We describe the clinical, hematologic and genetic characteristics of a retrospective series of 126 subjects from 64 families with hereditary xerocytosis. Twelve patients from six families carried a
...mutation, five had the recurrent p.Arg352His mutation and one had a new deletion at the exon 7-intron 7 junction. Forty-nine families carried a
mutation, which was a known recurrent mutation in only one-third of the cases and private sequence variation in others; 12 new probably pathogenic missense mutations were identified. The two dominant features leading to diagnosis were hemolysis that persisted after splenectomy and hyperferritinemia, with an inconstant correlation with liver iron content assessed by magnetic resonance imaging.
-hereditary xerocytosis was characterized by compensated hemolysis in most cases, perinatal edema of heterogeneous severity in more than 20% of families and a major risk of post-splenectomy thrombotic events, including a high frequency of portal thrombosis. In
-related disease, the main symptoms were more severe anemia, hemolysis and iron overload, with no clear sign of red cell dehydration; therefore, this disorder would be better described as a 'Gardos channelopathy'. These data on the largest series to date indicate that
-hereditary xerocytosis and Gardos channelopathy are not the same disease although they share hemolysis, a high rate of iron overload and inefficient splenectomy. They demonstrate the high variability in clinical expression as well as genetic bases of
-hereditary xerocytosis. These results will help to improve the diagnosis of hereditary xerocytosis and to provide recommendations on the clinical management in terms of splenectomy, iron overload and pregnancy follow-up.
Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are involved in the remodeling of connective tissue as well as in disease states associated with acute and chronic inflammation or tumoral metastatic processes. ...Despite detailed and extensive studies of the mechanisms of lymphocyte extravasation, remarkably little is known about the expression and regulation of metalloproteinases involved in the migratory process. By using zymography and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction experiments, we have demonstrated that Epstein-Barr virus-immortalized B lymphocytes are able to secrete a 92-kDa metalloproteinase with gelatinolytic activity which has been purified and identified as being MMP-9. Moreover, the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase was shown to be constitutively expressed by the B cells. The expression of 92-kDa gelatinase is mediated by cytokines, growth factors, lipopolysaccharide, concanavalin A, and the tumor promotor phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. Time dependence activity increased rapidly up to 24 h of incubation with lipopolysaccharide or concanavalin A stimulation while it requires a delay and more time to have an optimum effect when cytokines were the stimulating agents; transforming growth factor-β abolished 92-kDa gelatinase production. Both staurosporine and wortmannin are inductive stimuli, and the level of MMP-9 secreted into the media is greater than that observed with other agents except concanavalin A. Elicitation of the chemotactic migration of B cells through a model basement membrane by lipopolysaccharide was shown to be correlated with gelatinase expression and inhibited by 7 mm captopril. Our study indicates that Epstein-Barr virus-B lymphocytes express 92-kDa gelatinase, the production of which can be modified by a variety of physiological and pharmacological signals which have been shown to differ according to the cell type.
Introduction
No evidence‐based guidelines for the management of patients suffering from afibrinogenaemia and hypofibrinogenaemia are available.
Aim and method
The aim of this study was to harmonize ...patient's care among invited haemophilia experts from Belgium, France and Switzerland. A Delphi‐like methodology was used to reach a consensus on: prophylaxis, bleeding, surgery, pregnancy and thrombosis management.
Results
The main final statements are as follows: (i) a secondary fibrinogen prophylaxis should be started after a first life‐threatening bleeding in patients with afibrinogenaemia; (ii) during prophylaxis the target trough fibrinogen level should be 0.5 g L−1; (iii) if an adaptation of dosage is required, the frequency of infusions rather than the fibrinogen amount should be modified; (iv) afibrinogenaemic patients undergoing a surgery at high bleeding risk should receive fibrinogen concentrates regardless of the personal or family history of bleeding; (v) moderate hypofibrinogenaemic patients (i.e. ≥0.5 g L−1) without previous bleeding (despite haemostatic challenges) undergoing a surgery at low bleeding risk may not receive fibrinogen concentrates as prophylaxis; (vi) monitoring the trough fibrinogen levels should be performed at least once a month throughout the pregnancy and a foetal growth and placenta development close monitoring by ultrasound is recommended; (vii) fibrinogen replacement should be started concomitantly to the introduction of anticoagulation in afibrinogenaemic patients suffering from a venous thromboembolic event; and (viii) low‐molecular‐weight heparin is the anticoagulant of choice in case of venous thromboembolism.
Conclusion
The results of this initiative should help clinicians in the difficult management of patients with congenital fibrinogen disorders.
To evaluate the applicability and compliance with guidelines for early initiation of long-term prophylaxis in infants with severe hemophilia A and to identify factors associated with guideline ...compliance.
This real-world, prospective, multicenter, population-based FranceCoag study included almost all French boys with severe hemophilia A, born between 2000 and 2009 (ie, after guideline implementation).
We included 333 boys in the study cohort. The cumulative incidence of long-term prophylaxis use was 61.2% at 3 years of age vs 9.5% in a historical cohort of 39 boys born in 1996 (ie, before guideline implementation). The guidelines were not applicable in 23.1% of patients due to an early intracranial bleeding or inhibitor development. Long-term prophylaxis was delayed in 10.8% of patients. In the multivariate analysis, 2 variables were significantly associated with “timely long-term prophylaxis” as compared with “delayed long-term prophylaxis”: hemophilia treating center location in the southern regions of France (OR 23.6, 95% CI 1.9-286.7, P = .013 vs Paris area) and older age at long-term prophylaxis indication (OR 7.2 for each additional year, 95% CI 1.2-43.2, P = .031). Long-term prophylaxis anticipation was observed in 39.0% of patients. Earlier birth year (OR 0.5, 95% CI 0.3-0.8, P = .010 for birth years 2005-2009 vs 2000-2004) and age at first factor replacement (OR 1.9 for each additional year, 95% CI 1.2-3.0, P = .005) were significantly associated with “long-term prophylaxis guideline compliance” vs “long-term prophylaxis anticipation.”
This study suggests that long-term prophylaxis guidelines are associated with increased long-term prophylaxis use. However, early initiation of long-term prophylaxis remains a challenge.
The AMME syndrome defined as the combination of Alport syndrome, intellectual disability, midface hypoplasia, and elliptocytosis (AMME) is known to be a contiguous gene syndrome associated with ...microdeletions in the region Xq22.3q23. Recently, using exome sequencing, missense pathogenic variants in AMMECR1 have been associated with intellectual disability, midface hypoplasia, and elliptocytosis. In these cases, AMMECR1 gene appears to be responsible for most of the clinical features of the AMME syndrome except for Alport syndrome. In this article, we present two unrelated male patients with short stature, mild intellectual disability or neurodevelopmental delay, sensorineural hearing loss, and elliptocytosis harboring small microdeletions identified by array-CGH involving TMEM164 and AMMECR1 genes and SNORD96B small nucleolar RNA for one patient, inherited from their mothers. These original cases further confirm that most specific AMME features are ascribed to AMMECR1 haploinsufficiency. These cases reporting the smallest microdeletions encompassing AMMECR1 gene provide new evidence for involvement of AMMECR1 in the AMME phenotype and permit to discuss a phenotype related to AMMECR1 haploinsufficiency: developmental delay/intellectual deficiency, midface hypoplasia, midline defect, deafness, and short stature.
The diagnosis of polycythemia vera (PV) is based on clinical and biological criteria defined by either the Polycythemia Vera Study Group (PVSG) or the World Health Organization (WHO). Both the PVSG ...and WHO PV criteria have proved helpful and are extensively used, yet diagnostic strategies and scheduling of biological investigations vary. We assessed the value of measuring serum erythropoietin (Epo) as a first intention diagnostic test in patients with absolute erythrocytosis (AE).
Serum and bone marrow (BM) samples of 241 patients with a suspicion of erythrocytosis were collected in 8 hospital centers. One hundred and ninety had an absolute erythrocytosis (116 had PV, 66 had secondary erythrocytosis and 4 had idiopathic erythrocytosis). Serum Epo was assayed (ELISA) in 186. Statistical analysis (ROC curves) was used to define serum Epo thresholds that were specific for PV and secondary erythrocytosis and to analyze the diagnostic value of a low or high serum Epo level.
A large majority of PV patients (87% or 101/116) had a serum Epo level below the normal range in healthy patients (3.3 IU/L), giving this value a specificity of 97% with a 97.8% positive predictive value for the diagnosis of PV. Statistical analysis (ROC curves) defined two thresholds allowing a specific and direct diagnosis of 65.6% (65/99) of untreated PV (Epo < 1.4 IU/L) and 19.7% (13/66) of those with secondary erythrocytosis (Epo > 13.7 IU/L).
Based on these data, we propose that measurement of serum Epo level, a simple, reliable and inexpensive test, should be considered as a first intention diagnostic test for patients with absolute erythrocytosis.
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