Publications by authors named "Castells M"

Background: Approximately 5% to 10% of patients who undergo kidney transplantation develop ureteral stricture, which can be treated endoscopically or by open surgery, which is more effective but complications are common and potentially severe. Robotic surgery has begun to emerge as an alternative in reconstructive procedures. However, few studies have evaluated the role of robotic surgery in this clinical setting.

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Article Synopsis
  • The review highlights the significance of the MRGPRX2 receptor in non-IgE mast cell activation, linking it to various allergic and inflammatory conditions like asthma and drug hypersensitivity.
  • Recent findings indicate that certain MRGPRX2 agonists can cause anaphylaxis in patients, suggesting variability in responses among individuals.
  • The paper discusses advancements in understanding the receptor's structure, expression, and signaling, while also exploring possible therapeutic agents that could modulate its activity.
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Systemic mastocytosis (SM) is a rare hematologic condition characterized by the proliferation and accumulation in tissue of clonal mast cells in multiple organ systems. The release of mast cell mediators in the indolent disease type and the predominant mast cell infiltration of tissues in advanced disease contribute to the heterogeneous clinical presentation. The disease driver in >90% of adult cases is an activating mutation, with D816V being the most frequent.

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PSA screening has led to an over-diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa) and unnecessary biopsies of benign conditions due to its low cancer specificity. Consequently, more accurate, preferentially non-invasive, tests are needed. We aim to evaluate the potential of semen sEV (small extracellular vesicles) tsRNAs (tRNA-derived small RNAs) as PCa indicators.

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Febrile neutropenia is a common complication of conditioning chemotherapy for hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), but a major barrier for optimal treatment of febrile neutropenia is historical penicillin allergies. Our group recently published a development of a clinical pipeline for delabeling penicillin allergies in adult patients planned to undergo hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). In this retrospective cohort study, we followed patients to evaluate their outcomes during inpatient admission for HSCT.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Mastocytosis is a disorder characterized by an abnormal increase of mast cells in one or more organs, with varying symptoms and outcomes; it's classified into cutaneous, systemic, and MC sarcoma types by the WHO.
  • - The disease often involves a specific mutation (D816V) in most systemic mastocytosis cases, affecting life expectancy significantly based on the type, with those having nonadvanced forms generally living near-normal lifespans, while advanced forms have limited life expectancies.
  • - Recently, a group of experts proposed updated diagnostic criteria and classifications for mastocytosis, aiming to unify different classifications from previous organizations to improve research and clinical comparisons.
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Derived from the myeloid lineage, granulocytes, including basophils, eosinophils, and neutrophils, along with mast cells, play important, often disparate, roles across the allergic disease spectrum. While these cells and their mediators are commonly associated with allergic inflammation, they also exhibit several functions either promoting or restricting tumor growth. In this Position Paper we discuss common granulocyte and mast cell features relating to immunomodulatory functions in allergy and in cancer.

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Bovine torovirus (BToV) is an enteric pathogen that may cause diarrhea in calves and adult cattle, which could result in economic losses due to weight loss and decreased milk production. This study aimed to report the presence, the genetic characterization and the evolution of BToV in calves in Uruguay. BToV was detected in 7.

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Purpose Of Review: To understand the current global scale of drug hypersensitivity (DH) and drug allergy (DA), and to identify possible strategies to increase the accuracy of epidemiological data.

Recent Findings: Global patterns of DH/DA seem to be changing and increasing worldwide, but there are still great challenges in capturing quality DH/DA mortality and morbidity statistics (MMS). DH/DA MMS may gain new perspectives with the global implementation of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11.

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Mastocytosis is a heterogeneous group of disorders comprising cutaneous mastocytosis, systemic mastocytosis, and mast cell sarcoma. It is associated with a variety of symptoms related to the release of mast cell mediators and mast cell tissue infiltration. Referral to specialized centers with expertise in the management of mastocytosis and multidisciplinary collaboration with subspecialists (eg, allergists for the management of anaphylaxis and drug hypersensitivities, anesthesiologists for invasive procedures or surgery, high-risk obstetrician for pregnancy) is recommended.

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Mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) is a term applied to several clinical entities that have gained increased attention from patients and medical providers. Although several descriptive publications about MCAS exist, there are many gaps in knowledge, resulting in confusion about this clinical syndrome. Whether MCAS is a primary syndrome or exists as a constellation of symptoms in the context of known inflammatory, allergic, or clonal disorders associated with systemic mast cell activation is not well understood.

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With an increasing number of patients eligible for immune checkpoint inhibitors, the incidence of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) is on the rise. Dermatologic immune-related adverse events (D-irAEs) are the most common and earliest to manifest, often with important downstream consequences for the patient. Current guidelines lack clarity in terms of diagnostic criteria for D-irAEs.

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Empty mast cell syndrome, also named post anaphylaxis mast cell anergy (PAMA), is a temporary state of loss of mast cell responsiveness after a severe immediate hypersensitivity reaction. In this study, we describe a case of PAMA after accidental re-exposure to amoxicillin in a patient who developed severe anaphylaxis to this drug three days earlier in the operating room. To our knowledge, this report is the second to document this phenomenon.

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Drug hypersensitivity reactions (DHR) in children have a significant impact on clinical practice and public health. Both under-diagnosis (due to under-reporting) and over-diagnosis (due to the overuse of the term "allergy") are potential issues. The aim of this narrative review is to describe the most recent findings of DHR in children/adolescents and gaps regarding epidemiology, antibiotic allergy, antiepileptic hypersensitivity, vaccine allergy, and severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCAR) in this age group.

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BACKGROUND: Indolent systemic mastocytosis (ISM) is a clonal mast-cell disease driven by the KIT D816V mutation. We assessed the efficacy and safety of avapritinib versus placebo, both with best supportive care, in patients with ISM. METHODS: We randomized patients with moderate to severe ISM (total symptom score [TSS] of ≥28; scores range from 0 to 110, with higher numbers indicating more severe symptoms) two to one to avapritinib 25 mg once daily (n=141) or placebo (n=71).

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Autonomic symptom questionnaires are frequently used to assess dysautonomia. It is unknown whether subjective dysautonomia obtained from autonomic questionnaires correlates with objective dysautonomia measured by quantitative autonomic testing. The objective of our study was to determine correlations between subjective and objective measures of dysautonomia.

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Mastocytosis is a myeloproliferative neoplasm characterized by abnormal proliferation and activation of clonal mast cells typically bearing the KITD816V mutation. Symptoms manifest due to the release of bioactive mediators and the tissue infiltration by neoplastic mast cells. Mast cell activation symptoms include flushing, pruritus, urticaria, abdominal cramping, diarrhea, wheezing, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and anaphylaxis.

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Penicillin allergy is reported by 10% to 20 % of patients, but when evaluated only 1% to 2% may have a true allergy. Patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) have a high likelihood of requiring beta-lactam antibiotics due to increased infection risk, which can be limited by a penicillin allergy label. When a penicillin allergy is recorded, alternatives are needed, including more expensive broader-spectrum antibiotics, with increases in drug-resistant bacteria, longer hospital stays, higher expenditures, and increases in nosocomial infections, such as Clostridium difficile colitis.

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Drug allergy (DA) remains a complex and unaddressed problem worldwide that often deprives patients of optimal medication choices and places them at risk for life-threatening reactions. Underdiagnosis and overdiagnosis are common and due to the lack of standardized definitions and biomarkers. The true burden of DA is unknown, and recent efforts in data gathering through electronic medical records are starting to provide emerging patterns around the world.

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Purpose: There is scarce comparative effectiveness research on the new treatment modalities for localized prostate cancer. We aim to compare through Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) the impact of active surveillance, robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP), intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), and real-time brachytherapy, considering side effects (incontinence, irritative/obstructive urinary symptoms, sexual dysfunction and bowel symptoms) and physical and mental health.

Materials And Methods: Prospective cohort of men diagnosed with clinically localized prostate cancer (age 50-75y, T1-T2, and low risk including Gleason 3 + 4 in T1c) from 18 Spanish hospitals, followed up to 24 months.

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