Immunomodulation in sepsis: the role of hemofiltration.

Inflammation is a normal and biologically important process essential for host defense and repair of tissue injury. However, given the cyto-destructive capacity of inflammation, it is tightly controlled even in severe sepsis. There are both pro- and anti-inflammatory components of the inflammatory response, which are initiated simultaneously and co-exist in a single organism.

The use of pilocarpine hydrochloride to prevent xerostomia in a child treated with high dose radiotherapy for nasopharynx carcinoma.

A case is presented of a 10-year-old male with carcinoma of the nasopharynx with involvement of neck nodes, treated with high dose radiotherapy after four cycles of chemotherapy. Because of concern about causing xerostomia with its attendant problems, pilocarpine hydrochloride, 5 mg orally three times daily, was initiated at the onset of radiotherapy. Radiotherapy was well tolerated and at 7 months postradiotherapy, there was no evidence of residual or recurrent tumour and no xerostomia.

Busulfan and cyclophosphamide (BU/CY2) as preparative regimen for patients with lymphoma.

The combination of busulfan and cyclophosphamide has seldom been employed as a conditioning regimen for patients with lymphoma. Twenty patients with relapsed or refractory lymphoma were treated with busulfan (16 mg/kg) and cyclophosphamide (120 mg/kg) (BU/CY) followed by peripheral blood stem cell rescue in 19 patients or autologous bone marrow in one patient. There were 12 females and eight males, with a median age of 48 years (range 30-65).

Relationship of p53 gene alterations with tumor progression and recurrence in olfactory neuroblastoma.

Olfactory neuroblastoma (ONB) is a rare neuroectodermal tumor whose clinical course is not effectively predicted by initial stage or grade; p53 tumor suppressor gene alterations have not been determined concerning the ONB pathobiology and recurrence. We analyzed 18 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded ONB specimens (12 primary tumors and six recurrences or metastases) from 14 patients for p53 alterations using immunohistochemistry for p53 and WAF1 together with topographic genotyping (selection of minute tissue targets from unstained sections, PCR [polymerase chain reaction] amplification of exons 5-8 followed by direct DNA sequencing). Sequential material representing tumor recurrence or metastasis was available in four cases to compare genetic alterations over time in the same patient.

Determinants of apical membrane permeabilities of barrier epithelia.

Renal collecting duct and thick ascending limb, as well as stomach, exhibit strikingly low permeabilities to water and solutes. However, the apical membrane characteristics responsible for these unique permeabilities remain unknown. While the lipid composition of artificial membranes governs membrane permeability, exoplasmic and cytoplasmic leaflets of biological apical membranes exhibit striking asymmetries in lipid composition.

Differential effect of 4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide and antimyeloid monoclonal antibodies on T and natural killer cells during bone marrow purging.

Autologous bone marrow (BM) transplantation after high dose therapy is widely used to treat acute leukemia, lymphoma, and selected solid tumors. In studies of BM purging with chemical agents, monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs), or other agents, the emphasis has been on the efficacy of tumor cell removal and sparing of hematopoietic progenitor cells. Two commonly used methods of BM purging for patients with acute myeloid leukemia have been the drug 4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide (4-HC) and (MoAbs) directed to myeloid antigens such as CD14, CD15, and CD33.

Influence of FK 506 (tacrolimus) on circulating CD4+ T cells expressing CD25 and CD45RA antigens in 19 patients with chronic progressive multiple sclerosis participating in an open label drug safety trial.

We have taken the opportunity of a clinical trial of the potential efficacy and safety of FK 506 (tacrolimus) in chronic progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) to examine the influence of this potent new immunosuppressant on circulating T-lymphocytes in an otherwise healthy non-transplant population. Peripheral blood levels of subsets of CD4+ T lymphocytes expressing the activation molecule interleukin-2 receptor (p55 alpha chain; CD25) or the CD45RA isoform were determined sequentially in 19 patients that were treated continuously with oral FK 506 (starting dose 0.15 mg/kg/day) for 12 months.