Prevalence and Predictors of Lower Limb Amputation in the Spinal Cord Injury Population.

Background: Despite limited data demonstrating altered hemodynamics in the lower extremities (LEs) among the population with spinal cord injury (SCI) and increased frequency of peripheral arterial disease (PAD), epidemiologic data are limited for amputations, a potential consequence. This study investigates the association of amputation due to vascular complications as a secondary outcome measure within the SCI population.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed within a veteran population with SCI at a US Department of Veteran Affairs hospital to determine the prevalence of limb loss.

Integration of automated morphological features resolves a distinct group of atypical chronic lymphocytic leukemias with chromosomal aberrations.

Automated morphological assessment of peripheral blood slides has become an important modality facilitating characterization and quantification of cells in a uniform, fast and robust manner. In this study, we evaluated the morphological diversity in peripheral blood films of 94 chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients using the DM1200 CellaVision automated microscopy system. Aberrant lymphocytes and smudge cells were enumerated and correlated with CLL immunophenotype, chromosomal aberrations and prognostic parameters.

Absolute monocyte count trichotomizes chronic lymphocytic leukemia into high risk patients with immune dysregulation, disease progression and poor survival.

Peripheral absolute monocyte count (AMC) has been reported to correlate with clinical outcome in different types of cancers. This association may relate to alteration in circulating monocytic subpopulations and tumor infiltrating macrophages. In this study we evaluated the clinical significance of peripheral AMC in 80 treatment naive patients with CLL.

Rituximab plus short-duration chemotherapy followed by Yttrium-90 Ibritumomab tiuxetan as first-line treatment for patients with follicular non-Hodgkin lymphoma: a phase II trial of the Sarah Cannon Oncology Research Consortium.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of treatment with Yttrium-90 (90Y) ibritumomab tiuxetan following completion of short-course rituximab/chemotherapy in patients with previously untreated follicular non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Patients And Methods: Forty-one patients with previously untreated follicular lymphoma received rituximab for 4 consecutive weeks, followed by 3 cycles of rituximab combined with either CHOP (cyclophosphamide/doxorubicin/vincristine/prednisone; 88%) or CVP (cyclophosphamide/ vincristine/prednisone; 12%). To complete treatment, all patients received 90Y ibritumomab tiuxetan 4-6 weeks after the final dose of chemotherapy.

Low level CD20 expression on T cell malignancies.

Although initially thought to be a B lineage restricted antigen, low "density" or antibody binding capacity (ABC) CD20 has recently been detected on subset(s) of normal T lymphocytes (Hultin et al.: Cytometry 14:196-204, 1993). We report low ABC CD20 expression in three (two children, one adult) cases of T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL).

Observations on plasma ANP levels during short-term transient myocardial ischemia produced by PTCA in patients with LAD stenosis.

Ten patients with coronary artery disease and stable angina (mean age fifty-seven) were included in the study. Five of the patients had normal left ventricular function, 5 had local hypokinesia or akinesia; 8 had one-stem and 2 had two-stem disease, but all had left anterior descending (LAD) lesions ranging from 75% to 100%. Ejection fraction varied between 35% and 75% (mean 59%).