Prevalence and risk factors for chronic kidney disease among older adult patients with schizophrenia in Taiwan.

OBJECTIVES: There is an increasing incidence and prevalence of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) worldwide. Little is known the prevalence of CKD among older patients with schizophrenia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of CKD and its risk factors in older adults with schizophrenia. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, a convenience sample of 240 patients with schizophrenia age 50 or older were recruited. In addition to demographic and clinical data, participants' estimated glomerular filtration rate was calculated using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease equation based on age, sex, ethnicity, and serum creatinine level determined from a blood sample taken from participants. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of CKD was 11.3%. Those with CKD group were older, had a longer duration of psychiatric illness, a higher body mass index (BMI), and diagnoses of hypertension compared to those in the non-CKD group. Independent of other risk factors, older age and BMI were significantly associated with CKD. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that the overall prevalence of CKD in older patients with schizophrenia was 11.3%. Risk factors for CKD in this population were older age and higher BMI. In addition to early identification and early treatment of CKD in older patients with schizophrenia, clinicians should actively manage the risk factors identified in this study, such as higher BMI and older age.

Magnesium enhances the graft-versus-tumor effect of donor lymphocytic infusion on hematologic malignancies.

Donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) cures relapsed hematologic malignancies after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation through the graft-versus-tumor (GVT) effect. Although the important role of magnesium in enhancing immunity has been mentioned in studies, limited clinical data have explored how magnesium affects the efficacy of DLI. Besides, although laboratory data demonstrate that magnesium can enhance CD8+ T cells effector function, whether magnesium regulates the tumor killing effect of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) remains to be explored. Here, for the retrospective study, we collected clinical data of relapsed patients receiving DLI and explored the relationship between different serum magnesium levels and patient outcomes. For in vitro studies, we investigated the effect of magnesium on the cytotoxicity of DLI cells which were PBMCs and preliminarily explored the mechanism. Eighty-one patients were enrolled in this study. It was found that the high post-DLI magnesium level was significantly associated with a higher incidence of complete remission (CR) or partial remission (CR/PR) and a higher possibility of survival. The magnesium level after DLI was an independent risk factor of overall survival. In vitro studies proved that increased magnesium enhanced the cytotoxic function of PBMCs on hematologic malignancies. Besides, magnesium modulated LFA-1 headpiece opening. When blocking the integrin-ligand interaction between LFA-1 and ICAM-1, the regulation effect of magnesium on PBMCs was weakened. Therefore, it was possible that magnesium regulated PBMCs effector function by stimulating LFA-1. These results show that serum magnesium levels affect immunological responses mediated by donor lymphocytes in hematologic malignancies.

Mutant B2M-HLA-E and B2M-HLA-G fusion proteins protects universal chimeric antigen receptor-modified T cells from allogeneic NK cell-mediated lysis.

Recent studies have indicated the antitumor activity and reduced allogeneic response of universal chimeric antigen receptor-modified T (UCAR T) cells lacking endogenous T cell receptors and beta-2 microglobulin (B2M) generated using gene-editing technologies. However, these cells are vulnerable to lysis by allogeneic natural killer (NK) cells due to their lack of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecule expression. Here, constitutive expression of mutant B2M-HLA-E (mBE) and B2M-HLA-G (mBG) fusion proteins in anti-CD19 UCAR T (UCAR T-19) cells was conducted to protect against allogeneic NK cell-mediated lysis. The ability of cells expressing mBE or mBG to resist NK cell-mediated lysis was observed in gene-edited Jurkat CAR19 cells. UCAR T-19 cells constitutively expressing the mBE and mBG fusion proteins were manufactured and showed effective and specific anti-tumor activity. Constitutive expression of the mBE and mBG fusion proteins in UCAR T-19 cells prevented allogeneic NK cell-mediated lysis. In addition, these cells were not recognizable by allogeneic T cells. Additional experiments, including those in animal models and clinical trials, are required to evaluate the safety and efficacy of UCAR T-19 cells that constitutively express mBE and mBG.

Rebound Behaviors of Multiple Droplets Simultaneously Impacting a Superhydrophobic Surface.

The rebound behaviors of multiple droplets simultaneously impacting a superhydrophobic surface were investigated via lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) simulations. Three rebound regions were identified, i.e., an edge-dominating region, a center-dominating region, and an independent rebound region. The occurrence of the rebound regions strongly depends on the droplet spacing and the associated Weber and Reynolds numbers. Three new rebound morphologies, i.e., a pin-shaped morphology, a downward comb-shaped morphology, and an upward comb-shaped morphology, were presented. Intriguingly, in the edge-dominating region, the central droplets experience a secondary wetting process to significantly prolong the contact time. However, in the center-dominating region, the contact time is dramatically shortened because of the strong interactions generated by the central droplets and the central ridges. These findings provide useful information for practical applications such as self-cleaning, anticorrosion, anti-icing, and so forth.

Antioxidant defense response during hibernation and arousal in Chinese soft-shelled turtle Pelodiscus sinensis juveniles.

Antioxidant defense is essential for animals to cope with homeostasis disruption during hibernation. The present study aimed to investigate the antioxidant defense response of juvenile soft-shelled turtle Pelodiscus sinensis during hibernation and following arousal. Turtle brain, liver, and kidney samples were collected at pre-hibernation (17 °C mud temperature; MT), during hibernation (5.8 °C MT) and after arousal (20.1 °C MT) in the field. Transcript levels of NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) decreased significantly during hibernation and recovered after arousal in all tissues. Cerebral and nephric copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase 3 (GPx3) and nephric GPx4 mRNA showed similar changing patterns as Nrf2. Cerebral Mn SOD, GPx1 and nephric GPx1 up-regulated after arousal. Hepatic Cu/Zn SOD, GPx1 and GPx3 mRNA kept stable, except hepatic GPx4 increased during hibernation. Hepatic Mn SOD and CAT increased after arousal. In the GSH system, mRNA levels of glutathione synthetases (GSs) kept stable during hibernation and up-regulated after arousal in most tissues except nephric GS2 mRNA remained unchanged. Gene expressions of glutathione reductase (GR) exhibited a tissue specific changing pattern, while those of glutathione-S-Transferase (GST) shared a similar pattern among tissues: remained stable or down-regulated during hibernation then recovered in arousal. In contrast to these diverse responses in gene expressions, most of the antioxidant enzyme activities maintained high and stable. Overall, no preparation for oxidative stress (POS) strategy was found in enzymatic antioxidant system in P. sinensis juveniles during hibernation, the Chinese soft-shelled turtles were able to stay safe from potential oxidative stress during hibernation by maintaining high level activities/concentrations of the antioxidant enzymes/antioxidants.

Spatially modulated snapshot computed tomographic polarization imaging spectrometer.

Herein, a spatially modulated snapshot computed tomographic polarization imaging spectrometer (SMSCTPIS) is proposed. This instrument can obtain spatial, intensity, and polarization information of different wavelengths of a target simultaneously. It can also alleviate certain limitations of the spatially modulated snapshot imaging polarimeter (SMSIP) based on a Savart polarizer, which cannot obtain information of different wavelengths in a single measurement. Further, it can also mitigate the need to frequently replace the filters of SMSIPs for different detection wavelengths. The paper introduces the structure and principle of the SMCTPIS first, followed by experiments confirming its accuracy. Finally, the experimental results are analyzed, and conclusions are drawn.

Prognostic value of CT radiomics in evaluating lymphovascular invasion in rectal cancer: Diagnostic performance based on different volumes of interest.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to evaluate diagnostic performance of radiomic analysis using computed tomography (CT) to identify lymphovascular invasion (LVI) in patients diagnosed with rectal cancer and assess diagnostic performance of different lesion segmentations. METHODS: The study is applied to 169 pre-treatment CT images and the clinical features of patients with rectal cancer. Radiomic features are extracted from two different volumes of interest (VOIs) namely, gross tumor volume and peri-tumor tissue volume. The maximum relevance and the minimum redundancy, and the least absolute shrinkage selection operator based logistic regression analyses are performed to select the optimal feature subset on the training cohort. Then, Rad and Rad-clinical combined models for LVI prediction are built and compared. Finally, the models are externally validated. RESULTS: Eighty-three patients had positive LVI on pathology, while 86 had negative LVI. An optimal multi-mode radiology nomogram for LVI estimation is established. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves of the Rad and Rad-clinical combined model in the peri-tumor VOI group are significantly higher than those in the tumor VOI group (Rad: peri-tumor vs. tumor: 0.85 vs. 0.68; Rad-clinical: peri-tumor vs. tumor: 0.90 vs 0.82) in the validation cohort. Decision curve analysis shows that the peri-tumor-based Rad-clinical combined model has the best performance in identifying LVI than other models. CONCLUSIONS: CT radiomics model based on peri-tumor volumes improves prediction performance of LVI in rectal cancer compared with the model based on tumor volumes.

Symptomatic remission affects employment outcomes in schizophrenia patients.

BACKGROUND: Remission criteria were proposed by Andreasen et al. for classifying patients with schizophrenia according to the severity of psychopathology. Up to the present time, there have been no cohort studies exploring the association between remission status and employment outcomes in patients with schizophrenia. The study explored whether symptomatic remission is significantly associated with employment outcomes in a two-year longitudinal study. METHODS: All 525 stable patients with schizophrenia in the therapeutic community of a public mental hospital in Taiwan were recruited between 2013 and 2015. Employment outcomes, defined as the cumulative on-the-job duration (months/per year) and income (new Taiwan dollars, NT$/per year), were investigated at the end of 1- and 2-year follow-up periods after enrollment. For repeated measurements, linear mixed models were constructed to examine the association between symptomatic remission and employment outcomes after controlling for potential confounding variables including age, sex, education, type and daily dose of antipsychotics, cognitive function, psychosocial functioning and initial employment type. RESULTS: The average age of patients was 51.8 years, and 65.3% were males. Among them, 124 patients (23.6%, 124/525) met the remission criteria at baseline. The linear mixed-model analysis showed that patients who had symptomatic remission were employed 0.8 of a month longer (p = 0.029) and earned NT$3250 more (p = 0.001) within 1 year than those who did not show symptomatic remission. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that assessing symptomatic remission is a useful part of monitoring treatment effectiveness for schizophrenia, and all strategies targeting the bio-psycho-social domains to attain symptomatic remission are paramount to maintaining favorable employment outcomes.

Spatially modulated snapshot imaging polarimeter using two Savart polariscopes.

We present a spatially modulated snapshot imaging polarimeter using two Savart polariscopes (SMSIPTS). Not only can it avoid alignment angle errors and additional phase errors of a half-wave plate (HWP), it can also avoid changing the HWP frequently when we want the target polarization state at different wavelengths and can increase some channel bandwidth to improve image quality, compared with a spatially modulated snapshot imaging polarimeter (SMSIP). The alignment angle error and additional phase errors of SMSIP and the optical layout and principle of SMSIPTS are derived first. The full Stokes polarization images can be obtained by processing the interferogram. Based on SMSIPTS, we determine the filtering method by simulation. We proved the feasibility of SMSIPTS, and the effect of SMSIPTS and SMSIP on reconstruction is compared by simulation. Last, we experimentally verified the feasibility of the theory of SMSIPTS.

Lipid rafts sense and direct electric field-induced migration.

Endogenous electric fields (EFs) are involved in developmental regulation and wound healing. Although the phenomenon is known for more than a century, it is not clear how cells perceive the external EF. Membrane proteins, responding to electrophoretic and electroosmotic forces, have long been proposed as the sensing molecules. However, specific charge modification of surface proteins did not change cell migration motility nor directionality in EFs. Moreover, symmetric alternating current (AC) EF directs cell migration in a frequency-dependent manner. Due to their charge and ability to coalesce, glycolipids are therefore the likely primary EF sensor driving polarization of membrane proteins and intracellular signaling. We demonstrate that detergent-resistant membrane nanodomains, also known as lipid rafts, are the primary response element in EF sensing. The clustering and activation of caveolin and signaling proteins further stabilize raft structure and feed-forward downstream signaling events, such as rho and PI3K activation. Theoretical modeling supports the experimental results and predicts AC frequency-dependent cell and raft migration. Our results establish a fundamental mechanism for cell electrosensing and provide a role in lipid raft mechanotransduction.

Outcomes of myeloablative peripheral blood stem cell transplantation for non-complete remission patients with relapsed/refractory peripheral T cell lymphomas.

There was limited information about the efficacy of myeloablative allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (allo-PBSCT) in non-complete remission (non-CR) patients with relapsed/refractory peripheral T cell lymphomas (PTCLs). We conducted a retrospective study of 21 consecutive non-CR patients with relapsed/refractory PTCLs who received myeloablative allo-PBSCT between January 2008 and June 2016. The median follow-up of survivors was 46.5 months (range, 14-105 months). The estimated 3-year relapse rate was 24% (95% CI, 9 to 43%). The 3-year non-relapsed mortality rate was 24% (95% CI, 9 to 44%). Overall, the estimated 3-year overall survival was 47% (95% CI, 25 to 66%). And the estimated 3-year progression-free survival was 46% (95% CI, 24 to 66%). Specifically, eight patients failed to achieve a CR at the first evaluation 3 months after allo-PBSCT and received withdraw of immunosuppression. Five patients also received donor lymphocytes infusions. Five (5/8, 62.5%) patients responded subsequently to these interventions (complete = 4, partial = 1). Overall, ten patients were alive at our last follow-ups, and durable CR were achieved in nine patients without further therapy. Five (50%) of these ten alive patients experienced chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Our favorable clinical outcomes suggested myeloablative allo-PBSCT was a valid therapeutic option for non-CR patients with relapsed/refractory PTCLs. The sustained CR after immunotherapeutic intervention and high prevalence of chronic GVHD in alive patients provided evidence of graft versus T cell lymphoma effects.

Antioxidant response to acute cold exposure and during recovery in juvenile Chinese soft-shelled turtles (Pelodiscus sinensis).

The antioxidant defense protects turtles from oxidative stress caused by adverse environment conditions, such as acute thermal fluctuations. However, it remains unclear how these defenses work. The present study examined changes in key enzymes of the enzymatic antioxidant system and the glutathione (GSH) system at both the mRNA and enzyme activity levels during acute cold exposure and recovery in juvenile Chinese soft-shelled turtles, Pelodiscus sinensis Transcript levels of the upstream regulator NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) were also measured. Turtles were acclimated at 28°C (3 weeks), then given acute cold exposure (8°C, 12 h) and finally placed in recovery (28°C, 24 h). The mRNA levels of cerebral and hepatic Nrf2 and of genes encoding downstream antioxidant enzymes did not change, whereas levels of nephric Nrf2, manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPx4) mRNA decreased upon cold exposure. During recovery, Nrf2 mRNA remained stable in all three tissues, hepatic Cu/ZnSOD, MnSOD and catalase (CAT) mRNA levels increased, and nephric MnSOD and GPx4 mRNAs did not change from the values during cold exposure. In the GSH system, mRNA levels of most enzymes remained constant during cold exposure and recovery. Unmatched with changes in mRNA level, high and stable constitutive antioxidant enzyme activities were maintained throughout, whereas GPx activity significantly reduced in the kidney during cold exposure, and in liver and kidney during recovery. Our results suggest that the antioxidant defense regulation in response to acute cold exposure in P. sinensis may not be achieved at the transcriptional level, but may rely mainly on high constitutive antioxidant enzyme activities.

IL-17A Promotes Pulmonary B-1a Cell Differentiation via Induction of Blimp-1 Expression during Influenza Virus Infection.

B-1 cells play a critical role in early protection during influenza infections by producing natural IgM antibodies. However, the underlying mechanisms involved in regulating this process are largely unknown. Here we found that during influenza infection pleural cavity B-1a cells rapidly infiltrated lungs, where they underwent plasmacytic differentiation with enhanced IgM production. This process was promoted by IL-17A signaling via induction of Blimp-1 expression and NF-κB activation in B-1a cells. Deficiency of IL-17A led to severely impaired B-1a-derived antibody production in the respiratory tract, resulting in a deficiency in viral clearance. Transfer of B-1a-derived natural antibodies rescued Il17a-/- mice from otherwise lethal infections. Together, we identify a critical function of IL-17A in promoting the plasmacytic differentiation of B-1a cells. Our findings provide new insights into the mechanisms underlying the regulation of pulmonary B-1a cell response against influenza infection.

Prevalence and characteristics of suicidal ideation among 2199 elderly inpatients with surgical or medical conditions in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: Worldwide, the elderly are at a greater risk of suicide than other age groups. There is a paucity of research exploring risk factors for suicide in hospitalized elderly patients. Therefore, a study designed to explore the prevalence and characteristic of suicidal ideation (SI), such as QOL (quality of life), a wish to die (WTD), and other factors in elderly inpatients with medical or surgical conditions in Taiwan was warranted. METHODS: A total of 2199 hospitalized elderly patients over age 65 were enrolled. Demographic data, 5-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale (BSRS-5), and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) data were collected. Logistic regression models were used to find the SI-related factors for all participants and to investigate the covariates correlated with WTD in patients with SI. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to find the most important items of the BSRS-5 predictive of SI in this population. RESULTS: SI was found in 3.1% (68/2199) of the elderly. The statistically significantly factors associated with SI were: BSRS-5 item 2 (depression) (odds ratio [OR] = 2.15, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.56-2.98), item 4 (inferiority) (OR = 1.62, 1.23-2.13), item 5 (insomnia) (OR = 1.52, 1.13-2.05), and physical domain of WHOQOL (OR = 0.84, 0.72-0.99). QOL15 (mobility) (OR = 0.64, 0.46-0.90) and QOL 16 (satisfaction with sleep) (OR = 0.62, 0.44-0.88) were also significantly associated with SI. The status of living alone (OR = 4.44, 1.24-15.87), QOL 26 (absence of negative feeling) (OR = 0.38, 0.15-0.98), and QOL 27 (being respected/accepted) (OR = 0.43, 0.20-0.92) were significantly associated with WTD among inpatients with SI. The ROC curve analysis revealed that depression, inferiority, and insomnia were the most important items in the BSRS-5 significantly associated with SI among the elderly inpatients. CONCLUSION: To provide physical recovery and maintain mental health for physically ill elderly inpatients, setting up a multi-faceted approach targeting the aforementioned determinants of SI and WTD for reducing the risk of suicide attempt, and exploring other factors correlated with suicidal behaviors, are important topics and directions for clinical practice and further research.

Ethnic differences in spirometry measurements in China: Results from a large community-based epidemiological study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: No previous studies have examined differences in spirometry measurements among ethnic populations in China, and factors which may influence ethnic differences are unclear. Our study aimed to investigate whether forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1 ) and forced vital capacity (FVC) differ among Han Chinese and other ethnic minorities in China. METHODS: We recruited 7137 individuals aged 35-70 years from four areas of China inhabited by ethnic minority groups between 2007 and 2009. We conducted spirometry tests for all available participants, and compared FEV1 and FVC among Uygur, Hui, Mongolian, Dai and Han Chinese ethnicities, using nonlinear multiplicative regression models. RESULTS: A total of 2005 healthy never-smokers were enrolled in the analysis. For all ethnicities, spirometry values increased with height and decreased with age; FEV1 and FVC were consistently higher in males than in females. Compared with Han Chinese, FEV1 was 4.42% (95% CI: 2.11-6.78%) higher in Mongolians, 4.08% (95% CI: 1.33-6.76%) lower in Uygurs, 4.39% (95% CI: 1.33-7.35%) lower in Hui people and 4.72% (95% CI: 1.80-7.55%) lower in Dai people, after adjusted for potential confounders including height, age, sex and place of residence. We observed similar differences for FVC. CONCLUSIONS: We detected significant differences in spirometry measurements among ethnic populations in China. Such differences cannot be fully explained by demographic, anthropometric or socioeconomic factors, but may also be attributed to genetic background as well as indoor and outdoor environmental exposures that need further investigation.

Digital Gene Expression Profiling reveals transcriptional responses to acute cold stress in Chinese soft-shelled turtle Pelodiscus sinensis juveniles.

Turtles are well known for their stress tolerance, including an ability to deal with temperature extremes or rapid thermal change. To know more about the comprehensive molecular basis of thermal stress responses in turtles, we assessed differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the brain, liver and kidney of juvenile soft-shelled turtles, Pelodiscus sinensis, after acute cold stress (28 °C-8 °C acute transfer and held for 12 h) and following recovery (back to 28 °C and held for 24 h) by digital gene expression profiling. Selected DEGs were also validated via real-time PCR. We found the fewest DEGs in the brain, only one-tenth of the number seen in liver, indicating a tissue-specific gene expression pattern. The DEGs indicated the potential activation of several important functions in response to cold stress and recovery in P. sinensis. This included response to oxidative stress or regulation of reactive oxygen species metabolism in the brain and liver, cerebral inositol metabolism, hepatic monosaccharide metabolism, hepatic complement system, renal DNA repair mechanisms, and TNF and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways in the kidney. These functions likely responded to cold stress in different tissues of P. sinensis to help minimize or repair cell damage as well as enhance innate immunity. The outcomes of this study provide some fundamental insight into the tissue specific complex mechanisms underlining cold stress responses in the soft-shelled turtle P. sinensis.

Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of the Major Constituents in WLJ Herbal Tea Using Multiple Chromatographic Techniques.

Quality control of Chinese herbal tea remains a challenge due to our poor knowledge of their complex chemical profile. This study aims to investigate the chemical composition of one of the best-selling and famous brand of beverage in China, Wanglaoji Herbal Tea (WLJHT), via a full component quantitative analysis. In this paper, a total of thirty-two representative constituents were identified or tentatively characterized using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole tandem time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS). Moreover, the quantitative analyses of fourteen constituents were performed by high performance liquid chromatography with a triple quadruple tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) method and saccharide compositions of WLJHT were also quantitatively determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD) on a Hilic column, separately. Using multiple chromatographic techniques presented a good precision, sensitivity, repeatability and stability, and was successfully applied to analyze 16 batches of WLJHT samples. Therefore, it would be a reliable and useful approach for the quality control of WLJHT.

PAN substitutions A37S, A37S/I61T and A37S/V63I attenuate the replication of H7N7 influenza A virus by impairing the polymerase and endonuclease activities.

Substitutions in the PA N-terminus (PAN) of influenza A viruses are associated with viral pathogenicity. During our previous study, which identified PAN-V63I and -A37S/I61T/V63I/V100A substitutions as virulence determinants, we observed a severe decrease in virus growth and transcription/replication capacity posed by PAN-A37S/V100A substitution. To further delineate the significance of substitutions at these positions, we generated mutant H7N7 viruses bearing the substitutions PAN-A37S, -A37S/I61T, -A37S/V63I, -V100A, -I61T/V100A and -V63I/V100A by reverse genetics. Our results showed that all mutant viruses except PAN-V100A showed a significantly reduced growth capability in infected cells. At the same time, the PAN-A37S, -A37S/I61T and -A37S/V63I mutant viruses displayed decreased viral transcription and replication by diminishing virus RNA synthesis activity. Biochemical assays indicated that the substitutions PAN-A37S, -A37S/I61T and -A37S/V63I suppressed the polymerase and endonuclease activities when compared with those of the wild-type. Together, our results demonstrated that the PAN-A37S, -A37S/I61T and -A37S/V63I substitutions contributed to a decreased pathogenicity of avian H7N7 influenza A virus.

Similar incidence of severe acute GVHD and less severe chronic GVHD in PBSCT from unmanipulated, haploidentical donors compared with that from matched sibling donors for patients with haematological malignancies.

The features of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) were compared between patients who underwent myeloablative conditioning and received a peripheral blood stem cell transplant (PBSCT) from either a haploidentical donor (HID) or a matched sibling donor (MSD) during the same period of time. The HID group included more patients with advanced disease. Both groups received the same GVHD prophylaxis with the addition of antithymoglobulin (ATG) in HID group. Higher cumulative incidences (CI) of acute GVHD grade 2-4 (35·1% vs. 13·9%, P = 0·003), similar CI of grade 3-4 (14·5% vs. 9·8%, P = 0·595), less 3-year CI of extensive chronic GVHD (17·1% vs. 41·5%, P = 0·017) and less severe chronic GVHD (5·8% vs. 21·2%, P = 0·049) occurred in the HID group compared with the MSD group. There was no difference in the sites of the involved organs between these two groups. Higher 3-year CI of non-relapse mortality (24·0% vs. 10·2%, P = 0·014), relapse (39·0% vs. 22·6%, P = 0·032) and inferior disease-free survival (45·7% vs. 78·9%, P = 0·000) were recorded in the HID cohort compared with the MSD group. More HID patients had Karnofsky scores above 90 than those in MSD group (P = 0·016). In conclusion, ATG plays a key role in the unmanipulated HID PBSCT protocol, producing better quality of life in survivors.