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The secondary hemophagocytic syndrome is a life-threatening condition characterized by non-specifc manifestations: systemic inflammatory reaction, cytopenia, liver affection, high content of ferritin in blood serum. One of manifestations of secondary hemophagocytic syndrome is decreasing of level of glycated ferritin in blood serum expressed in percentage of total level. The detection of glycated ferritin can be applied for a differentiated diagnosis with cli9nically similar conditions, including septic process. The purpose of study was to determine clinical value of easurement of glycated ferritin for diagnostic and differentiated diagnostic of secondary hemophagocytic syndrome. The analysis was applied to samples of blood serum and clinical data of patients with diagnoses of secondary hemophagocytic syndrome (n=40), severe sepsis (n=24), cytolitic syndrome (n=36) and healthy donors (n=40). The total content of ferritin is established using rbidimetric technique ("BioSystems", Spain). The glycated ferritin was calculated. To determine level of of glycated ferritin the glycated fraction of ferritin was precipitated using concanavalin A, polymerized with sepharose 4B ("GE Healthcare", USA). The normal values of glycated ferritin made up to 78.3%-87.1%. Under secondary hemophagocytic syndrome decreasing of content of glycated ferritin made up to 25.0 ± 18.7% and was signifcantly lower than under sepsis (47.0 ±17.7%, p<0.001) and cytolytic syndrome(63.5% ±18.7%, p<0.001). According the results of ROC-analysis, the area under curve was maximal as compared with other markers of secondary hemophagocytic syndrome, including total ferritin, triglycerides, fbrinogen. At decreasing of level of glycated ferritin lower than 30.4% the applied technique provides clinical sensitivity 69%, specifcity 94.3%, accuracy 86.9% in applying differentiating diagnosis of secondary hemophagocytic syndrome. At calculation of absolute content of non-glycated ferritin it was discovered that its values correlate with concentration of triglycerides, international normalized ratio, aspartataminotransferase, alaninaminotransferase and total bilirubin in patients with secondary hemophagocytic syndrome (p<0.05). Therefore, decreasing of level of glycated ferritin permits to diagnose secondary hemophagocytic syndrome with higher accuracy., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Aim: To determine the value of molecular biomarkers (BMs) associated with tubular epithelial damage in developing and predicting acute kidney injury (AKI) after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT)., Subjects and Methods: The open-label observational prospective study enrolled 90 patients (46 males and 44 females) who had undergone HSCT. The concentrations of BMs (calbindin, clusterin, interleukin-18 (IL-18), kidney injury molecules-1 (KIM-1), glutathione S-transferase-π (GST-π), and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) were measured in urinary samples 7 days before HSCT (week 0) and at weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Main clinical parameters were simultaneously monitored. AKI was diagnosed and stratified according to the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) guidelines., Results: At weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 after HSCT, the proportion of AKI cases was 7.8, 8.9, 12.5, 27.3, and 35.9%, respectively. The elevated urinary levels of BMs (above the median) were found to be substantially more common than AKI cases. The urinary excretion of the majority of BMs dramatically increased in the early HSCT period. The median number of simultaneously elevated BMs was 3 (2; 5) during the entire follow-up period. Clusterin, MCP-1 and KIM-1 positively and significantly correlated with serum creatinine at the week following the determination of BMs in the multivariate linear regression models adjusted for other confounders. The higher urinary KIM-1 and/or MCP-1 excretion regardless of other clinical indicators was associated with the higher relative risk (RR) of AKI, which increased by 2.3 times with a rise in one of these indicators and by 3.4 times with a rise in both indicators., Conclusion: Multiple renal toxic effects after HSCT result in a substantial and simultaneous elevation of urinary excretion of BMs for tubular damage. Among the BMs studied, KIM-1 and MCP-1 seem to be the most suitable molecules for assessing the risk of AKI in this cohort of patient within the predictive diagnostic approach.

We prospectively observed 36 haematological patients with mucormycosis from nine hospitals of St. Petersburg during 2004-2013. The most frequent underlying diseases were acute leukaemia (64%), and main risk factors were prolonged neutropenia (92%) and lymphocytopenia (86%). In 50% of the patients, mucormycosis was diagnosed 1-65 days after invasive aspergillosis. Main clinical form of mucormycosis was pulmonary (64%), while two or more organ involvement was noted in 50% of the cases. The most frequent aetiological agents of mucormycosis were Rhizopus spp. (48%). Twelve-week survival rate was 50%. Combination therapy (echinocandins + amphotericin B forms) and recovery from the underlying disease significantly improved the survival rate., (© 2014 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.)

We studied the effect of platelet lysates from different donors on fibroblast growth in culture. In most samples (40 of 50), the growth-stimulating characteristics were greater than in 10% FCS, but every ninth sample exhibited low mitogenic activity. A weak dependence between platelet concentration and total protein content was noted, but no correlation was found between these parameters and fibroblast growth in culture.

Polymorphisms of activating Fc-γ receptors (FCGRs) on natural killer cells and macrophages result in variable affinity for immunoglobulin G1 monoclonal antibodies and subsequently modulate antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) activity. Whether single-nucleotide polymorphisms of FCGRs correlate with survival of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients treated with a monoclonal antibody containing regimen is unclear. We assessed the FCGR3A and FCGR2A genotype of patients enrolled in the REACH trial, where patients received fludarabine and cyclophosphamide (FC) or rituximab plus FC (R-FC). FCGR3A and FCGR2A polymorphisms did not demonstrate prognostic significance in the FC arm (P = .42 and P = .64, respectively) or R-FC arm (P = .41 and P = .88, respectively) with respect to progression free survival. Patients with intermediate affinity genotypes (FV and HR) benefited significantly from addition of rituximab (hazard ratio = 0.55 [0.37-0.8 CI]; P = .0017 and hazard ratio = 0.63 [0.44-0.9 CI]; P = .011, respectively). Similar benefit was suggested for patients with high- affinity VV and HH (hazard ratio = 0.86 [0.4-1.84 CI]; P = .7 and hazard ratio = 0.7 [0.41-1.18 CI]; P = .18, respectively) and low-affinity FF and RR (hazard ratio = 0.85 [0.56-1.29 CI]; P = .44 and hazard ratio = 0.82 [0.47-1.42 CI]; P = .48, respectively). Overall, our results suggest that FCGR2A and FCGR3A polymorphisms do not significantly influence the outcomes of relapsed or refractory CLL patients treated with FC or the monoclonal antibody regimen R-FC.

Purpose: Rituximab, a monoclonal antibody that targets the CD20 cell surface antigen, has clinical activity in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and other B-lymphocyte disorders when administered alone or in combination with chemotherapy. Promising results have previously been reported in nonrandomized studies in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). This trial was designed to compare chemoimmunotherapy with chemotherapy alone in patients with previously treated CLL., Patients and Methods: This international, multicenter, randomized trial compared six cycles of rituximab plus fludarabine and cyclophosphamide (R-FC) with six cycles of fludarabine and cyclophosphamide alone (FC) in patients with previously treated CLL. A total of 552 patients with Binet stage A (1%), B (59%), or C (31%) disease entered the study and were randomly assigned to receive R-FC (n = 276) or FC (n = 276)., Results: After a median follow-up time of 25 months, rituximab significantly improved progression-free survival in patients with previously treated CLL (hazard ratio = 0.65; P < .001; median, 30.6 months for R-FC v 20.6 months for FC). Event-free survival, response rate, complete response rate, duration of response, and time to new CLL treatment or death were also significantly improved. Although the rates of adverse events, grade 3 or 4 events, and serious adverse events were slightly higher in the R-FC arm, R-FC was generally well tolerated, with no new safety findings and no detrimental effect on quality of life., Conclusion: R-FC significantly improved the outcome of patients with previously treated CLL.

High-dose immunosuppressive therapy (HDIT) with autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-HSCT) is a new and promising approach to the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients because currently there are no effective treatment methods for this disease. In this article, we present results of a prospective clinical study of efficacy of HDIT + auto-HSCT in MS patients. The following treatment strategies were employed in the study: "early," "conventional," and "salvage/late" transplantation. Fifty patients with various types of MS were included in this study. No toxic deaths were reported among 50 MS patients; transplantation procedure was well-tolerated by the patients. The efficacy analysis was performed in 45 patients. Twenty-eight patients achieved an objective improvement of neurological symptoms, defined as at least 0.5-point decrease in the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score as compared to the baseline and confirmed during 6 months, and 17 patients had disease stabilization (steady EDSS level as compared to the baseline and confirmed during 6 months). The progression-free survival at 6 years after HDIT + auto-HSCT was 72%. Magnetic resonance imaging data were available in 37 patients before transplantation showing disease activity in 43.3%. No active, new, or enlarging lesions were registered in patients without disease progression. In conclusion, HDIT + auto-HSCT suggests positive results in management of patients with different types of MS. Identification of treatment strategies based on the level of disability, namely "early," "conventional," and "salvage/late" transplantation, appears to be feasible to improve treatment outcomes.

Major leucocyte subpopulations were isolated from peripheral blood of healthy donors, and patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) and chronic lymphoid leukaemia (CLL). In vitro UV irradiation was performed at the wavelength of 257nm (UVC band). DNA double-stranded breaks (DNAdsbs) were detected immediately after UV-irradiation, by means of agarose gel electrophoresis. Cell viability was estimated after 18h in culture, as relative numbers of residual non-apoptotic cells. Evaluation of the dose-response curves revealed that normal CLL lymphoid cells showed only moderate damage after UV-irradiation, as assessed by DNAdsbs and cell viability criteria. However, normal granulocytes and myeloid blasts from CML patients expressed a sharp increase in DNAdsbs, even at lower doses of UV-radiation. UV-induced amplification of endogenous oxidative systems (e.g. NADPH-dependent oxidase) is suggested as a probable reason for enhanced DNA breakage and apoptosis in cells of the granulocytic lineage.