The use of ectopic volar fibroblasts to modify skin identity.

Skin identity is controlled by intrinsic features of the epidermis and dermis and their interactions. Modifying skin identity has clinical potential, such as the conversion of residual limb and stump (nonvolar) skin of amputees to pressure-responsive palmoplantar (volar) skin to enhance prosthesis use and minimize skin breakdown. Greater keratin 9 () expression, higher epidermal thickness, keratinocyte cytoplasmic size, collagen length, and elastin are markers of volar skin and likely contribute to volar skin resiliency.

Intrathecal liposomal cytarabine (lipoCIT) administration in patients with leukemic or lymphomatous meningitis: efficacy and long-term safety in a single institution.

Background: There is limited information regarding the efficacy and long term safety of intrathecal injection of liposomal cytarabine in leukemic or lymphomatous meningitis.

Design And Methods: We studied 20 consecutive HIV-negative patients with leukemic or lymphomatous meningitis who were treated with intrathecal liposomal cytarabine between 2004 and 2007. We focused on efficacy and on any late effects of the drug.

Existence of a differentiation blockage at the stage of a megakaryocyte precursor in the thrombocytopenia and absent radii (TAR) syndrome.

The thrombocytopenia and absent radii (TAR) syndrome is a rare disease associating bilateral radial agenesis and congenital thrombocytopenia. Here, we investigated in vitro megakaryocyte (MK) differentiation and expression of c-mpl in 6 patients. Using blood or marrow CD34(+) cells, the colony-forming unit (CFU)-MK number was markedly reduced.

Low dose T-cell lymphocyte infusion combined with marrow T-cell depletion as prophylaxis of acute graft vs host disease for HLA identical sibling bone marrow transplantation.

T-cell depletion (TCD) of the bone marrow graft remains the most effective method to prevent severe graft versus host disease after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. Early studies of HLA-identical sibling transplants showed that although T-cell depletion decreased GVHD, T-cell depleted transplants had higher risks of graft failure and leukemia relapse, leukemia free survival (LFS) was not improved compared to non-T-cell depleted transplants. In order to avoid graft failure and increased risk of relapse associated with this approach, we initiated a pilot study of T-cell depletion of the marrow graft combined with reinfusion of a fixed quantity of CD2+ peripheral blood T-cells.

[Listeriosis in patients with malignant hemopathy. 3 cases in the same hospital ward].

During the listeriosis epidemic which occurred in France in the summer 1992, three patients with malignant haematopathies hospitalized in our service contracted the disease. Although the retrospective investigations were hindered by the variable incubation period and the impossibility of examining the foods eaten at the time of infection, there was a high probability that two of the patients had been infected by cooked ham and dairy products at home. The third patient was apparently infected in hospital with well-cooked food found to be contaminated.

Role of chemoresistance prior to autologous bone marrow transplantation for Hodgkin's disease.

In the present study, the response to last salvage chemotherapy was analysed in a series of 30 patients with poor prognosis Hodgkin's disease having received high dose chemotherapy followed by autologous bone marrow transplantation. The probability of survival was 43% at 152 months for the 21 chemosensitive patients as compared to 11% at 36 months for the 9 chemoresistent patients. Two toxic deaths occurred, both in the group of chemoresistant subjects, while the probability of absence of disease progression was 65% at 152 months in the 21 chemosensitive cases.

[Solitary plasmacytoma simulating pituitary adenoma].

A case of solitary plasmocytoma of the sphenoid is reported, masquerading as pituitary adenoma. At the time of surgery, the patient had no findings of multiple myeloma. The tumor was removed by trans-sphenoidal route and radiotherapy delivered.

Marrow transplantation from HLA non-identical family donors for the treatment of leukaemia: a pilot study of 15 patients using additional immunosuppression and T-cell depletion.

Fifteen patients with high-risk leukaemia were given T-cell depleted marrow transplants from HLA non-identical related donors. They were treated with a combination of total body irradiation (TBI), high-dose cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C) and high-dose melphalan in an attempt to prevent a host-versus-graft reaction. Antilymphocyte globulins were given prior to transplantation for additional immunosuppression to 13 patients and in-vivo monoclonal antibody anti-human LFA1 to two.