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The objectives of this study were to determine if newborn calves receiving supplemental lactoferrin (LF) had improved IgG uptake and if supplemental LF enhanced intestinal development through estimation of xylose uptake. Twenty-four newborn Holstein bull calves were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 treatments: 0 or 1 g/d of supplemental LF. Calves were fed pooled maternal colostrum from 9 cows in 2 feedings: at birth and 12 h later. Calves consumed in excess of 200 g of IgG. Blood samples were taken before colostrum feeding (0 h) and at 12, 18, and 24 h after birth. Blood samples were analyzed for IgG concentration. On d 2 of life, calves were fed milk replacer with the added LF and 0.5 g/kg of BW xylose to determine if supplemental LF affected intestinal development. Blood was sampled at 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 12 h after the xylose dose. All calves attained passive transfer and supplemental LF did not affect IgG uptake ( ≥ 0.36) or apparent efficiency of absorption of IgG ( = 0.49). Lactoferrin did not enhance rate of absorption at any time point ( ≥ 0.36). There were no differences in xylose ( = 0.28) or glucose ( = 0.27) area under the curve values in calves supplemented with either 0 or 1 g/d LF. Lactoferrin did not enhance IgG uptake during the first 24 h or intestinal development in calves on the second day of life.

Forty patients with high risk myelodysplastic syndromes--refractory anemia with excess blasts, refractory anemia with excess blasts in transformation, or chronic myelomonocytic leukemia--were treated with subcutaneous low dose cytosine arabinoside, 10 mg/m2 twice daily for up to 42 days. In 38 evaluable patients there were nine (24%) complete and four (11%) partial responses. Response was associated with symptomatic improvement and resolution of the need for red cell and platelet transfusions. The median duration of complete response was 9.8 months (range, 2.4-17.9); these patients had a median survival of 15.7 months (range, 6.0-22.7). Toxicities were predominantly those associated with pancytopenia, i.e., infection and hemorrhage.

A retrospective study was undertaken to compare the frequency of scheduled and unscheduled (extra) visits and the signs and symptoms reported on such visits for 31 patients with relapse and 31 matched relapse-free patients all of whom had completed adjuvant treatment for stage II breast cancer. All patients had been treated with the same identical adjuvant therapy program and all had the same regular follow-up schedule, including clinic visits for history and physical examination every 6 months and chest x-ray, complete blood profile, bone scan, and mammogram yearly. Almost all (29/31) relapsed patients had signs or symptoms as the first indicator of recurrence. During a follow-up period of 13-16 months, the relapsed and nonrelapsed patients had a total of 89 and 81 visits, respectively, with an unscheduled visit occurring for almost every two routine visits. Almost all of the 89 total visits for relapsed patients and almost 75% for nonrelapsed patients were associated with signs or symptoms, a majority of which could have been due to cancer recurrence. We conclude that history and physical examination generally provide the first clues to recurrence but that such symptoms and signs are frequently reported by nonrelapsed patients as well as those with recurrence.