Search

Leonidas D Panos,1,2 Panagiotis Bargiotas,2 Marcel Arnold,1 Georgios Hadjigeorgiou,2 Georgios D Panos3,4 1Department of Neurology, Bern University Hospital Inselspital, Bern, Switzerland; 2Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus; 3Department of Ophthalmology, Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH), Nottingham, UK; 4Division of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UKCorrespondence: Leonidas D Panos, Department of Neurology, Bern University Hospital “Inselspital”, Freiburgstrasse 16, Bern, 3010, Switzerland, Tel +41 31 632 70 00, Email ldpanos@yahoo.gr Georgios D Panos, Department of Ophthalmology, Queen’s Medical Centre, NUH, Derby Road, Lenton, Nottingham, NG7 2UH, UK, Tel +44 115 924 9924, Email gdpanos@gmail.comAbstract: Stem cells, renowned for their unique regenerative capabilities, present significant hope in treating stroke, a major cause of disability globally. This review offers a detailed analysis of stem cell applications in stroke (ischemic and hemorrhagic) recovery. It examines therapies based on autologous (patient-derived), allogeneic (donor-derived), and Granulocyte-Colony Stimulating Factor (G-CSF) based stem cells, focusing on cell types such as Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells (MSCs), Bone Marrow Mononuclear Stem Cells (BMMSCs), and Neural Stem/Progenitor Cells (NSCs). The paper compiles clinical trial data to evaluate their effectiveness and safety and addresses the ethical concerns of these innovative treatments. By explaining the mechanisms of stem cell-induced neurological repair, this review underscores stem cells’ potential in revolutionizing stroke rehabilitation and suggests avenues for future research.Keywords: stem cell therapy, stroke, brain hemorrhage, autologous stem cells transplantation, allogeneic stem cells transplantation, granulocyte-colony stimulating factor

The purpose of the study was to evaluate high-dose chemotherapy efficacy with the next autologous stem cells transplantation (ASCT) in first-line treatment of follicular lymphoma (FL) patients with unfavorable prognosis factors. 43 FL patients with unfavorable prognosis factors were observed in Hematological scientific center from 2000 to 2016. The patients received R-CHOP regime as induction therapy. ASCT in first-line treatment after inductional R-CHOP regimes was administrated in 23 patients. The results of the first prospective study of high-dose therapy in FL patients in Russia demonstrate that HDCT with followed ASCT in first line therapy allows to achieve complete remission in patients with unfavorable prognosis factors as well as to increase progression-free survival and overall surviva.

Background Leukapheresis for autologous stem cell transplantation represents an efficient technique for the reconstitution of haematopoietic system in patients subjected to a high-dose chemotherapy for the treatment of haematological malignancies. The current regulations emphasise first steps of leukapheresis procedure but do not recommend methods for thawing, only suggesting that it must be performed as soon as possible in a 37 °C thermostatic bath. Aim of the Study We compared the classic method of thawing with an innovative and fully traceable method that uses WSCFD ® Stem Cell Fast Thawer KW. Materials and Methods The first part of the study was focused on the thermodynamic process of the two methods, thawing 6 “simulated” leukapheresis (buffy coats of healthy donors cryopreserved with saline solution, 5% HSA and 5% DMSO) and analysing the thawing curve obtained, by using an inside probe. In the second part, we focused on the recovery of viable CD34+ cells and leukocytes, thawing 20 real leukapheresis from paediatric patients. In this phase we also analyse final core bag temperature, time of procedure, cellular recovery with ISHAGE single platform flow cytometry assay and clonogenic potential performing a CFU assay. Results We found no significant differences between the two methods, both for thermodynamic aspect and cellular recovery. Thawing curves were similar and the paired Student's-t test used for statistical analysis showed a CD34+ cells recovery of 92.2% ± 11.4 using WSCFD ® versus 90% ± 11.1 of thermostatic bath. Data were similar even for leukocytes recovery (80.8% ± 9.5 with WSCFD ® and 79.2% ± 14.4 with thermostatic bath). All thawed products never exceeded the core temperature of 30 °C and no differences were found about the post-thaw clonogenic potential (614 × 10 4  ± 98.3 total CFU using WSCFD ® versus 592 × 10 4  ± 78.5 using thermostatic bath). The only difference observed was about the thawing time: WSCFD method requires a slightly longer time but, on the other hand, it correlates with reduced mean increase in temperature per minute, as a result of a more linear thawing curve. Conclusions WSCFD ® can replace the 37 °C thermostatic bath thawing procedure for leukapheresis, providing more security and fully traceable process data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (autoHSCT) in adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is still unclear. We retrospectively analyzed the results of the autoHSCT and maintenance therapy, with oral 6-mercaptopurine and methotrexate, in comparison to conventional-dose chemotherapy in the consolidation treatment of adult ALL and lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL). The patients, with HLA identical sibling donor, underwent allogeneic transplantation, while the others were treated with autoHSCT and maintenance therapy with oral 6-mercaptopurine and methotrexate, or by conventional-dose chemotherapy (patient’s decision, no autologous hematopoietic stem cells harvest). Sixty consecutive adult patients (median age 35.2 years; range 17.3 to 70.7) with ALL ( n = 52), LBL ( n = 7), and acute biphenotypic leukemia ( n = 1) were treated in our center from 1997 to 2007. Patients treated with chemotherapy alone ( n = 35) had a shorter median progression-free survival (PFS) compared to patients who underwent autoHSCT plus maintenance therapy ( n = 18), 8.4 and 46.8 months, respectively ( p = 0.017). Patients treated with chemotherapy alone had also a shorter median overall survival (OS) compared to patients treated with autoHSCT: 13.0 vs. 46.8 months ( p = 0.046). The differences remained statistically significant even after excluding patients with Ph positivity. We can conclude that, in our case, autoHSCT followed by maintenance chemotherapy is a good option for adult patients with ALL and, in standard-risk and high-risk patients, provides more favorable OS and PFS rates compared to patients treated by chemotherapy alone. However, we are aware of the fact that our analysis may have been distorted by the fact that the analysis is retrospective, that treatment with autoHSCT was based on patient’s decision, and that chemotherapy may have been administered to negatively selected patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malignant forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) represent a limited group of very aggressive demyelinating diseases, which rapidly progress to severe disability leading often to life-threatening conditions. On these clinical entities, currently available therapies for MS are not very effective. Recently, it has been demonstrated that intense immunosuppression followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) can affect the clinical course of individuals with severe MS and completely abrogate the inflammatory activity detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We report on the treatment with intense immune ablation followed by ASCT of three patients with malignant MS whose clinical course indicated a dramatically poor prognosis. This procedure succeeded in halting the rapidly worsening course of disease. The effect was long lasting, as demonstrated by a sustained efficacy over a two-year period in two subjects and 12 months in the third case. In addition, a striking effect on inflammation-related MRI findings was obtained. These results support a role for intense immunosuppression followed by ASCT as treatment in rapidly evolving malignant MS cases unresponsive to conventional therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]