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Biomedical subjects

R Forés

Publications and source records attributed to R Forés.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

[Acute myocardial infarction in nocturnal paroxysmal hemoglobinuria].

The case of a 62-year-old diabetic and smoker male who was under study in another hospital due to anemia, thrombopenia and hematuria of several months of evolution is presented. The patient was admitted to the coronary unit for an acute extensive transmural myocardial infarction and treated with t-PA. A few hours later the patient presented hematuric urine, a decrease in hemoglobin and platelets and acute renal insufficiency. Hematologic study confirmed the diagnosis of paroxystic nocturnal hemoglobinuria. The evolution of the patient was poor despite intensive medical treatment requiring hemodialysis. The patient presented cardiac tamponade and died. The role of hematologic disease in acute myocardial infarction and the treatment and evolution of the coronary syndrome in the context of the disease are discussed.

Hemoglobinuria, Paroxysmal↗
PubMed2001

Cord blood transplants: early recovery of neutrophils from co-transplanted sibling haploidentical progenitor cells and lack of engraftment of cultured cord blood cells, as ascertained by analysis of DNA polymorphisms.

The number of infused cells is a very important factor in cord blood transplant (CBT) engraftment. Prior ex vivo expansion of aliquots of transplanted cord blood (CB) units is being investigated as a procedure to increase engraftment potential, but results are difficult to evaluate due to a lack of markers for assessing the contribution of expanded cells. We transplanted five patients, infusing the best available CB unit and cells from a second donor simultaneously. In two patients, these cells were obtained from another frozen CB unit by CD34(+)positive selection and culture expansion; the other three patients received uncultured highly purified haploidentical CD34(+) cells. The first two patients had DNA from the culture expanded CB cells detected only for a few days around day +11 when the absolute neutrophil count (ANC) was >200/microl; thereafter and when the ANC was <500/microl, only donor DNA from the uncultured CB was detected. For the other three patients, DNA analysis showed early and transient granulocyte engraftment of haploidentical cells, progressively replaced by the CB-derived granulocytes. We concluded that: (1) simultaneous infusion of lymphocyte-depleted HLA highly mismatched haematopoietic progenitor cells has not produced unfavourable effects for CBT; (2) the double transplant model is suitable for evaluating the engraftment potential of ex vivocultured CB cells in the clinical setting; (3) the culture conditions used did not result in early recovery of ANC; and (4) co-transplantation of purified uncultured HLA haploidentical CD34(+) cells may reduce the time of neutropenia following CBT.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2000

Infusion of lymphocytes obtained from a donor immunised with the paraprotein idiotype as a treatment in a relapsed myeloma.

A 48-year-old patient with IgA k multiple myeloma received a BMT from his HLA-matched sibling. After transplantation, the disease relapsed. Melphalan therapy followed by reinfusion of haemopoietic blood stem cells collected from the patient led to the improvement of the clinical status, although mixed chimerism and an elevated serum IgA persisted. Successful donor immunisation against an immunogenic preparation of the recipient monoclonal protein was performed before the infusion of donor T lymphocytes (DLI) into the patient. Ten weeks after the lymphocyte infusions, no monoclonal band was evidenced and donor complete chimerism was detected. The patient did not develop GVHD. Once complete remission was achieved, the idiotype vaccine was administered to the patient. Nineteen months after DLI, the patient remains in remission. Bone Marrow Transplantation (2000).

Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating↗
PubMed1999

Umbilical cord blood banking for unrelated transplantation: evaluation of cell separation and storage methods.

Cost-efficient umbilical cord blood (UCB) banking requires well-standardized methods of volume reduction and storage. To compare UCB fractionation using a technique of hydroxyethyl starch (HES) sedimentation with the Ficoll (double) and Percoll methods, 50 whole units was allocated randomly to each procedure. HES resulted in a significantly better recovery of mononuclear cells (87.5%), granulocyte/macrophage colony-forming units (CFU-GM) (88.4%), and CD34- cells (87.4%) and lesser volume reduction (85.5%). HES was the least laborious, time consuming, and expensive of the three procedures, costing 3.4- and 4.4-fold less than the Ficoll and Percoll methods, respectively. Five units processed by each method was frozen in 4.5-mL cryotubes under optimal conditions. After thawing, the greatest degree of recovery of viable nucleated cells and number of CFU-GM per unit were obtained using the HES procedure. Using 4.5-mL cryotubes, the calculated number of units that could be stored in 600-L containers was 3.8- and 2.2-fold higher for Ficoll- and Percoll-separated than for HES-separated units, respectively. Nevertheless, the higher direct costs of the density gradient separation procedures outweighed their lower storage cost. For long-term cryopreservation, we assessed the freezing of HES-processed units in 50-mL cryobags and their specifically designed canisters. We found cell recoveries similar to those obtained with cryotubes, but storage capacity was decreased. Special racks designed for these canisters resulted in a 5-fold increase over the number of units stored in standard cryobags. This system also is feasible for Percoll- and Ficoll-separated units, resulting in comparable storage costs for the three separation methods. We conclude that this HES procedure and the 50-mL cryobags constitute a cost-efficient system for large-scale UCB banking.

Blood Preservation↗
PubMed1999

[Detection of PNH clones using flow cytometry in aplastic anemia and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria].

PURPOSE: To detect and quantify by flow cytometry (FC) PNH clones in paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH) and aplastic anaemia (AA) patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We have performed a flow cytometric analysis to determine the granulocyte expression of CD55 and CD59 from 29 patients with AA and 11 patients with PNH. RESULTS: In the 11 PNH patients the study showed 58 +/- 34% and 56 +/- 32% (mean +/- SD) CD55(-) y CD59(-) granulocytes. A good correlation was found between the results of FC and haemolysis. The follow-up study showed PNH clone progression in one case and stability in 5 cases. Among 11 AA patients studied at diagnosis, two presented a population of CD55(-) granulocytes (14% and 48%) with CD59 normal, this defect disappeared in both patients after immunosuppressive therapy. The FC study revealed PNH clones in 7 cases among the 26 analyzed after treatment (23 with ATG and/or CyA), in 3 cases with negative Ham's test (in two this became positive 6 and 12 months later). The mean values obtained in these 7 patients with PNH-AA syndrome were 26 +/- 15% y 36 +/- 30% (mean +/- SD) CD55(-) and CD59(-) granulocytes. The median time from diagnosis to detection of PNH phenomenon was 83 months. In the follow-up study, 4 cases had stability, one case had a decrease and one a progression of the abnormal clone. In a retrospective analysis, among the 7 patients with PNH-AA syndrome, 5 had a partial response after the initial treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The FC on granulocytes is a useful method to diagnose and characterize PNH. This test is good for early detection of PNH clones in AA patients at initial diagnosis and in long term survivors. In both diseases it permits measuring the extent of the abnormal clone and its follow up. The extent of the defect is more related to haemolysis than the haematopoietic deficiency. PNH development seems to be more frequent in AA patients with incomplete response after immunosuppressive therapy and in some cases the defect could be latent at the time of diagnosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Detection of maternal DNA in umbilical cord blood by polymerase chain reaction amplification of minisatellite sequences.

One of the concerns about the use of cord blood as a source of hematopoietic stem cells for allogeneic transplantation is the possibility of contamination by maternal cells which could cause life-threatening GVHD. We have assessed cord blood contamination using PCR analysis of several minisatellite regions to detect maternal DNA. Eighty mother-cord pairs were obtained for this study. In one case there were no specific maternal alleles at any loci and, therefore, cord blood could not be evaluated. Thus, there was a total of 79 informative cases for the detection of maternal cells in the fetal circulation. In most cases, the level of detection was between 0.5 and 1%. We detected maternal DNA in the cord blood sample in only one case (1.26%), and the analysis of dilution experiments led to an estimate of 0.5-1% maternal cells. In conclusion, using PCR amplification of hypervariable regions, maternal DNA is very rarely detected in the cord blood collected at birth, although this approach has a relatively low level of sensitivity.

Chimera↗
PubMed1998

Rhinocerebral mucormycosis following donor leukocyte infusion: successful treatment with liposomal amphotericin B and surgical debridement.

A 24-year-old male developed cytogenetic relapse of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) four years after allogeneic BMT. After a year of treatment with IFN-alpha, he achieved a partial cytogenetic response. Treatment with donor leukocyte infusions (DLI) was given (total dose 1 x 10(8) T lymphocytes/kg). Two months later, he developed acute GVHD (skin and liver), that improved with CsA and methylprednisolone and resulted in cytogenetic remission with complete donor chimerism. One month later he developed rhinocerebral mucormycosis and was successfully treated with surgical debridement and liposomal amphotericin B (total dose 12 g). This is the first case of mucormycosis described after DLI.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Mucormycosis and hemopoietic transplants.

Mucormycosis is becoming recognized as a serious complication in patients undergoing hemopoietic transplantation (HT), because it is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. In our institution 4 cases of mucormycosis in post-HT period among 345 patients undergoing HT were diagnosed between 1984 and 1997. We studies the clinical characteristics of these cases and we conclude that mucormycosis is not a common infection in patients undergoing HT but that it is followed by a high morbidity and mortality. Maintained neutropenia is the most important risk factor.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Management of thrombotic microangiopathy following allogeneic transplantation: what is the role of plasma exchange?

Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) is an infrequent but serious complication of allogeneic transplantation. The success rate of plasma exchange (PE) reported in the treatment of this entity is a controversial subject. We report the outcome of 10 patients with TMA post-allogeneic transplantation after treatment with PE. Two out of the 10 patients have not responded, five had a partial response, but died of acute GVHD or interstitial pneumonitis, and three have responded and recovered. Our study suggests that there are different degrees of TMA severity. Only mild multifactorial cases with no severe hemolysis (LDH activity <1000 U/l) may be fully resolved with PE.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Epstein-Barr virus associated B-cell lymphoma after autologous bone marrow transplantation for T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

Epstein-Barr virus associated lymphoproliferative disease after autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT) has rarely been reported. We report a case of B-cell lymphoma following ABMT for T-acute lymphoblastic leukaemia; bone marrow was purged in vitro with monoclonal antibodies to remove T cells. Immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor gene rearrangement studies were used to demonstrate clonality and to show that this patient developed a second neoplasm after ABMT. EBV proteins and genome (type A) were present in post-transplantation lymphoma, suggesting a causative role in its development.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Donor leukocyte infusions for treatment of relapsed acute myeloid leukemia after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation.

A 24-year-old man with acute myelomonocytic leukemia (AML-M4) who relapsed 6 months after an allogeneic BMT was treated with chemotherapy followed by donor leukocyte infusions (4.19 x 10(8) mononuclear cells/kg). The patient developed grade II acute GVHD that responded to therapy with CsA and prednisone. Chimerism was assessed by PCR amplification of the MCT 118 hypervariable region. Fourteen months after donor leukocyte infusions the patient remains in complete remission, without any morphologic and cytogenetic evidence of leukemia, and with a complete donor chimerism. This case shows that donor leukocyte infusions are an effective therapy for some acute myeloid leukemia patients who relapse after allogeneic BMT.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

HLA haploidentical cord blood cell transplant in a 15-year-old, 50 kg weight patient: successful treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia after myeloid blastic transformation.

A 15-year-old, 50 kg weight patient with CML had a myeloblastic transformation which reverted to Ph negative remission with intensive chemotherapy 5 years after diagnosis. Umbilical cord blood (UCB) from an HLA-haploidentical sister had been frozen 2 years and 9 months before, as she had no HLA-identical sibling and no suitable unrelated donor had been found. UCB transplant was selected on the basis of previous general experience with this kind of transplant, lack of a better choice of donor, and likelihood of a prompt relapse of the disease without delay and the patient developed grade II aGVHD as well as severe CsA toxicity which required discontinuation of the drug, anti-IL2r being given instead. Subsequently she only had histologic evidence of cGVHD and 1.5 years after the transplant she remains in complete hematologic remission with full chimerism and without evidence of the bcr/abl fusion gene. This case illustrates further possibilities of allo-transplantation using UCB.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Diagnosis of transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease by polymerase chain reaction in fludarabine-treated B-chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

Transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease (TA-GVHD), has rarely been reported associated with B-chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (B-CLL). We report a patient diagnosed with B-CLL, previously treated with fludarabine, who developed TA-GVHD after being transfused during surgery for splenectomy. Diagnosis was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection of donor DNA in the patient, by amplification of Y-chromosome sequence and analysis of minisatellite polymorphisms. B-CLL patients treated with fludarabine appear to be at risk for TA-GVHD and should be regarded as candidates for transfusions with irradiated blood products. This case illustrates that PCR is a rapid technique for the early diagnosis of TA-GVHD.

Antineoplastic Agents↗