Hearing loss and fluctuating hearing levels in X-linked hypophosphataemic osteomalacia.

Background And Objective: X-linked hypophosphataemic osteomalacia is the most common of the genetically determined forms of osteomalacia. The occurrence of hearing loss in X-linked hypophosphataemic osteomalacia has been known since 1984. However, observations on the progression of such hearing loss, and suggestions regarding possible therapy, have not previously been published.

Rituximab reduces the number of peripheral blood B-cells in vitro mainly by effector cell-mediated mechanisms.

Background And Objectives: The humanized CD20 mono- clonal antibody, rituximab, has significant anti-tumor activity in patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and induces depletion of B-cells in vivo. It was the objective of this study to define the contribution of the different mechanisms of action of rituximab on primary normal and malignant B-cells.

Design And Methods: Primary human B-lymphocytes and effector cell fractions were isolated from peripheral blood of normal donors using an immunomagnetic separation technique.

In vivo depletion of B cells using a combination of high-dose cytosine arabinoside/mitoxantrone and rituximab for autografting in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

We performed a pilot study including rituximab (Mabthera; IDEC-C2B8, Hoffmann-La Roche) with a sequential high-dose therapy protocol in 15 patients with follicular and three patients with mantle cell lymphoma and studied the potential of the chemoimmunotherapy to induce depletion of malignant B cells in vivo. Our treatment protocol included induction with three cycles of CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone) chemotherapy, followed by peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) mobilization using high-dose cytosine arabinoside (2 g/m2 every 12 h, days 1 and 2) and mitoxantrone (10 mg/m2, days 2 and 3) (HAM), preceeded by rituximab (375 mg/m2). The proportion of CD19+ B cells in blood and bone marrow decreased from 1.

MANSEK and SUNHCA. Two interactive programs for the hydrophobic cluster analysis of protein sequences.

Hydrophobic cluster analysis (HCA) is an efficient method for analysing and comparing the amino acid sequences of proteins. It relies on two-dimensional representations of the sequences presently generated by simple plot programs working on microcomputers. Two interactive programs, MANSEK and SUNHCA, are described here that operate from Vax and Sun workstations respectively.