Monitoring of the monoclonal protein (M-protein) by electrophoresis and/or immunofixation (IFE) has long been used to assess treatment response in multiple myeloma (MM). However, with the use of ...highly effective therapies, the M-protein becomes frequently undetectable, and more sensitive methods had to be explored. We applied IFE and mass spectrometry (EXENT&FLC-MS) in serum samples from newly diagnosed MM patients enrolled in the PETHEMA/GEM2012MENOS65 obtained at baseline (n = 223), and after induction (n = 183), autologous stem cell transplantation (n = 173), and consolidation (n = 173). At baseline, the isotypes identified with both methods fully matched in 82.1% of samples; in the rest but 2 cases, EXENT&FLC-MS provided additional information to IFE with regards to the M-protein(s). Overall, the results of EXENT&FLC-MS and IFE were concordant in >80% of cases, being most discordances due to EXENT&FLC-MS+ but IFE− cases. After consolidation, IFE was not able to discriminate 2 cohorts with different median progression-free survival (PFS), but EXENT&FLC-MS did so; furthermore, among IFE− patients, EXENT&FLC-MS identified 2 groups with significantly different median PFS (P = .0008). In conclusion, compared with IFE, EXENT&FLC-MS is more sensitive to detect the M-protein of patients with MM, both at baseline and during treatment, and provides a more accurate prediction of patients' outcome. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01916252.
•EXENT&FLC-MS is more sensitive than IFE in detecting the M-protein of MM patients in serum, both at baseline and during treatment monitoring.•EXENT&FLC-MS is more accurate than IFE to predict patients' outcome.
A new magnetic ionic liquid (MIL) with 3D antiferromagnetic ordering has been synthetized and characterized. The information obtained from magnetic characterization was supplemented by analysis of ...DFT calculations and the magneto‐structural correlations. The result gives no evidence for direct iron‐iron interactions, corroborating that the 3D magnetic ordering in MILs takes place via super‐exchange coupling containing two diamagnetic atoms intermediaries.
Liquid attraction: The crystal structure, DFT calculations and magnetic properties of a new magnetic ionic liquid (MIL), DimimFeCl4, which displays 3 D magnetic ordering below 6 K, is presented. The study of its magnetostructural correlations points to the relative importance of two influential factors on the strength of the magnetic interaction of MILs: the spin population into the metal complex anion and the distances and angles between the superexchange pathways, type M‐X‐X‐M (M=Metal and X=halide).
The achievement of complete response (CR) after high-dose therapy/autologous stem cell transplantation (HDT/ASCT) is a surrogate for prolonged survival in multiple myeloma; however, patients who lose ...their CR status within 1 year of HDT/ASCT (unsustained CR) have poor prognosis. Thus, the identification of these patients is highly relevant. Here, we investigate which prognostic markers can predict unsustained CR in a series of 241 patients in CR at day +100 after HDT/ASCT who were enrolled in the Spanish GEM2000 (n = 140) and GEM2005 < 65y (n = 101) trials. Twenty-nine (12%) of the 241 patients showed unsustained CR and a dismal outcome (median overall survival 39 months). The presence of baseline high-risk cytogenetics by FISH (hazard ratio 17.3; P = .002) and persistent minimal residual disease by multiparameter flow cytometry at day +100 after HDT/ASCT (hazard ratio 8.0; P = .005) were the only independent factors that predicted unsustained CR. Thus, these 2 parameters may help to identify patients in CR at risk of early progression after HDT/ASCT in whom novel treatments should be investigated.
Breast cancer (BC) is a major public health issue. More than one out of five women treated for breast cancer will develop lymphedema in an upper extremity. Current evidence advocates ...transdisciplinary oncological rehabilitation. Therefore, research in this area is necessary since limited consensus having been reached with regard to the basic essential components of this rehabilitation. Consensus has, however, been reached on the use of decongestive lymphedema therapy (DLT), but due to a lack of tests, the necessary dosages are unknown and its level is moderately strong. This study attempts to verify both the efficacy of activity-oriented proprioceptive antiedema therapy (TAPA), as compared to conventional treatments such as DLT or Complex Physical Therapy (CPT), as well as its efficiency in terms of cost-effectiveness, for patients affected by breast cancer-related arm lymphedema.
Controlled, randomized clinical trial with dual stratification, two parallel arms, longitudinal and single blind. 64 women with breast cancer-related arm lymphedema will take part in the study. The experimental group intervention will be the same for stage I and II, and will consist of neuro-dynamic exercises oriented to the activity, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation activities and proprioceptive anti-edema bandaging. The control group intervention, depending on the stage, will consist of preventive measures, skin care and exercise-prescribed training in the lymphedema workshop as well as compression garments (Stage I) or conservative Complex Decongestive Therapy treatment (skin care, multi-layer bandaging, manual lymphatic drainage and massage therapy) (Stage II).
Sociodemographic and clinical variables will be collected for the measurement of edema volume and ADL performance. Statistical analysis will be performed on intent to treat.
It has been recommended that patient training be added to DLT, as well as a re-designing of patient lifestyles and the promotion of health-related aspects. In addition, clinical trials should be undertaken to assess neural mobilization techniques and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation should be included in the therapy. Cohesive bandaging will also be performed as an early form of pressotherapy. The proposed study combines all of these aspects in order to increased comfort and promote the participation of individuals with lymphedema in everyday situations.
The authors have proposed the assessment of the experimental treatment for stages I and II. One possible limitation is the lack of awareness of whether or not this treatment would be effective for other stages as well as the concern for proper hand cleansing during use of bandages, given the current COVID-19 pandemic situation.
This trial was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT03762044 ). Date of registration: 23 November 2018. Prospectively Registered.
Abnormal development of the ocular anterior segment may lead to a spectrum of clinical phenotypes ranging from primary congenital glaucoma (PCG) to variable anterior segment dysgenesis (ASD). The ...main objective of this study was to identify the genetic alterations underlying recessive congenital glaucoma with ASD (CG-ASD). Next-generation DNA sequencing identified rare biallelic
CPAMD8
variants in four patients with CG-ASD and in one case with PCG.
CPAMD8
is a gene of unknown function and recently associated with ASD. Bioinformatic and in vitro functional evaluation of the variants using quantitative reverse transcription PCR and minigene analysis supported a loss-of-function pathogenic mechanism. Optical and electron microscopy of the trabeculectomy specimen from one of the CG-ASD cases revealed an abnormal anterior chamber angle, with altered extracellular matrix, and apoptotic trabecular meshwork cells. The CPAMD8 protein was immunodetected in adult human ocular fluids and anterior segment tissues involved in glaucoma and ASD (i.e., aqueous humor, non-pigmented ciliary epithelium, and iris muscles), as well as in periocular mesenchyme-like cells of zebrafish embryos. CRISPR/Cas9 disruption of this gene in F0 zebrafish embryos (96 hpf) resulted in varying degrees of gross developmental abnormalities, including microphthalmia, pharyngeal maldevelopment, and pericardial and periocular edemas. Optical and electron microscopy examination of these embryos showed iridocorneal angle hypoplasia (characterized by altered iris stroma cells, reduced anterior chamber, and collagen disorganized corneal stroma extracellular matrix), recapitulating some patients’ features. Our data support the notion that
CPAMD8
loss-of-function underlies a spectrum of recessive CG-ASD phenotypes associated with extracellular matrix disorganization and provide new insights into the normal and disease roles of this gene.
Summary
Thrombosis and haemorrhage are frequent in patients with essential thrombocythaemia (ET). The 2016 revised International Prognostic Score for Thrombosis in Essential ...Thrombocythaemia‐thrombosis (r‐IPSET‐t) score stratifies patients into very‐low‐ (VLR), low‐ (LR), intermediate‐ (IR) and high‐risk (HR) groups. We validated the r‐IPSET‐t in the biggest population of patients with ET (n = 1381) to date and found it to be a better fit than the earlier IPSET‐t score. With an average follow‐up of 87.7 months, there were 0.578 thrombotic events/person‐year and 0.286 bleeding events/person‐year after diagnosis. The 10‐year thrombosis‐free survival was 88% and 99% for the r‐IPSET‐t LR and VLR groups (p < 0.001). Cytoreduction was a thrombotic risk factor in younger patients (aged <60 years, hazard ratio 9.49, p = 0.026; aged ≥60 years, hazard ratio 1.04, p = 0.93). In multivariable Cox regression analysis, anti‐aggregation after diagnosis was protective for thrombosis (hazard ratio 0.31, p = 0.005) but a risk factor for major bleeding (hazard ratio 10.56, p = 0.021). Of the IPSET‐t HR and LR groups, 132/780 and 249/301 were re‐classified as LR and VLR respectively (p < 0.001). The European LeukemiaNET (ELN) does not recommend aspirin for VLR patients but in this real‐life analysis 83.1% of VLR patients received it. Our results validate the r‐IPSET‐t score as more predictive for thrombosis than the ELN‐recommended IPSET‐t and raise concerns about unnecessary cytoreductive and anti‐aggregative therapy.
The pathogenic yeast Pichia kudriavzevii, previously known as Candida krusei, is more distantly related to Candida albicans than clinically relevant CTG-clade Candida species. Its cell wall, a ...dynamic organelle that is the first point of interaction between pathogen and host, is relatively understudied, and its wall proteome remains unidentified to date. Here, we present an integrated study of the cell wall in P. kudriavzevii. Our comparative genomic studies and experimental data indicate that the general structure of the cell wall in P. kudriavzevii is similar to Saccharomyces cerevisiae and C. albicans and is comprised of β-1,3-glucan, β-1,6-glucan, chitin, and mannoproteins. However, some pronounced differences with C. albicans walls were observed, for instance, higher mannan and protein levels and altered protein mannosylation patterns. Further, despite absence of proteins with high sequence similarity to Candida adhesins, protein structure modeling identified eleven proteins related to flocculins/adhesins in S. cerevisiae or C. albicans. To obtain a proteomic comparison of biofilm and planktonic cells, P. kudriavzevii cells were grown to exponential phase and in static 24-h cultures. Interestingly, the 24-h static cultures of P. kudriavzevii yielded formation of floating biofilm (flor) rather than adherence to polystyrene at the bottom. The proteomic analysis of both conditions identified a total of 33 cell wall proteins. In line with a possible role in flor formation, increased abundance of flocculins, in particular Flo110, was observed in the floating biofilm compared to exponential cells. This study is the first to provide a detailed description of the cell wall in P. kudriavzevii including its cell wall proteome, and paves the way for further investigations on the importance of flor formation and flocculins in the pathogenesis of P. kudriavzevii.
To evaluate systemic involvement in primary SS in a large cohort of Spanish patients using the EULAR-SS disease activity index (ESSDAI) definitions.
Systemic involvement was characterized using ...ESSDAI definitions for the 10 clinical domains (constitutional, lymphadenopathy, glandular, articular, cutaneous, pulmonary, renal, peripheral nervous system, central nervous system and muscular). ESSDAI scores at diagnosis, during follow-up and cumulated at the last visit were calculated.
The cohort consisted of 921 patients. After a mean follow-up of 75 months, 77 (8%) patients still had an ESSDAI score of zero at the last visit. Organ by organ, the percentage of patients who developed activity during the follow-up (ESSDAI score ≥ 1 at any time) ranged between 1.4% and 56%, with articular, pulmonary and peripheral neurological involvement being the most common. Logistic multivariate regression analysis showed the following features at diagnosis and had the closest association with systemic activity (statistically significant independent variables in at least two domains): cryoglobulinaemia in five domains; anaemia, lymphopenia and low C3 levels in three domains each and age <35 years in two domains. Sicca features, ANA and RF at diagnosis were not associated with a higher cumulated activity score in any clinical domain.
Primary SS is undeniably a systemic disease, with the joints, lungs, skin and peripheral nerves being the most frequently involved organs. Cytopenias, hypocomplementaemia and cryoglobulinaemia at diagnosis strongly correlated with higher cumulated ESSDAI scores in the clinical domains. Clinically the ESSDAI provides a reliable picture of systemic involvement in primary SS.
The role of decentralized assessment of measurable residual disease (MRD) for risk stratification in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains largely unknown, and so it does which methodological aspects ...are critical to empower the evaluation of MRD with prognostic significance, particularly if using multiparameter flow cytometry (MFC). We analyzed 1076 AML patients in first remission after induction chemotherapy, in whom MRD was evaluated by MFC in local laboratories of 60 Hospitals participating in the PETHEMA registry. We also conducted a survey on technical aspects of MRD testing to determine the impact of methodological heterogeneity in the prognostic value of MFC. Our results confirmed the recommended cutoff of 0.1% to discriminate patients with significantly different cumulative-incidence of relapse (-CIR- HR:0.71, P < 0.001) and overall survival (HR: 0.73, P = 0.001), but uncovered the limited prognostic value of MFC based MRD in multivariate and recursive partitioning models including other clinical, genetic and treatment related factors. Virtually all aspects related with methodological, interpretation, and reporting of MFC based MRD testing impacted in its ability to discriminate patients with different CIR. Thus, this study demonstrated that "real-world" assessment of MRD using MFC is prognostic in patients at first remission, and urges greater standardization for improved risk-stratification toward clinical decisions in AML.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients are at high-risk for severe Covid-19. The multicentric, observational and prospective SENCOVAC study aims to describe the humoral response and safety of ...SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in CKD patients. Safety and immediate humoral response results are reported here.
Four cohorts of patients were included: kidney transplant (KT) recipients, haemodialysis (HD), peritoneal dialysis (PD) and non-dialysis CKD patients from 50 Spanish centres. Adverse events after vaccine doses were recorded. At baseline and on day 28 after the last vaccine dose, anti-Spike antibodies were measured and compared between cohorts. Factors associated with development of anti-Spike antibodies were analyzed.
1746 participants were recruited: 1116 HD, 171 PD, 176 non-dialysis CKD patients and 283 KT recipients. Most patients (98%) received mRNA vaccines. At least one vaccine reaction developed after the first dose in 763 (53.5%) and after the second dose in 741 (54.5%) of patients. Anti-Spike antibodies were measured in the first 301 patients. At 28 days, 95% of patients had developed antibodies: 79% of KT, 98% of HD, 99% of PD and 100% of non-dialysis CKD patients (p<0.001). In a multivariate adjusted analysis, absence of an antibody response was independently associated to KT (OR 20.56, p = 0.001) and to BNT162b2 vaccine (OR 6.03, p = 0.023).
The rate of anti-Spike antibody development after vaccination in KT patients was low but in other CKD patients it approached 100%; suggesting that KT patients require persistent isolation measures and booster doses of a Covid-19 vaccine. Potential differences between Covid-19 vaccines should be explored in prospective controlled studies.
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