Epidemiological data on myelodysplastic syndrome patients under 50 years in a single center of Romania.

In the Western countries the myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is mostly observed in patients older than 65 years and therefore there are few reports referring to patients less than 50 years. The aim of the study is to emphasize for the first time the characteristics of this group of age in Romania, a non-Western European country. The cases belonging to the group of age under 50 years were extracted from the database of the MDS Registry of the Hematological Department, Fundeni Clinical Institute, Bucharest, Romania, comprising 403 primary adult cases collected between 1982 and 2004.

Epidemiological data from the registry of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome in a single hospital center of Romania.

We present the first Romanian study on the epidemiological characteristics of MDS, based on the data existing in Fundeni Clinical Institute, Hematological Department, Bucharest. The files at diagnosis of the adult patients with primary MDS admitted during the period 1982-2005, recorded in the registration forms provided by the MDS Foundation (USA), represented the primary database. This study indicates an increase in the number of new MDS cases over the period of time investigated.

Hypolipemiant besides antileukemic effect of imatinib mesylate.

The use of imatinib mesylate (IM) (Gleevec, Novartis) in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and other neoplastic disorders is in a dramatic increase, inducing long-standing survival. Therefore, the interest in the associated events with this treatment is more and more manifest. We describe a case of CML in which, at the usual antileukemic dose, IM induced a rapid and persistent normalization of the levels of serum cholesterol, triglycerides, low- and high-density lipoproteins and glucose.