Successful unrelated cord blood transplantation for homozygous α-thalassemia.

A now 10-year-old Laotian female was delivered at 30-week gestation by cesarean section because of severe hydrops. Fetal blood sampling revealed homozygous α-thalassemia. After immediate resuscitation, the infant was supported with frequent red cell transfusions.

Pentoxifylline inhibits tumor necrosis factor-alpha induced synthesis of complement component C3 in human endothelial cells.

Vascular endothelium is a major target for the inflammatory damage that occurs with multiple organ dysfunction associated with sepsis and other trauma. The growing appreciation of endothelium as a target of inflammation has obscured the importance of these cells as a source of inflammatory mediators. In the following study we evaluated the ability of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) to induce the synthesis of complement component C3 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and whether pentoxifylline (PTX) could reduce C3 expression.