anti-HCV negative (p = 0.02). These findings demonstrate the high seroprevalence rate of anti-HEV among male blood donors in Saudi Arabia.
Erythrocyte-associated IgG was measured on washed red cells from 26 children with P. falciparum parasitaemia using an immunoradiometric assay. The values obtained were compared with 15 age-matched controls living in the same area who did not have malaria. The amount of red cell-associated IgG was related to the haemoglobin concentration, degree of parasitaemia and serum immunoglobulin level. The mean red cell-associated immunoglobulin for patients with malaria was 629 molecules per red cell (range 215-1770) which was significantly higher than the control group, who had a mean of 395 molecules per red cell (range 190-930). A statistically significant correlation was established between red cell-associated IgG and the degree of anaemia in the infected patients. In contrast, there was no relationship between the red cell-associated IgG and the degree of parasitaemia or the serum immunoglobulin level. These observations support the hypothesis that an immunological mechanism could be involved in the anaemia associated with malarial infections.
Our data are consistent with a diurnal secretion pattern for GM-CSF in both normal and neutropenic patients. As this finding might have practical implications, including timing of administration of GM-CSF in neutropenic patients, further studies are suggested.
Background: Busulfan (Bu), a bifunctional alkylating agent used in conditioning regimens for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), has unpredictable oral intestinal absorption. Subsequent marked variability in systemic drug exposure increases the risk of relapsed leukemia or graft failure in patients with a low area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC), and for toxicities with a high AUC. Purpose: To assess once daily intravenous (IV) busulfan for interpatient variability in AUC, transplant outcomes and toxicities in patients with high and low systemic busulfan exposures, and to evaluate therapeutic AUC. Methods: 68 patients ages 19–63 with hematologic malignancies received once daily IV Bu (Busulfex, ESP Pharma) between July 2000 and August 2004 at a myeloablative dose of 3.2 mg/m2 on days −5 to −2 and fludarabine 50mg/m2 on days −6 to −2 inclusive prior to HSCT. Additional TBI 200cGy x 2 was given to 24 patients with acute leukemia. Graft-vs-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis for all pts comprised cyclosporine A, short course methotrexate with folinic acid and antithymocyte globulin in divided doses over 3 consecutive days pretransplant finishing day 0. Busulfan concentrations in plasma were determined by UV-HPLC. All concentration-time plasma Bu data were analyzed by non-compartmental analysis using WinNonlin Version 4.1 software (Pharsight Corporation, Mountain View, CA, USA). Results: The range of AUC was 2184 to 7513 μ M.min (med 4822 μ M.min). Patients were analyzed in 2 groups of 34 patients with exposures below (L) or above (H) the median AUC and followed for 12–61 months (med 26). Groups consisted of diverse malignancies with no difference in median age (L 46y, H 43y), number of unrelated or mismatched related donors (L 32%, H 38%), standard-risk leukemias (L 32%, H 29%), and TBI (L 41%, H 32%). Median days of engraftment for platelets >20 (19d) and neutrophils >0.5 (16d) were identical. There was no significant difference between the low or high AUC groups in 3y projected OS (L 69±8% vs H 67±8%), treatment-related mortality (TRM, L 16±7% vs H 21±7%), median months progression-free survival (L 17, H 19), venoocclusive disease (L 0%, H 6%), stomatitis ≥ grade II (L 82%, H 97%), hemmorhagic cystitis (L 15%, H 18%), acute GVHD grade III–IV (L 6%, H 18%), or grade II liver toxicity (L 12%, H 3%). Rate of relapse did not differ between groups (L 29%, H 24%). One patient in the high AUC group with subtherapeutic dilantin levels had a seizure. There was a trend to increased TRM with death in 3 of 8 patients (38%) with an AUC >6000 μ M.min, compared to 10 of 60 patients (17%) with AUC <6000 μ M.min (p=0.09). Conclusions: Although once daily IV Bu dosing provides a more predictable AUC than oral dosing, there remains 3–4 fold variability in systemic drug exposure. In this heterogeneous group of patients, differences in AUC within this range had little impact on survival, treatment related mortality or significant toxicities. This data suggests targeting AUC around 5000–6000 μ M.min with or without TBI is feasible and that although more data is required to assess the whether high exposures (>6000 μ M.min) increase risk, in general dosing without PK monitoring is safe.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.