Differential outcome of neurological HCMV infection in two hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients.

Background: Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection of the central nervous system (CNS) is a rare but life threatening condition which may follow hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Diagnosis, monitoring and treatment approaches rely on anecdotal reports.

Case Presentations: The different outcomes of HCMV CNS disease in an adult and a pediatric T-cell depleted hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipient are reported.

Transhepatic arterial chemoembolization with oxaliplatin-eluting microspheres (OEM-TACE) for unresectable hepatic tumors.

Background: While conventional transhepatic arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is accepted worldwide as an effective treatment for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), its use in other hepatic tumors is not supported by randomized studies. Preliminary results have shown that new drug-eluting microspheres (DEM) seem to optimize TACE procedures. The aim of this study was to evaluate the capability of HepaSphere to load oxaliplatin and their pharmacokinetic outcome.

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in children with juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML): results of the EWOG-MDS/EBMT trial.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is the only proven curative therapy for juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML). We, the European Working Group on Childhood MDS (EWOG-MDS) and the European Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) Group, report the outcome of 100 children (67 boys and 33 girls) with JMML given unmanipulated HSCT after a preparative regimen including busulfan, cyclophosphamide, and melphalan. Forty-eight and 52 children received transplants from an HLA-identical relative or an unrelated donor (UD), respectively.

Rituximab for the treatment of refractory autoimmune hemolytic anemia in children.

Autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) in children is sometimes characterized by a severe course, requiring prolonged administration of immunosuppressive therapy. Rituximab is able to cause selective in vivo destruction of B lymphocytes, with abrogation of antibody production. In a prospective study, we have evaluated the use of rituximab for the treatment of AIHA resistant to conventional treatment.