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Biomedical subjects

C Urban

Publications and source records attributed to C Urban.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

Anesthetic management of marrow harvesting from a 7-week-old premature baby.

Bone marrow was harvested from a 3.95 kg premature 7-week-old female baby for donation to a 13 kg HLA-identical sister with severe aplastic anemia. Two hundred ml of donor bone marrow were aspirated, containing a calculated dose of 3 x 10(8)/kg nucleated bone marrow cells for the recipient. This was equivalent to two-thirds of the donor's calculated blood volume (320 ml). Peri-operative care included invasive monitoring of intravascular pressures, arterial blood gas analysis, careful temperature control and the infusion of 150 ml of packed red cells, 150 ml of colloid and 50 ml of crystalloid. Rapid engraftment occurred. There were no complications and both donor and recipient are healthy 12 months later.

Anemia, Aplastic↗

Busulfan/cyclophosphamide plus bone marrow transplantation is not sufficient to eradicate the malignant clone in juvenile chronic myelogenous leukemia.

Bone marrow transplantation plays an essential role in the successful treatment of both juvenile and adult chronic myelogenous leukemia. Recently, it has been reported that conditioning with high doses of busulfan can successfully replace total body irradiation (TBI), in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia as well as adult chronic myelogenous leukemia. We report here the case of a 29-month-old boy with juvenile chronic myelogenous leukemia (JCML) transplanted with HLA-identical bone marrow after conditioning with busulfan, etoposide and cyclophosphamide. Successful engraftment was followed by early relapse on day 67. A second HLA-identical transplant was performed following myeloablative treatment with TBI. Engraftment was once again successful and the patient remains free of disease more than 24 months after transplantation. We conclude that busulfan is insufficient in eradicating JCML and that TBI is required prior to transplantation.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗

[Teratoma of the stomach in a 4-day-old newborn infant].

Teratoma of the stomach is a very rare tumor. Nearly all previously reported patients were males. We report a 4 day-old male infant, who presented with a palpable abdominal mass. A preliminary diagnosis of teratoma was made by abdominal x-ray, sonography and MR imaging. Surgery was performed and diagnosis of teratoma of the stomach was confirmed by histological examination of the tumor. Because teratoma of the stomach is always a benign neoplasm surgery is curative and no further therapy is needed.

Diagnosis, Differential↗

MR findings in methotrexate-induced CNS abnormalities.

MR of the brain was performed in eight patients (mean age, 14.9 years) with osteogenic sarcoma during or after IV treatment with high-dose methotrexate. MR detected brain abnormalities in four patients, three of whom had concomitant neurologic dysfunction. Pathologic findings demonstrated on MR were (1) chronic brain edema, demonstrable over a period of 3-14 months (proved by autopsy in one patient); (2) multifocal white matter necrosis; and (3) deep brain atrophy. MR appears to be valuable in the detection of abnormalities induced by treatment with high-dose methotrexate.

Adolescent↗

Successful treatment of CMV retinitis with ganciclovir after allogeneic marrow transplantation.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection of the retina is a well recognized complication in patients with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome but is rarely seen after bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Among a variety of drugs ganciclovir so far appears to be the most effective therapy for CMV retinitis, but in previous studies relapses occurred in all patients in whom ganciclovir was interrupted. We report the clinical findings in a 22-year-old BMT recipient who developed bilateral exudative CMV retinitis 64 days after BMT despite prophylactic treatment with high-titer CMV-immunoglobulins and transfusions of CMV-negative blood products and donor bone marrow. During a 12 day course of treatment with 7.5 mg/kg/day of ganciclovir the CMV retinitis improved and viruria ceased on day 4 of therapy. In contrast to the previous reports, CMV retinitis in this patient continued to improve even after ganciclovir was stopped and eventually complete healing of all intraretinal lesions as well as total reconstitution of the visual acuity was achieved. He is now free of disease and without relapse of CMV retinitis more than 1 year after transplantation.

Adult↗

[Cyclosporin A in severe aplastic anemia in children].

Severe aplastic anemia should be treated with bone marrow transplantation if possible. Various clinical and experimental data support the view that the major pathogenetic defect in SAA is a dysregulated cellular immune response which in turn has a negative effect upon hematopoiesis. Therefore a large percentage of patients react favorably to treatment with immunosuppressive agents as antithymocyte globulin and high-dose methylprednisolone. Data concerning the efficiency of Cyclosporine A treatment are limited until now. We present in this report our own experience with Cyclosporine A treatment in three children with severe aplastic anemia who lack a bone marrow donor. Included is also a review of the present therapeutic possibilities.

Adolescent↗

[Indications for MIBG scintigraphy in the diagnosis of neuroblastoma].

The significance and indications of MIBG scintigraphy are critically assessed. The results are compared with the results of whole-body bone scintigraphy, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance tomography (MRT), and are related to values of catecholamine metabolites in 24-h urines. In our patients (10 histologically proven cases) MIBG scintigraphy turned out to be most useful in tumor follow-up. In contrast, the significance was much lower in primary tumor diagnosis and tumor staging as the exact primary diagnosis was established by other means such as CT, MRT, MDP whole-body scan, urine chemistry and bone marrow biopsy in all cases. MIBG scintigraphy in diagnostic imaging of neuroblastoma is an additive diagnostic tool and is called for in (1) tumour follow-up (progress, recurrencies, metastases); (2) primary diagnosis if the primary tumour has not been localized by means of CT or MRT; and (3) tumour staging to differentiate stage IV disease from lower stages as long as stage IV disease has not been established by bone-marrow biopsy or MDP whole-body scan.

3-Iodobenzylguanidine↗

[Malignant bone marrow infiltration in nuclear magnetic resonance tomography].

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is currently the only non-invasive method detecting changes of bone marrow. While yellow bone marrow produces a high signal intensity, which is similar to subcutaneous fat, any other cellular infiltration of the bone marrow causes a decrease of signal intensity because of replacement of marrow fat cells. In this report we describe two patients, who underwent MRI because of clinical symptoms of coxitis, in order to exclude Perthes disease. Both cases showed decreased signal intensity of the bone marrow particularly of the proximal femura, highly indicative of cellular bone marrow infiltration. Bone marrow aspiration in these patients showed acute lymphocytic leukemia in one case and marrow infiltration by neuroblastoma cells respectively in the other case. Because of its high sensitivity, MRI is also suitable in detecting focal bone marrow disease. For these cases a biopsy of these focal bone marrow lesions can be performed in order to stage the disease properly as in the presence of neuroblastoma or malignant lymphoma presenting with localized disease, however, with focal bone marrow metastases on MRI. In addition MRI can also be used to follow up the disease as well as therapy by showing the regression of these bone marrow lesions.

Adrenal Gland Neoplasms↗

B-cell differentiation pattern of cutaneous lymphomas in infancy and childhood.

This article documents four children with cutaneous lymphomas. Two of them had regional disease and the other two already had disseminated disease when they were diagnosed. Immunophenotyping of the lymphomatous infiltration disclosed a cell antigen profile with pre-pre-B (HLA-DR+, CALLA+, VIB-C5+), pre-B (HLADR+, CALLA+, VIB-C5+, cytoplasmatic immunoglobulin+), and transitional pre-B characteristics (HLA-DR+, CALLA+, VIB-C5+, surface immunoglobulin+). The morphology of the blast cells in all patients showed features of lymphoblastic lymphoma. Two patients had the convoluted cell type in common, but they were immunologically different, one displaying pre-pre-B and the other pre-B immunophenotypes. The remaining two cases were diagnosed as lymphoblastic lymphomas "type others" according to the Kiel Classification, one with pre-B and the other with transitional pre-B characteristics. The morphologic and immunohistochemical parameters as well as the clinical data from the four cases clearly indicate the heterogeneity of cutaneous non-Hodgkin's lymphomas in children.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

Endocrine function after bone marrow transplantation without the use of preparative total body irradiation.

Ten children who underwent allogeneic (n = 5) or autologous (n = 5) bone marrow transplantation (BMT) for chronic myelogenous leukaemia (n = 2), acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (n = 1), acute myelogenous leukaemia (n = 2), severe aplastic anaemia (n = 2), malignant histiocytosis (n = 1), neuroblastoma (n = 1) and teratoma (n = 1) were assessed for endocrinological function. Transplant preparative regimens consisted of high-dose cyclophosphamide, high-dose cyclophosphamide in combination with high-dose busulphan, high-dose melphalan as well as BACT (BCNU, cytarabine, cyclophosphamide and 6-thioguanine) chemotherapy. None of the patients received total body irradiation (TBI). Median survival following BMT was 37 months (range 7-115). Growth hormone deficiency was present in only one patient; none of the patients had abnormal thyroid or adrenocortical function. This is in contrast to previous reports in which growth hormone deficiency and abnormal thyroid and adrenocortical function occurred in a much higher percentage of patients after BMT conditioned with TBI.

Adolescent↗

[High-dose busulfan with subsequent bone marrow transplantation in poor-risk forms of leukemia].

The toxicity and potential late side effects of total body irradiation, especially in children, have caused the evaluation of alternative myeloablative agents. We report the results obtained in 4 patients with acute myelocytic leukaemia, 2 patients with acute lymphocytic leukaemia and 1 patient with chronic myelocytic leukaemia who received high-dose busulfan followed by bone marrow transplantation (4 times allogeneic, 3 times autologous), according to the protocol published by G. W. Santos. 4 patients have survived 708+, 413+, 313+ and 234+ days, respectively, to date, 3 patients died, two of whom had acute myelocytic leukaemia in relapse and died of cardiac and combined organ failure 9 and 10 days post transplantation, respectively, without evidence of leukaemic cells in the bone marrow. One patient with acute lymphocytic leukaemia (T-All) in second remission died of an extramedullary relapse 485 days after bone marrow transplantation. We report our experience in the use of busulfan before transplantation not only in patients with acute myelocytic leukaemia, but also in patients with acute lymphocytic leukaemia and chronic myelocytic leukaemia and discuss the effectiveness and toxicity of high-dose busulfan as alternative to total body irradiation.

Adolescent↗

[Use of autologous bone marrow transplantation in pediatric malignant diseases--results and conclusions].

Ultrahigh-dose myeloablative antineoplastic therapy followed by autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT) has become an attractive therapeutic option for patients without HLA compatible bone marrow donors. Autologous bone marrow was harvested in 9 patients. In four cases the bone marrow was also treated ex vivo with a stable derivative of 4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide, ASTA-Z 7654, to eliminate residual tumour cells. Altogether 5 patients, namely a patient with metastatic neuroblastoma, a patient with malignant histiocytosis, a patient with recurrent sacrococcygeal malignant teratoma and two patients with acute myelogenous leukaemia in first remission are in continuous remission so far from 125 + to 821 + days (median 657 + days). These patients were transplanted at the time of minimal tumour load (first remission) and in good clinical condition 3-7 months after diagnosis, while 3 of the four patients who died were transplanted in first or repeated relapse after one to several years of chemotherapy. It is concluded that the earliest possible recognition of a refractory therapeutic situation is of utmost importance for successful ABMT. Patients with an unfavourably responding neoplasm should, therefore, be already primary candidates for ABMT.

Adolescent↗

Another HLA-B/C recombination.

Another case of an HLA-B/HLA-C recombination is presented which shows that the locus HLA-C is situated between HLA-A and HLA-B.

Crossing Over, Genetic↗