Although conclusions on noninferiority could not be drawn due to low statistical power, the study provides additional information on the safety and efficacy of pathogen-reduced platelets treated with two commercial pathogen-reduction technologies.

No abstract

Repeat low density lipoprotein (LDL) apheresis and blood flow determinations in the forearm and leg were performed in 10 patients (age range, 13-49 years; four male, six female) with familial hypercholesterolemia (eight homozygous, two heterozygous). To perform LDL apheresis, plasma was first separated by a polysulphone hollow fiber filter; then, LDL was selectively removed from plasma by dextran sulphate cellulose beads packed in columns. Blood flows in the forearm and leg were determined at rest and during a reactive hyperemia test (peak flow). This test was performed noninvasively by a strain-gauge plethysmograph with semicontinuous registration of arterial blood flow variables before the first apheresis and 3 weeks after the last of six procedures for apheresis. Resting arterial blood flows in the forearm and leg were slightly increased after repeat LDL apheresis (p<0.05). Peak blood flow in the leg significantly increased (+34%, p<0.01). No change in peak blood flow in the forearm was observed. Systolic blood pressures were slightly but significantly reduced (p<0.05); forearm peripheral resistances were also reduced (p<0.05). Flow response was not related to LDL receptor status. Blood and plasma viscosities were determined before and 7 days after the last apheresis. Blood viscosity was significantly reduced after LDL apheresis at shear rates of 11.25-450 sec`.Plasma viscosity did not change. (Circulation 1990;81:610-616) F amilial hypercholesterolemia is an inherited disorder of metabolism characterized by hypercholesterolemia that is due to a marked increase of low density lipoproteins (LDL). This type of hyperlipidemia, in the homozygous form, is refractory to the conventional lipid-lowering treatments and leads to premature development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.1 Nonpharmacologic treatments that have been proposed for the management of patients with familial hypercholesterolemia include plasma exchange2 and LDL apheresis.3-7The aim of these treatments is to produce a marked and sustained cholesterol-lowering effect to retard progression or induce regression of atheromatous plaques.8 There is evidence that blood flow to the

The 67-kDa laminin receptor (67LR) is a nonintegrin cell-surface receptor with high affinity for laminin, which plays a key role in tumor invasion and metastasis. We investigated the role of 67LR in granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF)-induced mobilization of CD34 ؉ hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) from 35 healthy donors. G-CSF-mobilized HSCs, including CD34 ؉ /CD38 ؊ cells, showed increased 67LR expression as compared with unstimulated marrow HSCs; noteworthy, also, is the fact that the level of 67LR expression in G-CSF-