Survival and specific outcome of sickle cell disease patients after renal transplantation.

The prognosis of sickle cell disease (SCD) patients who need dialysis is poor, but experience with kidney transplantation is limited. This study assessed the characteristics of 36 SCD patients undergoing renal transplantation. Immediate post-surgical complications occurred in 25% of cases. Cytomegalovirus and bacterial infections were frequently observed. Twelve patients died after a median follow-up period of 17·4 months. Overall patient survival was significantly lower in SCD than in the control group without significant difference for overall death-censored graft survival. Our data suggest that renal transplantation should be systematically considered in SCD patients with end-stage renal disease.

Steroid requirements during radiotherapy for malignant gliomas.

Radiotherapy (RT) is the standard treatment for high-grade gliomas. However, toxicity may develop during RT, such as brain edema or worsening of neurological symptoms. Surprisingly, no dedicated study had focused on steroid requirements during RT in adult patients with malignant gliomas. We evaluated prospectively all patients with malignant gliomas treated by RT in a single center from July 2006 to May 2009. Age, sex, initial Karnofsky performance status (KPS), tumor localization and histology, type of surgical resection, clinical target volume, total dose and duration of RT, concomitant treatment with temozolomide, and steroid dosage during RT and at 1 and 3 months after RT were recorded in all patients. Most of the 80 patients (70%) were already taking steroids before RT. Half of them (55%) required initiation or further steroids increase during RT. The median time to steroid increase was 8 days. Only 13% of patients remained free of steroids during RT, and the mean maximal dosage of prednisone was 55 ± 48 mg. At 3 months after RT, 29% of patients were free of steroids, and the mean prednisone dosage was 32 ± 50 mg. Unresected tumors and initial KPS ≤80% were the only variables associated with higher steroid requirements on multivariate analysis. In our series, almost all patients required steroids during RT. Poor initial KPS and biopsy were associated with higher steroid requirements.

Usefulness of morphometric image analysis with Sirius Red to assess interstitial fibrosis after renal transplantation from uncontrolled circulatory death donors.

Early interstitial fibrosis (IF) correlates with long-term renal graft dysfunction, highlighting the need for accurate quantification of IF. However, the currently used Banff classification exhibits some limitations. The aim of our study was to precisely describe the progression of IF after renal transplantation using a new morphometric image analysis method relying of Sirius Red staining. The morphometric analysis we developed showed high inter-observer and intra-observer reproducibility, with ICC [95% IC] of respectively 0.75 [0.67-0.81] (n = 151) and 0.88 [0.72-0.95] (n = 21). We used this method to assess IF (mIF) during the first year after the kidney transplantation from 66 uncontrolled donors after circulatory death (uDCD). Both mIF and interstitial fibrosis (ci) according to the Banff classification significantly increased the first three months after transplantation. From M3 to M12, mIF significantly increased whereas Banff classification failed to highlight increase of ci. Moreover, mIF at M12 (p = 0.005) correlated with mean time to graft function recovery and was significantly associated with increase of creatininemia at M12 and at last follow-up. To conclude, the new morphometric image analysis method we developed, using a routine and cheap staining, may provide valuable tool to assess IF and thus to evaluate new sources of grafts.

Complete remission of monoclonal gammopathy with ocular and periorbital crystal storing histiocytosis and Fanconi syndrome.

A 62-year-old woman presented with crystalline keratopathy, crystal-storing histiocytosis, Fanconi syndrome, and a serum monoclonal IgG-κ and urinary κ light chain. Histology and electron microscopy studies revealed the presence of crystals within macrophages in multiple eye sites, in the kidney and in the bone marrow. The variable domain of the pathogenic κ light chain related to the Vk1-39 gene that was also involved in most previously reported cases of Fanconi syndrome. Owing to the severity of the damage to the eye and a potentially poor kidney prognosis, the patient underwent autologous stem cell transplantation. After 18 months follow-up, she is in complete hematological, ophthalmological, and renal remission.