Prognostic values of soluble CD30 and CD30 gene polymorphisms in heart transplantation.

Pretransplant soluble CD30 (sCD30) is a predictor of kidney graft outcome. Its status as a predictor of heart transplant (HT) outcome has not been established. We have studied this question by assessing sCD30 levels and the number of (CCAT)n repeats of the microsatellite in the CD30 promoter region, which is able alone to repress gene transcription, in the sera of 83 HT patients and 77 of their donors.

Prognostic value of donor cytotoxic T-lymphocyte precursor frequencies for acute graft-versus-host disease in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation from HLA-matched siblings: a single center experience in a cohort of 92 patients.

We investigated the prognostic value of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte precursor frequencies (CTL-p-f) for the development of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) in a cohort of 92 recipients of a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation from HLA-matched sibling donors. CTL-p-f and clinical variables were correlated with acute GvHD and chronic GvHD in univariate and multivariate analyses. CTL-p-f resulted an independent risk factor for severe acute GvHD.

Association between migraine and HLA-DRB1 gene polymorphisms.

We examined the distribution of HLA-DRB1 alleles in a cohort of 255 Italian migraine patients and in a control group of 325 healthy subjects. The frequency of DRB1*12 allele was found to be significantly reduced (p=0.02) in patients with migraine while the DRB1*16 allele was significantly increased (p=0.

HLA-DRB1 genotyping in Italian migraine patients.

We examined the distribution of HLA-DRB1 alleles in a cohort 255 Italian migraine patients and in a control group of 325 healthy subjects. 214 patients fulfilled the ICHD-II criteria for migraine without aura and 41 patients the criteria for migraine with aura. The frequency of DRB1*16 allele was found to be significantly increased in migraine without aura patients (p=0.

The Italian quality control scheme for crossmatching procedures and HLA sera screening: the 2002 pilot study.

Context: The first national quality control (QC) program of histocompatibility serum testing was performed in Italy in 2002.

Objective: To monitor the performance of HLA typing laboratories while meeting the accreditation requirements of the European Federation for Immunogenetics (EFI), which require HLA typing laboratories to participate in external QC of their crossmatch and antibody analyses.

Design: The Turin Transplant Immunology Service was asked to organize a QC survey of 17 HLA typing laboratories in Italy.

Chronic graft-versus-host disease after reduced-intensity stem cell transplantation versus conventional hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

The aim of this study was to retrospectively analyse clinical characteristics of chronic GVHD (cGVHD) and requirements for immunosuppressive treatment (IST) in patients receiving reduced-intensity stem cell transplantation (RIST). About 29 patients who underwent RIST between September 1999 and April 2003 were evaluable for cGVHD; they were compared to an age-matched cohort of 29 patients who received conventional stem cell transplantation (CST).A total of 26 patients in the RIST group and 24 in the CST group developed cGVHD, which was graded as limited disease in 15 (52%) and 12 (41%) cases, respectively, and as extensive disease in 11 (38%) and 12 (41%) cases, respectively.

Clinical grading of oral chronic graft-versus-host disease in 104 consecutive adult patients.

The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical relevance of oral involvement by chronic graft-versus-host disease. The presence of oral changes in association with skin and other target organs including eye, lung or joint may adversely influence the probability of discontinuing systemic immunosuppressive treatment.

Outcome of pregnancy after organ transplantation: a retrospective survey in Italy.

The number of women who decide to have a child after organ transplantation has increased. We determined the outcomes of 67 pregnancies of women who had undergone kidney, liver or heart transplantation. All recipients had been maintained on immunosuppressive therapy before and during pregnancy.

Immune reconstitution and early infectious complications following nonmyeloablative hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Non-myeloablative stem cell transplantation (NMT) has been increasingly used in compromised patients who would otherwise have been unable to undergo allotransplant. There is little understanding of the kinetics of immune reconstitution and its influence on infective complications following NMT. The aim of present study was to evaluate lymphocyte subset reconstitution over the first 12 months post-transplant in 15 adult patients receiving NMT with comparison to that of 30 patients grafted with a conventional hemopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).

Pregnancy after renal transplantation in Italian patients: focus on fetal outcome.

Background: In the last few years advances in surgical techniques and immunosuppression have improved not only survival, but also quality of life in organ transplanted patients. Hence, the number of women of child-bearing age who decide to have a child--which means resuming a normal life--has increased. This multicenter retrospective study describes pregnancies after kidney transplantation and is the first such survey in Italy.