Assessment of BoHV-4-based vector vaccine intranasally administered in a hamster challenge model of lung disease.

Introduction: Bovine herpesvirus 4 (BoHV-4) is a bovine Rhadinovirus not associated with a specific pathological lesion or disease and experimentally employed as a viral vector vaccine. BoHV-4-based vector (BoHV-4-BV) has been shown to be effective in immunizing and protecting several animal species when systemically administrated through intramuscular, subcutaneous, intravenous, or intraperitoneal routes. However, whether BoHV-4-BV affords respiratory disease protection when administered intranasally has never been tested. Methods: In the present study, recombinant BoHV-4, BoHV-4-A-S-ΔRS-HA-ΔTK, was constructed to deliver an expression cassette for the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein, and its immunogenicity, as well as its capability to transduce cells of the respiratory tract, were tested in mice. The well-established COVID-19/Syrian hamster model was adopted to test the efficacy of intranasally administered BoHV-4-A-S-ΔRS-HA-ΔTK in protecting against a SARS-CoV-2 challenge. Results: The intranasal administration of BoHV-4-A-S-ΔRS-HA-ΔTK elicited protection against SARS-CoV-2, with improved clinical signs, including significant reductions in body weight loss, significant reductions in viral load in the trachea and lungs, and significant reductions in histopathologic lung lesions compared to BoHV-4-A-S-ΔRS-HA-ΔTK administered intramuscularly. Discussion: These results suggested that intranasal immunization with BoHV-4-BV induced protective immunity and that BoHV-4-BV could be a potential vaccine platform for the protection of other animal species against respiratory diseases.

Evaluation of Bone Age in Children: A Mini-Review.

Bone age represents a common index utilized in pediatric radiology and endocrinology departments worldwide for the definition of skeletal maturity for medical and non-medical purpose. It is defined by the age expressed in years that corresponds to the level of maturation of bones. Although several bones have been studied to better define bone age, the hand and wrist X-rays are the most used images. In fact, the images obtained by hand and wrist X-ray reflect the maturity of different types of bones of the skeletal segment evaluated. This information, associated to the characterization of the shape and changes of bone components configuration, represent an important factor of the biological maturation process of a subject. Bone age may be affected by several factors, including gender, nutrition, as well as metabolic, genetic, and social factors and either acute and chronic pathologies especially hormone alteration. As well several differences can be characterized according to the numerous standardized methods developed over the past decades. Therefore, the complete characterization of the main methods and procedure available and particularly of all their advantages and disadvantages need to be known in order to properly utilized this information for all its medical and non-medical main fields of application.

Simplified Geriatric Assessment in Older Patients With Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma: The Prospective Elderly Project of the Fondazione Italiana Linfomi.

PURPOSE: To prospectively validate the use of a simplified geriatric assessment (sGA) at diagnosis and to integrate it into a prognostic score for older patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). METHODS: We conducted the prospective Elderly Project study on patients with DLBCL older than 64 years who underwent our Fondazione Italiana Linfomi original geriatric assessment (oGA) (age, Cumulative Illness Rating Scale for Geriatrics, activities of daily living, and instrumental activities of daily living) before treatment. Treatment choice was left to the physician's discretion. The primary end point was overall survival (OS) (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02364050). RESULTS: We analyzed 1,163 patients (median age 76 years), with a 3-year OS of 65% (95% CI, 62 to 68). Because at multivariate analysis on oGA, age > 80 years retained an independent correlation with OS, we also developed a new, simplified version of the GA (sGA) that classifies patients as fit (55%), unfit (28%), and frail (18%) with significantly different 3-year OS of 75%, 58%, and 43%, respectively. The sGA groups, International Prognostic Index, and hemoglobin levels were independent predictors of OS and were used to build the Elderly Prognostic Index (EPI). Three risk groups were identified: low (23%), intermediate (48%), and high (29%), with an estimated 3-year OS of 87% (95% CI, 81 to 91), 69% (95% CI, 63 to 73), and 42% (95% CI, 36 to 49), respectively. The EPI was validated using an independent external series of 328 cases. CONCLUSION: The Elderly Project validates sGA as an objective tool to assess fitness status and defines the new EPI to predict OS of older patients with DLBCL.