The use of belimumab on patients with both systemic lupus erythematosus and immune thrombocytopenia: A retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to provide a description of a group of retrospective cohort outcomes in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) complicated with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) receiving belimumab. METHODS: This study reports on the treatment of 10 female patients (mean age 34.3 ± 14.0 years, mean weight 58.7 ± 18.2 kg) with both SLE and ITP who received belimumab in addition to basic drug therapy. The belimumab treatment regimen consisted of a dosage of 10 mg/kg, with an initial infusion every 2 weeks for the first 3 doses, followed by an infusion every 4 weeks. RESULTS: Ten patients were included in the study. The overall response rate of thrombocytopenia was 90% after treatment. The parameters such as platelet count, lymphocyte count, erythrocyte count, hemoglobin, dsDNA, C3, and C4 were significantly improved (p < .05). The SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI), British Islet lupus Assessment Group 2004 (BILAG-2004), and Physician Global assessment (PGA) scores were significantly decreased (p < .05). There were no significant differences in glutamic pyruvic transaminase (ALT), glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (AST), and serum creatinine (Scr) before and after treatment (p > .05). CONCLUSION: Belimumab shows promising clinical outcomes in the treatment on patients with both SLE and ITP. Further studies are needed to validate these findings in larger patient populations and compare the efficacy of belimumab with other treatments for SLE complicated with ITP. Long-term response rates and adverse events associated with belimumab treatment also warrant further investigation.

A cross-sectional study of inpatients with late stage of dementia in Southeast China and the associations between biochemical parameters and apolipoprotein E genotypes.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to analyze the disease distribution of patients in the late stage of dementia through a cross-sectional investigation and to clarify the association between apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotypes and the serum levels of total cholesterol, total triglycerides, and blood glucose in the late-stage Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. METHODS: Patients who were in the late stage of dementia in a mental health center were enrolled in this study. A broad battery of neuropsychological tests and neuroimaging was applied to make the diagnosis. The APOE genotype was determined by the multiplex amplification refractory mutation system polymerase chain reaction. The association between APOE genotype and the blood level of biochemical parameters was studied. RESULTS: A total of 155 patients were enrolled in this study. The majority of patients had AD (67.8%), followed by vascular dementia (15.5%), mixed dementia (9%), and others (7.7%). The APOE ε4 allele frequency was significantly different in the different groups. The serum level of total cholesterol (TC) in APOE ε4 carriers was higher than in non-carriers (P<0.05). No statistically significant differences were found in the blood glucose and triglycerides (TG) levels between these two groups. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first paper to study the characteristics of late-stage dementia in hospital patients in Southeast China. We found that the disease distribution was quite consistent with previous prevalence studies. Moreover, we found that the serum level of TC was higher in APOE ε4 carriers group. However, no association was found between the APOE ε4 allele and serum levels of glucose, TC and TG in the late stage of AD.