Efficacy and safety of high-dose rush oral immunotherapy in persistent egg allergic children: A randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Egg oral immunotherapy is effective but time consuming. OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy and safety of egg rush oral immunotherapy (ROIT) with a targeted dose equivalent to a raw egg white. METHODS: Thirty-three persistent egg allergic children confirmed by double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge (DBPCFC) were randomized to receive egg ROIT immediately after randomization (ROIT1 group), or to continue an egg avoidance diet for 5 months after randomization (control group [CG]). A 5-day build-up phase starting with the highest single tolerated dose at baseline DBPCFC was scheduled and several doses administered daily until achieving a dose of approximately 2,808 mg of egg white protein. In the maintenance phase, patients ate an undercooked egg every 48 hours for 5 months. The CG participants who failed the DBPCFC at 5 months began active treatment. Children from the ROIT1 group plus children from the CG who failed a second DBPCFC at 5 months and then received egg ROIT were randomized to the ROIT2 group. Adverse events (AEs) and immune marker evolution were recorded. RESULTS: A total of 17 (89%) of 19 children in the ROIT1 group and no CG patients were desensitized at 5 months (P < .001). A total of 31 (97%) of the 32 children in the ROIT2 group completed the build-up phase in a median of 3 days (range, 1-14 days), and 30 (94%) of 32 maintained desensitization at 5 months. From baseline to 5 months of treatment, skin prick test, specific IgE, and specific IgE/IgG4 ratio to egg fractions significantly decreased, whereas specific IgG4 increased. During the build-up phase, AEs occurred in 69% of patients (50% had ≤2 AEs) and 31% of doses (2% severe, 55% gastrointestinal). Lower threshold dose in the DBPCFC and higher egg white and ovalbumin specific IgE levels at baseline revealed an association with a higher rate of AEs. CONCLUSION: The proposed 5-day egg ROIT desensitized 94% of the allergic patients, with most AEs being mild or moderate.

Safety and tolerability of intrathecal delivery of autologous bone marrow nucleated cells in children with cerebral palsy: an open-label phase I trial.

BACKGROUND AIMS: Cerebral palsy (CP) is related to severe perinatal hypoxia with permanent brain damage in nearly 50% of surviving preterm infants. Cell therapy is a potential therapeutic option for CP by several mechanisms, including immunomodulation through cytokine and growth factor secretion. METHODS: In this phase I open-label clinical trial, 18 pediatric patients with CP were included to assess the safety of autologous bone marrow-derived total nucleated cell (TNC) intrathecal and intravenous injection after stimulation with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. Motor, cognitive, communication, personal-social and adaptive areas were evaluated at baseline and 1 and 6 months after the procedure through the use of the Battelle Developmental Inventory. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed at baseline and 6 months after therapy. This study was registered in ClinicaTrials.gov (NCT01019733). RESULTS: A median of 13.12 × 10(8) TNCs (range, 4.83-53.87) including 10.02 × 10(6) CD34+ cells (range, 1.02-29.9) in a volume of 7 mL (range, 4-10.5) was infused intrathecally. The remaining cells from the bone marrow aspirate were administered intravenously; 6.01 × 10(8) TNCs (range, 1.36-17.85), with 3.39 × 10(6) cells being CD34+. Early adverse effects included headache, vomiting, fever and stiff neck occurred in three patients. No serious complications were documented. An overall 4.7-month increase in developmental age according to the Battelle Developmental Inventory, including all areas of evaluation, was observed (±SD 2.63). No MRI changes at 6 months of follow-up were found. CONCLUSIONS: Subarachnoid placement of autologous bone marrow-derived TNC in children with CP is a safe procedure. The results suggest a possible increase in neurological function.

Combination of polymorphisms within 5' and 3' untranslated regions of thymidylate synthase gene modulates survival in 5 fluorouracil-treated colorectal cancer patients.

In the present study we explored the effect of three polymorphisms of the TS gene on overall and progression- free survival of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients subjected to 5FU chemotherapy. A 28 bp variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR), a G/C single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), and a deletion of 6 bp at position 1494 were studied. The possible combined effect of these DNA polymorphisms on the clinical outcome of patients was also evaluated. A retrospective study was carried out on paraffin-embedded sections from 113 patients diagnosed of advanced CRC. TS genotyping methods were polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for VNTR and PCR, followed by restriction length fragment polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) for SNP and ins/del 6 bp. To study the combined effect of TS polymorphisms, four categories were defined accordingly to the level of expression attributed to SNP and ins/del 6 bp genotypes: C&allele 6-, C&6+/6+, G&allele6- and G&6+/6+. VNTR and ins/del 6 bp genotypes varied with tumour anatomical site: 2R/2R genotype was rare in left-sided tumours (7.0% vs. 26.3% of right-sided and 24.1% of rectal cancers; P<0.01), where the variant allele 6- was very frequent (69.0%). Instead, most patients with right-sided tumours were wild-type homozygous 6+/6+ (63.9%) (P<0.01). Heterozygous 6+/6- genotype was more frequent among tumours classified as C (50.0%) and D (76.5%) Dukes stages (P=0.05). None of the studied polymorphisms alone affected overall or progression-free survival (PFS). C&6+/6+ and G&6+/6+ combined genotypes were respectively associated to the best and worst PFS (P=0.03 when compared with each other), while combinations carrying the allele 6- determined an intermediate evolution that might be indicative of a variable response to chemotherapy. The rate of Dukes B stage tumours was unexpectedly high (59.1%) among patients with the unfavourable G&6+/6+ combination. In our study the combination of high TS expression genotypes G&6+/6+ identifies a group of high risk within CRC patients treated with 5FU.

Thymidylate synthase expression pattern, expression level and single nucleotide polymorphism are predictors for disease-free survival in patients of colorectal cancer treated with 5-fluorouracil.

Several variables associated to thymidylate synthase (TS), the biological target of 5-fluorouracil (5FU) have been studied for their possible role as predictors of the clinical outcome and response to chemotherapy in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. The level of protein expression and the number of variable tandem-repeats of a 28-bp sequence within the gene promoter have been proposed as predictive and/or prognostic factors with variable agreement, while consensus seems to be achieved with respect to the value of a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) described within this same region. More recently, an association between TS expression pattern and survival has been disclosed. Paraffin-embedded sections from 140 CRC patients were analyzed by immuno-histochemistry (Mab TS106) for TS levels and expression pattern. Also, VNTR and SNP were determined by polymerase-chain reaction (PCR) and restriction-length-fragment polymorphism (RFLP) in 123 and 112 patients, respectively. Cytoplasmic expression pattern tended to be associated to C SNP (p=0.06). Low TS expression levels, cytoplasmic expression pattern and C SNP arose as variables associated to longer progression-free survival (PFS) in patients treated with 5FU. Accordingly, patients having at least two favourable or unfavourable variables were classified respectively as 'low risk' and 'high risk', the former showing significantly longer PFS (p=0.0299). The possibility for designing a selection method for subsequent therapies is suggested on the basis of a probable combined effect of the above mentioned parameters but further studies in larger populations are needed to confirm these results.

BIM and mTOR expression levels predict outcome to erlotinib in EGFR-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer.

BIM is a proapoptotic protein that initiates apoptosis triggered by EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI). mTOR negatively regulates apoptosis and may influence response to EGFR TKI. We examined mRNA expression of BIM and MTOR in 57 patients with EGFR-mutant NSCLC from the EURTAC trial. Risk of mortality and disease progression was lower in patients with high BIM compared with low/intermediate BIM mRNA levels. Analysis of MTOR further divided patients with high BIM expression into two groups, with those having both high BIM and MTOR experiencing shorter overall and progression-free survival to erlotinib. Validation of our results was performed in an independent cohort of 19 patients with EGFR-mutant NSCLC treated with EGFR TKIs. In EGFR-mutant lung adenocarcinoma cell lines with high BIM expression, concomitant high mTOR expression increased IC50 of gefitinib for cell proliferation. We next sought to analyse the signalling pattern in cell lines with strong activation of mTOR and its substrate P-S6. We showed that mTOR and phosphodiesterase 4D (PDE4D) strongly correlate in resistant EGFR-mutant cancer cell lines. These data suggest that the combination of EGFR TKI with mTOR or PDE4 inhibitors could be adequate therapy for EGFR-mutant NSCLC patients with high pretreatment levels of BIM and mTOR.

Early regression of left ventricular hypertrophy after treatment with esmolol in an experimental rat model of primary hypertension.

Certain ß-adrenergic blockers have proven useful in the regression of ventricular remodeling when administered as long-term treatment. However, early regression of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) has not been reported, following short-term administration of these drugs. We tested the hypothesis that short-term administration of the cardioselective ß-blocker esmolol induces early regression of LVH in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Fourteen-month-old male SHRs were treated i.v. with vehicle (SHR) or esmolol (SHR-E) (300 µg kg(-1) min(-1)). Age-matched vehicle-treated male Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats served as controls. After 48 h, left ventricular morphology and function were assessed using M-mode echocardiograms (left ventricular mass index (LVMI), ejection fraction and transmitral Doppler (early-to-atrial filling velocity ratio (E/A), E-wave deceleration time (Edec time)). The standardized uptake value (SUV) was applied to evaluate FDG (2-deoxy-2[18F]fluoro-D-glucose) uptake by the heart using PET/CT. Left ventricular subendocardial and subepicardial biopsies were taken to analyze changes in cross-sectional area (CSA) of left ventricular cardiomyocytes and the fibrosis was expressed as collagen volume fraction (CVF). LVMI was lower in SHR-E with respect to SHR (P=0.009). There were no significant differences in EF, E/A ratio or Edec time in SHR-E compared with SHR (P=0.17, 0.55 and P=0.80, respectively). PET acquisitions in SHR-E showed lower (18)F-FDG uptake than SHR (P=0.003). Interestingly, there were no significant differences in SUV in either SHR-E or WKY (P=0.63). CSA in subendocardial and subepicardial regions was minor in SHR-E with respect to SHR (P<0.001), and there were no significant differences in CVF between both groups. Esmolol reverses early LVH in the SHR model of stable compensated ventricular hypertrophy. This is the first study to associate early regression of LVH with administration of a short-term ß-blocker.

Influence of thymidylate synthase DNA polymorphisms and gender on the clinical evolution of patients with advanced colorectal cancer.

Experimental evidence has revealed that several thymidylate synthase (TS) DNA polymorphisms modulate gene expression, which, in turn is known to be down-regulated by oestrogen receptor subtypes. Consequently, this process might be influenced by female hormones. Based on these data, we investigated whether patient's gender and TS polymorphism exert an interactive effect on the clinical evolution of patients with advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) subjected to 5 fluorouracil (5FU)-based adjuvant chemotherapy. A retrospective study was carried out on paraffin-embedded sections from 81 CRC patients. A variable tandem repeat (VNTR) of 28 bp, a G/C single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), and a deletion of 6 bp (ins1494del 6 bp) were studied. Genotyping methods were polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for VNTR, and PCR followed by restriction length fragment polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) for SNP and ins1494del 6 bp. The effect of TS genotype and gender on overall and progression-free survival was assessed in univariate and multivariate (Cox regression model) tests. In male patients, the study of combined TS genotypes showed that G&6+/6+ was an adverse marker for overall (P=0.04; median: not reached) and progression-free survival (P=0.03; median: 12 months, 95% CI: 0-32.4). In the multivariate analysis, the concurrence of G&6+/6+ combination and male patients resulted in a 5.5-fold increased risk of relapse or disease progression (95% CI: 1-32.1; likelihood test P=0.004; interaction P=0.06). TS genotype did not affect survival among women. The present study supports that the effect of TS polymorphisms on the clinical evolution of advanced CRC patients is significantly influenced by gender.

Idiopathic anaphylaxis: a descriptive study of 81 patients in Spain.

BACKGROUND: Few European groups have published data on series of patients with idiopathic anaphylaxis. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to report on our experience with this entity in Spain. METHODS: We conducted a two-part investigation. The first part was a descriptive cross-sectional study of 81 patients with idiopathic anaphylaxis, diagnosed between January 1990 and December 1995 in the allergy unit of the General Hospital of Albacete in Albacete, Spain. The second prong was a prospective, longitudinal study that evaluated the activity of the condition. RESULTS: Female patients constituted 68% of the study group with idiopathic anaphylaxis; the mean age of the 81 patients was 30.0 +/- 17.3 years. The number of episodes of idiopathic anaphylaxis during the year of greatest frequency varied widely (median, 2; range, 1 to 130). The duration also varied considerably, with a range of 0.03 to 300 months (median, 2 years). Most patients entered the study in remission, and 93% of these patients remained in remission throughout the followup period. Only 9% of the patients had vascular involvement. Our series of patients with idiopathic anaphylaxis had a notable prevalence of atopic diseases (48%), food allergy (20%), and episodes of anaphylaxis with an identifiable cause (15%). In addition, a high frequency (58%) of idiopathic urticaria was noted; the urticaria was acute in 62% of the affected patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our series of patients with idiopathic anaphylaxis is similar to previously published series.

Nutrition and pharyngeal cancer: results from a case-control study in Spain.

BACKGROUND: Oropharyngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer is increasing all over the world, frequently affecting more and more women and younger individuals and not only the typical 50- to 60-year-old heavy smoker and drinking man. In addition, 5-year overall survival rate remains poor (30% to 40% in most series), despite advances in treatment. Therefore, it is crucial to understand as accurately as possible the risk factors for these malignancies to improve primary prevention. METHODS: We report the results from a case-control study of pharyngeal cancer risk factors conducted in Spain involving 232 consecutive patients who were gender- and age-matched with 232 controls. Data were collected by interviewer-administered personal interview. RESULTS: Our results show that low intake of fruit, fruit juice, uncooked vegetables, dietary fiber-containing foods (legume and cereals), fish, milk, and dairy products is an independent risk factor for pharyngeal cancer and that high consumption of meat and fried foods also increases the risk once data are adjusted for tobacco smoking and alcohol drinking. CONCLUSIONS: Although findings for fruit, juice, and uncooked vegetables are in accordance with those from other authors and can be explained on a biologic basis, the relationship between pharyngeal cancer and dietary excess of saturated fatty acids needs experimental investigation. Findings for milk, dairy products, and fish also warrant more detailed epidemiologic research because of conflicting data reported in the literature and because of the reportedly ambiguous role of retinol in human cancers. No conclusive explanations for the protective effect of dietary fiber-containing foods can be put forward today. Our results are uniquely attributable to oropharyngeal and hypopharyngeal cancers because of the small size of our nasopharyngeal cancer subsample.