Long-term hematologic response after azacitidine treatment in a lower-risk myelodysplastic syndrome patient: A case report.

We report results of a 65-year-old patient with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndrome and multilineage dysplasia treated with hypomethylating agents. After failure of erythropoietin and thalidomide, the patient received azacitidine and achieved hematological remission for 95 months. In 2016, the treatment was switched to decitabine with promising results. These data showed that azacitidine used as a third-line treatment resulted in an exceptionally long-lasting positive hematological response after standard first- and second-line therapies had failed. Additionally, the patient experienced a good quality of life with no complications related to profound cytopenia, and continues to do so at the time of this report's preparation.

Morphological and Quantitative Parametric MRI Follow-up of Cartilage Changes Before and After Intra-articular Injection Therapy in Patients With Mild to Moderate Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Intra-articular injections are routinely used for conservative treatment of knee osteoarthritis (OA). The detailed comparative therapeutic effects of these injections on cartilage tissue are still unclear. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to detect and compare knee cartilage changes after intra-articular injection of glucocorticoid, hyaluronic acid, or platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to placebo using quantitative (T2 and T2* mapping) and morphological magnetic resonance imaging parameters in patients with mild or moderate osteoarthritis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, single-center trial, knees with mild or moderate osteoarthritis (Kellgren-Lawrence grade 1-3) were randomly assigned to an intra-articular injection with 1 of these substances: glucocorticoid, hyaluronic acid, PRP, or placebo. Cartilage degeneration on baseline and follow-up magnetic resonance imaging scans (after 3 and 12 months) was assessed by 2 readers using quantitative T2 and T2* times (milliseconds) and morphological parameters (modified Outerbridge grading, subchondral bone marrow edema, subchondral cysts, osteophytes). RESULTS: One hundred twenty knees (30 knees per treatment group) were analyzed with a median patient age of 60 years (interquartile range, 54.0-68.0 years). Interreader reliability was good for T2 (ICC, 0.76; IQR, 0.68-0.83) and T2* (ICC, 0.83; IQR, 0.76-0.88) measurements. Morphological parameters showed no significant changes between all groups after 3 and 12 months. T2 mapping after 12 months showed the following significant ( P = 0.001-0.03) changes between groups in 6 of 14 compartments: values after PRP injection decreased compared with glucocorticoid in 4 compartments (complete medial femoral condyle and central part of lateral condyle) and compared with placebo in 2 compartments (anterior and central part of medial tibial plateau); values after glucocorticoid injection decreased compared with placebo in 1 compartment (central part of medial tibial plateau). No significant changes were seen for T2 and T2* times after 3 months and T2* times after 12 months. No correlation was found between T2/T2* times and Kellgren-Lawrence grade, age, body mass index, or pain (Spearman ρ, -0.23 to 0.18). CONCLUSIONS: Platelet-rich plasma injection has a positive long-term effect on cartilage quality in the medial femoral compartment compared to glucocorticoid, resulting in significantly improved T2 values after 12 months. For morphological cartilage parameters, injections with glucocorticoid, PRP, or hyaluronic acid showed no better effect in the short or long term compared with placebo.

A Randomized Trial of Intra-articular Injection Therapy for Knee Osteoarthritis.

BACKGROUND: Intra-articular injections are widely used for conservative treatment of knee osteoarthritis (OA). However, rigorous data are lacking regarding the comparative therapeutic effectiveness of these injections. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare clinical outcomes after intra-articular injections of glucocorticoid, hyaluronic acid, platelet-rich plasma (PRP), or placebo in patients with mild or moderate OA of the knee. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, single-center trial, we randomly assigned knees with early- to middle-stage knee OA (Kellgren-Lawrence grade 1-3) to an intra-articular injection with one of these substances: glucocorticoid, hyaluronic acid, PRP, or placebo. Primary outcome was pain reduction within 6 months after the injection, assessed with the numeric rating scale (NRS; range, 0-100). Secondary outcome parameters included WOMAC scores, Tegner Activity Scale, knee mobility, and adverse events. Finally, a linear mixed-effects model was calculated and corrected for possible patient and covariate effects. RESULTS: One hundred twenty knees (30 knees per treatment group) in 95 patients (41 female) were included in the final analysis. The median age of patients was 60 years (interquartile range, 54.0-68.0). There was no evidence that the drug effects of primary and secondary outcome parameters differed over time. The median pain at baseline was 32.5 (interquartile range, 15.00-50.00) on NRS. The changes in pain level during the first 6 months compared with baseline were small (within ±5 points on NRS), whereas the intrapatient variability was large between -20 and +20 points. Secondary outcome parameters did not differ significantly among the groups. Kellgren-Lawrence grade did not have a statistically significant effect on pain reduction ( P = 0.61). CONCLUSIONS: There is no evidence that knee injections with glucocorticoid, PRP, or hyaluronic acid have superior short- or long-term effects in patients with low pain level at baseline and early- to middle-stage knee OA when compared with placebo.

Platelet aggregation under high shear conditions during and after a 28-day administration of 100 mg acetylsalicylic acid in healthy volunteers.

Platelet primary hemostatic function occurs under high shear conditions. Cyclooxygenase inhibitors such as ibuprofen inhibit this platelet aggregation under high shear rates only to a limited extent. This prompted the present study on 10 healthy volunteers treated with 100 mg aspirin for 4 weeks. The platelet function analyser (PFA-100) was used to measure the closure time (CT) of a membrane pore coated with collagen and epinephrine by aggregating platelets under shear rates of 5000-6000 s(-1). A first dose of 100 mg aspirin prolonged the CT above the normal range in 4 of 10 individuals, but the CT for the whole group (153+/-42 s) was not different from baseline (112+/-18 s). After 7 and 28 days of treatment, CTs were >300 s in 8 individuals and the mean values for the group were significantly higher than baseline. However, one subject had an intermediate response and one had an aspirin non-responsiveness, which was not overcome by 300 mg aspirin daily. The CT was normalized in 4 individuals 48 h after the last aspirin dose and in 7 individuals after 72 h, when the mean value for the group became not different from baseline. We conclude that the platelet function measured with the PFA-100 is not inhibited significantly after a single dose of 100 mg aspirin, is thereafter inhibited consistently in the majority, but not all individuals during a 4 week treatment, and returns to normal in 48-72 h. Since large interindividual differences exist, monitoring of platelet inhibition at the beginning of an aspirin treatment should be considered and validated in a prospective study.