The aim of the present study was to compare the bioavailability of calcium from calcium carbonate and milk and to investigate if 1,200 IU of cholecalciferol a day increased intestinal absorption of ...calcium. Both young women and a group of older persons of both sexes were included to study the influence of age and sex. In total, 53 healthy women and men were included: a group of 23 younger women (median age 30) and an older group of 15 women and 15 men (median age 66). The study period was 4 weeks; each participant completed four treatment regimens randomly: CaCO(3), CaCO(3 )+ 1,200 IU of cholecalciferol, milk, and placebo. All regimens were distributed three times a day and consisted of 1,200 mg of elementary calcium. The 24-hour urine calcium excretion was used as a method. Total urinary calcium excretion rates (mmol/day) were as follows (mean +/- SD): placebo 4.41 +/- 2.17, milk 5.17 +/- 2.33, CaCO(3) 5.83 +/- 2.03, and CaCO(3 )+ D 6.06 +/- 2.46. All regimens compared to placebo were significant. Addition of cholecalciferol to the CaCO(3) regimen increased calcium excretion but insignificantly: 0.27 +/- 2.84 mmol/day. The increase in calcium excretion during the milk regimen was significant only for the old group: 0.96 vs. 0.28 mmol/day. No other difference was found according to age and sex. The bioavailability of calcium carbonate and milk was demonstrated. Additional cholecalciferol (1,200 IU) to individuals in positive calcium balance with serum 25(OH)D levels >50 nmol/L only marginally increased calcium absorption in a short-term intervention.
Pericarditis is a rare but possibly severe complication of treatment of acute leukemia with cytarabine.
We report a possibly cytarabine-induced acute pericarditis and pleuritis with a rapid onset. A ...patient with acute myelomonocytic leukemia developed an isolated pericarditis 3 weeks after the first course of chemotherapy with cytarabine and idarubicin. The second course of chemotherapy with cytarabine and amsacrine was started after clinical improvement; 3 days later an acute pericarditis with a large pericardial effusion accompanied by a left pleural effusion developed. A pericardio- and pleuracentesis was performed and the symptoms improved rapidly without reaccumulation of the fluid. The third course of chemotherapy with mitoxantrone and etoposide was completed without further cardiopulmonary complications.
The differential diagnosis of pericarditis in the setting of chemotherapy with cytarabine should include cytarabine- induced pericarditis. The pathogenesis remains unclear, directly toxic and immunological mechanisms are suggested. Severe progression with massive pericardial effusion necessitating risky pericardiocentesis can occur and therefore a therapy with high-dose corticosteroids should be considered early.
Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most frequently-occurring type of malignant lymphoma in the Western world. It has an aggressive natural history, with a median survival of less than one ...year if left untreated. Immunochemotherapy regimens, consisting of the anti-CD20 antibody rituximab typically in combination with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone (CHOP), are currently the treatment backbone. Despite remarkable progress in improving patient survival, clinical outcomes are still unsatisfactory for certain subsets of patients, including the elderly and very elderly and those with highly aggressive disease. This review outlines some of the current treatment strategies for DLBCL and discusses the main issues that affect clinical practice.
Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a relatively rare lymphoma entity accounting for an estimated 3%-6% of all non-Hodgkin's lymphoma cases. Characterised by both the incurability of indolent lymphomas and ...the rapid growth of aggressive lymphomas, MCL has a median overall survival of only 4-5 years. Although the disease often shows an encouraging response to first-line treatment, its clinical course is usually marked by recurrent relapses, resulting in a dismal long-term outcome. The choice of therapy for managing the disease is a complex problem that still requires evidence-based guidance. Owing to the rarity of MCL, the bulk of data comes from phase II trials in small numbers of patients. Nevertheless, therapeutic strategies for MCL have evolved in an effort to adapt treatment according to the individual patient's risk profile, and the overall survival has nearly doubled in the last 30 years. The use of effective immunochemotherapy regimens in first-line therapy, advances in stem cell transplantation, and the development of more active salvage therapy regimens have improved the outcome. This review will summarise the key factors that drive clinical practice with respect to the management of MCL.
In 1997, the Swiss Blood Stem Cell Transplantation Group (SBST) initiated a mandatory national registry for all haematopoietic stem cell transplants (HCTs) in Switzerland. As of 2016, after 20 years, ...information was available for 7899 patients who had received an HCT (2781 allogeneic 35% and 5118 autologous 65%). As some patients had more than one transplant the total number of transplants was 3067 allogeneic and 6448 autologous. We compared patient characteristics and outcome of the first decade (1997-2006) and second decade (2007-2016) of the registry. There were numerous changes over time. For allogeneic HCT, transplant rates, and therefore use of HCT technology, increased from 14 to 21.8 HCTs per 1 million inhabitants per year from the first to the second decade. Likewise autologous HCTs increased from 24.8 to 37.2 annually corrected for population growth. Allogeneic transplant recipients were older (38.4 vs 48.3 years) and more frequently had unrelated donors in the second decade. Similarly, age increased for recipients of autologous HCT (50.8 vs 56.4 years). Analysis of outcome showed that the probabilities of overall and progression-free survival were stable over time, in spite of the treatment of older and higher risk patients. In multivariate analysis, nonrelapse mortality decreased in recipients of allogeneic HCT (relative risk 0.68, 95% confidence interval 0.52-0.87) over the two decades. Improvement in adjusted nonrelapse mortality compensated for the fact that higher risk patients were treated in more recent years, resulting in similar overall survival. Five-year survival probabilities were 56% (53-59%) in the first and 54% (51-57%) in the second decade for allogeneic HCT, and 59% (57-61%) in the first and 61% (59-63%) in the second decade for autologous HCT. Detailed analyses of changes over time are presented. This study included all HCTs performed in Switzerland during the period of observation and the data are useful for quality assurance programmes, healthcare cost estimation and healthcare planning. Between 50 and 60% of patients were long-term survivors after both types of HCT, indicating growing populations of surviving patients requiring long-term care and observation.
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