Sickle Cell Screening in Adults: A Current Review of Point-of-Care Testing.

In adults, the sickle cell solubility test (SCST) is the most common screening test to determine the presence of hemoglobin S (HbS) within a blood sample. The assay is inexpensive, rapid, highly sensitive and specific. However, the SCST cannot accurately quantify the level of HbS in a test sample and requires confirmatory testing to distinguish between sickle trait and sickle cell disease.

Hemoglobin and End-Organ Damage in Individuals with Sickle Cell Disease.

Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited, chronic, multifaceted blood disorder. Patients with SCD develop anemia, which has been associated with end-organ damage (EOD).

Objectives: This retrospective, observational, repeated-measures study systematically characterizes the relationship between hemoglobin (Hb) level and EOD in adolescent and adult patients with SCD

Methods: The study population comprised patients with SCD aged ≥12 years with available Hb data from a US provider-centric health care database.

A pilot trial of Thymalfasin (Ta1) to prevent covid-19 infection and morbidities in renal dialysis patients: Preliminary report.

Purpose: Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on hemodialysis (HD) are considered particularly susceptible to infection with SARS-CoV2 on the basis of the immunodeficiency associated with advanced age, comorbidity burden, medication use, and need for frequent visits to dialysis clinics. In prior studies, thymalfasin (thymosin alpha 1, Ta1) has been shown to enhance antibody response to influenza vaccine and reduce influenza infection in geriatric populations, including hemodialysis patients, when used as an adjunct to influenza vaccine. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic we speculated that administration of Ta1 to HD patients would result in reduced rate and severity of COVID-19 infection.

Unexplained anemia of aging: Etiology, health consequences, and diagnostic criteria.

Background: Up to 15% of people aged 60 and over are anemic, and the prevalence of anemia increases with age. In older men and women, anemia is associated with increases in the risk of death and all-cause hospitalization, poor functional capacity, quality of life, and depression.

Methods And Results: We reviewed the literature describing anemia in aging populations, focusing on the specific diagnostic criteria of anemia and potential causes in older men and women.

Remote Home Monitoring of Patients With Cancer During the COVID Pandemic: A Pilot Study.

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has posed significant challenges in the care of patients with cancer, including how to manage outpatients who are COVID-positive but do not require hospitalization. We explored the use of a remote patient monitoring (RPM) program to care for such outpatients.

Methods: Consecutive patients who were tested for COVID-19 because of symptom onset but were clinically stable were offered enrollment into a pilot RPM program.

Unexplained Anemia in the Elderly.

The prevalence of anemia increases with advancing age, and despite thorough investigation, approximately one-third will be classified as "unexplained." Unexplained anemia (UA) is typically hypoproliferative, normocytic, and with low reticulocyte count. Serum erythropoietin levels are lower than expected for degree of anemia.

A cell transportation solution that preserves live circulating tumor cells in patient blood samples.

Background: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are typically collected into CellSave fixative tubes, which kills the cells, but preserves their morphology. Currently, the clinical utility of CTCs is mostly limited to their enumeration. More detailed investigation of CTC biology can be performed on live cells, but obtaining live CTCs is technically challenging, requiring blood collection into biocompatible solutions and rapid isolation which limits transportation options.

A prospective randomized wait list control trial of intravenous iron sucrose in older adults with unexplained anemia and serum ferritin 20-200 ng/mL.

Anemia is common in older persons and is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. One third of anemic older adults have unexplained anemia of the elderly (UAE). We carried out a randomized, wait list control trial in outpatients with UAE and serum ferritin levels between 20 and 200 ng/mL.

Iron deficiency anemia--bridging the knowledge and practice gap.

Despite its high prevalence, anemia often does not receive proper clinical attention, and detection, evaluation, and management of iron deficiency anemia and iron-restricted erythropoiesis can possibly be an unmet medical need. A multidisciplinary panel of clinicians with expertise in anemia management convened and reviewed recent published data on prevalence, etiology, and health implications of anemia as well as current therapeutic options and available guidelines on management of anemia across various patient populations and made recommendations on the detection, diagnostic approach, and management of anemia. The available evidence confirms that the prevalence of anemia is high across all populations, especially in hospitalized patients.

Multiple myeloma in the very old: an IASIA conference report.

Multiple myeloma (MM) in patients aged greater than 80 years poses an increasingly common challenge for oncology providers. A multidisciplinary workshop was held in which MM-focused hematologists/oncologists, geriatricians, and associated health-care team members discussed the state of research for MM therapy, as well as themes from geriatric medicine that pertain directly to this patient population. A summary statement of our discussions is presented here, in which we highlight several topics.

The Testosterone Trials: Seven coordinated trials of testosterone treatment in elderly men.

Background The prevalence of low testosterone levels in men increases with age, as does the prevalence of decreased mobility, sexual function, self-perceived vitality, cognitive abilities, bone mineral density, and glucose tolerance, and of increased anemia and coronary artery disease. Similar changes occur in men who have low serum testosterone concentrations due to known pituitary or testicular disease, and testosterone treatment improves the abnormalities. Prior studies of the effect of testosterone treatment in elderly men, however, have produced equivocal results.

Is cancer incidence decreased in the frail elderly? Evidence from a prospective cohort study.

Objectives: Lower rates of cancer in the oldest old and in nursing home populations may reflect the increasing prevalence of frailty and a diminished capacity to sustain cancer cell growth and proliferation. This study aimed to determine cancer incidence in the frail relative to non-frail community resident older adults.

Materials And Methods: Data from 3969 participants free of diagnosed cancer at the sixth follow-up from three sites of the Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE), a population-based cohort study.

Outcome of older patients with acute myeloid leukemia: an analysis of SEER data over 3 decades.

Background: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the common form of acute leukemia in adults, accounting for over 80% of all acute leukemias in individuals aged >18 years. Overall 5-year survival remains poor in older AML patients; it is <5% in patients aged >65 years. In this study, the authors examined whether survival has improved for subsets of geriatric AML patients over 3 successive decades.

Superior vena cava syndrome as a presentation of metastatic prostate cancer.

Superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome is an uncommon complication of malignant disease caused by the obstruction of venous blood flow in the SVC. When present, a diagnosis of lung cancer or lymphoma will be made in approximately 95% of cases. Although other malignant diseases are occasionally associated with SVC, its occurrence in patients with prostate cancer is rare.

Association of the red cell distribution width with red blood cell deformability.

The red cell distribution width (RDW) is a component of the automated complete blood count (CBC) that quantifies heterogeneity in the size of circulating erythrocytes. Higher RDW values reflect greater variation in red blood cell (RBC) volumes and are associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. The mechanisms underlying this association are unclear, but RBC deformability might play a role.

Long-term survival of older breast cancer patients: population-based estimates over three decades.

Significant progress has been made in the treatment of breast cancer. However, treatment effect on survival in older patients, particularly the "oldest old" (85+ years), with breast cancer is not clear. Data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results databases were used to determine relative survival of older patients with breast cancer for up to 9 years following diagnosis.

Asthma in the elderly: Current understanding and future research needs--a report of a National Institute on Aging (NIA) workshop.

Asthma in the elderly is underdiagnosed and undertreated, and there is a paucity of knowledge on the subject. The National Institute on Aging convened this workshop to identify what is known and what gaps in knowledge remain and suggest research directions needed to improve the understanding and care of asthma in the elderly. Asthma presenting at an advanced age often has similar clinical and physiologic consequences as seen with younger patients, but comorbid illnesses and the psychosocial effects of aging might affect the diagnosis, clinical presentation, and care of asthma in this population.

Identification of FOXP1 and SNX2 as novel ABL1 fusion partners in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

We have identified two novel ABL1 fusion genes in two patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) associated with a t(3;9)(p12;q34) and a t(5;9)(q23;q34), respectively. Molecular analysis revealed a FOXP1-ABL1 fusion for the t(3;9) and a SNX2-ABL1 fusion for the t(5;9). The fusions were confirmed by specific amplification of the genomic breakpoints using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.

Anemia in COPD: a systematic review of the prevalence, quality of life, and mortality.

Anemia is common in patients with chronic diseases. However, little is known regarding the prevalence of comorbid anemia and its impact on quality of life, healthcare utilization, and mortality in patients with COPD. We conducted a systematic review and synthesis of the literature (1966 to March 2010).

Preferential enhancement of older human T cell cytokine generation, chemotaxis, proliferation and survival by lenalidomide.

Lenalidomide, an analog of thalidomide, modified responses of stimulated T cells from healthy young (ages 21-40 years) and old (≥ age 65 years) subjects. At 0.03 μM to 1 μM, lenalidomide enhanced generation of IL-2 and IFN-γ by T cell receptor-stimulated T cells of young subjects up to respective maximum increases of 17-fold and three-fold, but at 0.

Correlates of D-dimer in older persons.

Background And Aims: D-dimer is a marker of active fibrinolysis. Understanding how age-related factors affect D-dimer levels may help the interpretation of high D-dimer levels in older individuals.

Methods: 776 Baltimore Longitudinal Study on Aging (BLSA) participants (mean age 68.