In the human hematopoietic system, aging is associated with decreased bone marrow cellularity, decreased adaptive immune system function, and increased incidence of anemia and other hematological ...disorders and malignancies. Recent studies in mice suggest that changes within the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) population during aging contribute significantly to the manifestation of these age-associated hematopoietic pathologies. Though the mouse HSC population has been shown to change both quantitatively and functionally with age, changes in the human HSC and progenitor cell populations during aging have been incompletely characterized. To elucidate the properties of an aged human hematopoietic system that may predispose to age-associated hematopoietic dysfunction, we evaluated immunophenotypic HSC and other hematopoietic progenitor populations from healthy, hematologically normal young and elderly human bone marrow samples. We found that aged immunophenotypic human HSC increase in frequency, are less quiescent, and exhibit myeloid-biased differentiation potential compared with young HSC. Gene expression profiling revealed that aged immunophenotypic human HSC transcriptionally up-regulate genes associated with cell cycle, myeloid lineage specification, and myeloid malignancies. These age-associated alterations in the frequency, developmental potential, and gene expression profile of human HSC are similar to those changes observed in mouse HSC, suggesting that hematopoietic aging is an evolutionarily conserved process.
Background
Historically, polyethylene wear and its sequelae (osteolysis, late instability, aseptic loosening) were common causes for revision total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Recently, polyethylene ...manufacturing has become more consistent; furthermore, a clearer understanding of the importance of oxidation on polyethylene performance led to packaging of the polyethylene bearings in an inert environment. This improved the quality and consistency of polyethylene used in TKA, raising the question of whether different failure modes now predominate after TKA.
Questions/purposes
The purpose of this study was to determine the current reasons for (1) early and (2) late failures after TKA at one high-volume arthroplasty center.
Methods
We reviewed all first-time revision TKAs performed between 2001 and 2011 at one institution, yielding a group of 253 revision TKAs in 251 patients. Mean age at the time of revision was 64 years (SD 10 years). Mean time to revision was 35 months (SD 23 months). Preoperative evaluations, laboratory data, radiographs, and intraoperative findings were used to determine causes for revision. Early failure was defined as revision within 2 years of the index procedure. The primary failure mechanism was determined by the operating surgeon.
Results
Early failure accounted for 46% (116 of 253) of all revisions with infection (28 of 116 24%), instability (30 of 116 26%), and stiffness (21 of 116 18%) being the leading causes. Late failure accounted for 54% (137 of 253) of all revisions with the most common causes including infection (34 of 137 25%), instability (24 of 137 18%), and stiffness (19 of 253 14%). Polyethylene wear was implicated as the failure mechanism in 2% of early cases (two of 116) and 9% of late cases (13 of 137).
Conclusions
In contrast to previous studies, wear-related implant failure in TKA was relatively uncommon in this series. Changes in polyethylene manufacturing, sterilization, and storage may have accounted for some of this difference; however, longer-term followup will be required to verify this finding. Infection, instability, and stiffness represent the most common causes of early and late failure. Strategies to improve outcomes in TKA should be aimed at infection prophylaxis and treatment, surgical technique, and patient selection.
Level of Evidence
Level III, therapeutic study. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
In a global environment of increasing species extinctions and decreasing availability of funds with which to combat the causes of biodiversity loss, maximising the efficiency of conservation efforts ...is crucial. The only way to ensure maximum return on conservation investment is to incorporate the cost, benefit and likelihood of success of conservation actions into decision-making in a systematic and objective way. Here we report on the application of a Project Prioritization Protocol (PPP), first implemented by the New Zealand Government, to target and prioritize investment in threatened species in New South Wales, Australia, under the state's new Saving our Species program. Detailed management prescriptions for 368 threatened species were developed via an expert elicitation process, and were then prioritized using quantitative data on benefit, likelihood of success and implementation cost, and a simple cost-efficiency equation. We discuss the outcomes that have been realized even in the early stages of the program; including the efficient development of planning resources made available to all potential threatened species investors and the demonstration of a transparent and objective approach to threatened species management that will significantly increase the probability of meeting an objective to secure the greatest number of threatened species from extinction.
Background
There is considerable debate regarding the ideal agent for venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis after TKA. Numerous studies and meta-analyses have yet to provide a clear answer and ...often omit one or more of the commonly used agents such as aspirin, warfarin, enoxaparin, and factor Xa inhibitors.
Questions/Purposes
Using a large database analysis, we asked: (1) What are the differences in VTE incidence in primary TKA after administration of aspirin, warfarin, enoxaparin, or factor Xa inhibitors? (2) What are the differences in bleeding risk among these four agents? (3) How has use of these agents changed with time?
Methods
We queried a combined Humana and Medicare database between 2007 and Quarter 1 of 2016, and identified all primary TKAs performed using ICD-9 and Current Procedural Terminology codes. All patients who had any form of antiplatelet or anticoagulation prescribed within 1 year before TKA were excluded from our study cohort. We then identified patients who had either aspirin, warfarin, enoxaparin, or factor Xa inhibitors prescribed within 2 weeks of primary TKA. Each cohort was matched by age and sex. Elixhauser comorbidities and Charlson Comorbidity Index for each group were calculated. We identified 1016 patients with aspirin, and age- and sex-matched 6096 patients with enoxaparin, 6096 patients with warfarin, and 5080 patients with factor Xa inhibitors. Using ICD-9 codes, with the understanding that patients at greater risk may have had more-attentive surveillance, the incidence of postoperative deep venous thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE), bleeding-related complications (bleeding requiring surgical intervention, hemorrhage, hematoma, hemarthrosis), postoperative anemia, and transfusion were identified at 2 weeks, 30 days, 6 weeks, and 90 days postoperatively. A four-way chi-squared test was used to determine statistical significance. Utilization was calculated using compound annual growth rate.
Results
There was a difference in the incidence of DVT at 90 days (p < 0.01). Factor Xa inhibitors (2.9%) had the lowest incidence of DVT followed by aspirin (3.0%) and enoxaparin (3.5%), and warfarin (4.8%). There was a difference in the incidence of PE at 90 days (p < 0.01). Factor Xa inhibitors (0.9%) had the lowest incidence of PE followed by enoxaparin (1.1%), aspirin (1.2%), and warfarin (1.6%). There was a difference in the incidence of postoperative anemia at 90 days (p < 0.01). Aspirin (19%) had the lowest incidence of postoperative anemia followed by warfarin (22%), enoxaparin (23%), and factor Xa inhibitors (23%). There was a difference in the incidence of a blood transfusion at 90 days (p < 0.01). Aspirin (7%) had the lowest incidence of a blood transfusion followed by factor Xa inhibitors (9%), warfarin (12%), and enoxaparin (13%). There were no differences in bleeding-related complications (p = 0.81) between the groups. Aspirin use increased at a compound annual growth rate of 30%, enoxaparin at 3%, and factor Xa inhibitors at 43%, while warfarin use decreased at a compound annual growth rate of -3%.
Conclusions
Factor Xa inhibitors had the highest growth in utilization during our study period, followed by aspirin, when compared with enoxaparin and warfarin. When selected for the right patient, factor Xa inhibitors provided improved VTE prophylaxis compared with enoxaparin and warfarin, with a lower rate of blood transfusion. Aspirin provided comparable VTE prophylaxis compared with factor Xa inhibitors with improved VTE prophylaxis compared with enoxaparin and warfarin with the lowest risk of bleeding.
Level of Evidence
Level III, therapeutic study.
Osteoarthritis (OA) has been recognized as the most common chronic age-related disease. Cartilage degeneration influences OA therapy. Here we report that hematopoietic pre-B cell leukemia ...transcription factor-interacting protein (HPIP) is essential for OA development. Elevated HPIP levels are found in OA patients. Col2a1-CreER
/HPIP
mice exhibit obvious skeletal abnormalities compared with their HPIP
littermates. HPIP deficiency in mice protects against developing OA. Moreover, intra-articular injection of adeno-associated virus carrying HPIP-specific short hairpin RNA in vivo attenuates OA histological signs. Notably, in vitro RNA-sequencing and chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing profiles identify that HPIP modulates OA cartilage degeneration through transcriptional activation of Wnt target genes. Mechanistically, HPIP promotes the transcription of Wnt targets by interacting with lymphoid enhancer binding factor 1 (LEF1). Furthermore, HPIP potentiates the transcriptional activity of LEF1 and acetylates histone H3 lysine 56 in the promoters of Wnt targets, suggesting that HPIP is an attractive target in OA regulatory network.
Guidelines recommend using gabapentin to decrease postoperative pain and opioid use, but significant variation exists in clinical practice.
To determine the effect of perioperative gabapentin on ...remote postoperative time to pain resolution and opioid cessation.
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of perioperative gabapentin was conducted at a single-center, tertiary referral teaching hospital. A total of 1805 patients aged 18 to 75 years scheduled for surgery (thoracotomy, video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery, total hip replacement, total knee replacement, mastectomy, breast lumpectomy, hand surgery, carpal tunnel surgery, knee arthroscopy, shoulder arthroplasty, and shoulder arthroscopy) were screened. Participants were enrolled from May 25, 2010, to July 25, 2014, and followed up for 2 years postoperatively. Intention-to-treat analysis was used in evaluation of the findings.
Gabapentin, 1200 mg, preoperatively and 600 mg, 3 times a day postoperatively or active placebo (lorazepam, 0.5 mg) preoperatively followed by inactive placebo postoperatively for 72 hours.
Primary outcome was time to pain resolution (5 consecutive reports of 0 of 10 possible levels of average pain at the surgical site on the numeric rating scale of pain). Secondary outcomes were time to opioid cessation (5 consecutive reports of no opioid use) and the proportion of participants with continued pain or opioid use at 6 months and 1 year.
Of 1805 patients screened for enrollment, 1383 were excluded, including 926 who did not meet inclusion criteria and 273 who declined to participate. Overall, 8% of patients randomized were lost to follow-up. A total of 202 patients were randomized to active placebo and 208 patients were randomized to gabapentin in the intention-to-treat analysis (mean SD age, 56.7 11.7 years; 256 (62.4%) women and 154 (37.6%) men). Baseline characteristics of the groups were similar. Perioperative gabapentin did not affect time to pain cessation (hazard ratio HR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.82-1.33; P = .73) in the intention-to-treat analysis. However, participants receiving gabapentin had a 24% increase in the rate of opioid cessation after surgery (HR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.00-1.54; P = .05). No significant differences were noted in the number of adverse events as well as the rate of medication discontinuation due to sedation or dizziness (placebo, 42 of 202 20.8%; gabapentin, 52 of 208 25.0%).
Perioperative administration of gabapentin had no effect on postoperative pain resolution, but it had a modest effect on promoting opioid cessation after surgery. The routine use of perioperative gabapentin may be warranted to promote opioid cessation and prevent chronic opioid use. Optimal dosing and timing of perioperative gabapentin in the context of specific operations to decrease opioid use should be addressed in further research.
clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01067144.
Using therapeutic antibodies that need to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to treat neurological disease is a difficult challenge. We have shown that bispecific antibodies with optimized binding ...to the transferrin receptor (TfR) that target β-secretase (BACE1) can cross the BBB and reduce brain amyloid-β (Aβ) in mice. Can TfR enhance antibody uptake in the primate brain? We describe two humanized TfR/BACE1 bispecific antibody variants. Using a human TfR knock-in mouse, we observed that anti-TfR/BACE1 antibodies could cross the BBB and reduce brain Aβ in a TfR affinity-dependent fashion. Intravenous dosing of monkeys with anti-TfR/BACE1 antibodies also reduced Aβ both in cerebral spinal fluid and in brain tissue, and the degree of reduction correlated with the brain concentration of anti-TfR/BACE1 antibody. These results demonstrate that the TfR bispecific antibody platform can robustly and safely deliver therapeutic antibody across the BBB in the primate brain.
Severe SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with strong inflammation and autoantibody production against diverse self-antigens, suggesting a system-wide defect in B cell tolerance. BND cells are a B ...cell subset in healthy individuals harboring autoreactive but anergic B lymphocytes. In vitro evidence suggests inflammatory stimuli can breach peripheral B cell tolerance in this subset. We asked whether SARS-CoV-2-associated inflammation impairs BND cell peripheral tolerance. To address this, PBMCs and plasma were collected from healthy controls, individuals immunized against SARS-CoV-2, or subjects with convalescent or severe SARS-CoV-2 infection. We demonstrate that BND cells from severely infected individuals are significantly activated, display reduced inhibitory receptor expression, and restored BCR signaling, indicative of a breach in anergy during viral infection, supported by increased levels of autoreactive antibodies. The phenotypic and functional BND cell alterations significantly correlate with increased inflammation in severe SARS-CoV-2 infection. Thus, autoreactive BND cells are released from peripheral tolerance with SARS-CoV-2 infection, likely as a consequence of robust systemic inflammation.
Stem cells and the aging hematopoietic system Beerman, Isabel; Maloney, William J; Weissmann, Irving L ...
Current opinion in immunology,
08/2010, Letnik:
22, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Advancing age is accompanied by a number of clinically significant conditions arising in the hematopoietic system that include: diminution and decreased competence of the adaptive immune system, ...elevated incidence of certain autoimmune diseases, increased hematological malignancies, and elevated incidence of age-associated anemia. As with most tissues, the aged hematopoietic system also exhibits a reduced capacity to regenerate and return to normal homeostasis after injury or stress. Evidence suggests age-dependent functional alterations within the hematopoietic stem cell compartment significantly contribute to many of these pathophysiologies. Recent developments have shed light on how aging of the hematopoietic stem cell compartment contributes to hematopoietic decline through diverse mechanisms.