A Single Dose of PEG-Asparaginase at the Beginning of Induction Not Only Accelerates MRD Clearance but Also Improves Long-Term Outcome in Children with B-Lineage ALL.

This report presents the results of the assessment of MRD response by multicolor flow cytometry (MFC) with regard to the randomized use of pegylated asparaginase (PEG). In this study, PEG was randomly administered at a dose of 1000 U/m2 on day 3 of induction therapy in children with B-lineage ALL. METHODS: Conventional induction therapy consisted of dexamethasone, vincristine, and daunorubicin. MRD data was available in 502 patients who were randomized at the start of induction therapy, standard-risk (SR) patients into three (conventional induction without PEG, induction with additional PEG and with PEG but without daunorubicin) and intermediate-risk (ImR) patients into two groups (with additional PEG and without PEG). RESULTS: The single administration of PEG resulted in a significantly higher proportion of rapid responders, in SR patients even when no anthracyclines were used for induction. In the SR group, the event-free survival of the MFC-MRD fast responders was similar in the PEG- and PEG+ arms (92.0 ± 3.1% vs. 96.2 ± 1.5%, respectively), and the same unfavorable trend was observed for MFC-MRD slow responders (57.5 ± 12.3% vs. 66.7 ± 15.7%, respectively). Results were similar in ImR patients: (94.3 ± 3.2% vs. 95.1 ± 2.4%, for fast responders and 63.3 ± 7.6% vs. 78.1 ± 7.9%, for slow responders in PEG- and PEG+ arms, respectively). However, there is a large difference between the proportion of MFC-MRD slow responders in the PEG- and PEG+ groups (18.3% vs. 5.2% for the SR group and 44.2% vs. 25.0% for the ImR group). CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, early use of PEG-ASP not only leads to an accelerated reduction of blasts, but also to an excellent outcome in a significantly larger proportion of patients in both risk groups.

X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein represents a promising therapeutic target for relapsed/refractory ALL.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) represents the most frequent malignancy in children, and relapse/refractory (r/r) disease is difficult to treat, both in children and adults. In search for novel treatment options against r/r ALL, we studied inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAP) and Smac mimetics (SM). SM-sensitized r/r ALL cells towards conventional chemotherapy, even upon resistance against SM alone. The combination of SM and chemotherapy-induced cell death via caspases and PARP, but independent from cIAP-1/2, RIPK1, TNFα or NF-κB. Instead, XIAP was identified to mediate SM effects. Molecular manipulation of XIAP in vivo using microRNA-30 flanked shRNA expression in cell lines and patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models of r/r ALL mimicked SM effects and intermediate XIAP knockdown-sensitized r/r ALL cells towards chemotherapy-induced apoptosis. Interestingly, upon strong XIAP knockdown, PDX r/r ALL cells were outcompeted in vivo, even in the absence of chemotherapy. Our results indicate a yet unknown essential function of XIAP in r/r ALL and reveal XIAP as a promising therapeutic target for r/r ALL.

Integrative medicine during the intensive phase of chemotherapy in pediatric oncology in Germany: a randomized controlled trial with 5-year follow up.

BACKGROUND: Integrative medicine is used frequently alongside chemotherapy treatment in pediatric oncology, but little is known about the influence on toxicity. This German, multi-center, open-label, randomized controlled trial assessed the effects of complementary treatments on toxicity related to intensive-phase chemotherapy treatment in children aged 1-18 with the primary outcome of the toxicity sum score. Secondary outcomes were chemotherapy-related toxicity, overall and event-free survival after 5 years in study patients. METHODS: Intervention and control were given standard chemotherapy according to malignancy & tumor type. The intervention arm was provided with anthroposophic supportive treatment (AST); given as anthroposophic base medication (AMP), as a base medication for all patients and additional on-demand treatment tailored to the intervention malignancy groups. The control was given no AMP. The toxicity sum score (TSS) was assessed using NCI-CTC scales. RESULTS: Data of 288 patients could be analyzed. Analysis did not reveal any statistically significant differences between the AST and the control group for the primary endpoint or the toxicity measures (secondary endpoints). Furthermore, groups did not differ significantly in the five-year overall and event-free survival follow up. DISCUSSION: In this trial findings showed that AST was able to be safely administered in a clinical setting, although no beneficial effects of AST between group toxicity scores, overall or event-free survival were shown.

Improving Stratification for Children With Late Bone Marrow B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Relapses With Refined Response Classification and Integration of Genetics.

PURPOSE: Minimal residual disease (MRD) helps to accurately assess when children with late bone marrow relapses of B-cell precursor (BCP) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) will benefit from allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). More detailed dissection of MRD response heterogeneity and the specific genetic aberrations could improve current practice. PATIENTS AND METHODS: MRD was assessed after induction treatment and at different times during relapse treatment until allo-HSCT (indicated in poor responders to induction; MRD ≥ 10-3) for patients being treated for late BCP-ALL bone marrow relapses (n = 413; median follow-up, 9.4 years) in the ALL-REZ BFM 2002 trial/registry (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00114348). RESULTS: Patients with both good (MRD < 10-3) and poor responses to induction treatment reached excellent event-free survival (EFS; 72% v 65%) and overall survival (OS; 82% v 74%). Patients with MRD of 10-2 or greater after induction had reduced EFS (56%), and their MRD persisted until allo-HSCT more frequently than it did in patients with MRD of 10-3 or greater to less than 10-2 (P = .037). Patients with 25% or more leukemic blasts after induction (early nonresponders) had the poorest prognosis (EFS, 22%). Interestingly, patients with MRD of 10-3 or greater before allo-HSCT (late nonresponders) still had an EFS of 50% and OS of 63%, which in principle justifies allo-HSCT in these patients. From a panel of selected candidate genes, TP53 alterations (frequency, 8%) were the only genetic alteration with independent prognostic value in any MRD-based response subgroup. CONCLUSION: After induction treatment, MRD-based treatment stratification resulted in excellent survival in patients with late relapsed BCP-ALL. Prognosis could be further improved in very poor responders by intensifying treatment directly after induction. TP53 alterations can be defined as a novel genetic high-risk marker in all MRD response groups in late relapsed BCP-ALL. Here we identified early and late nonresponders to be considered as events in future trials.

Management of tumor rupture and abdominal compartment syndrome in an infant with bilateral high risk stage 4 neuroblastoma: A case report.

RATIONALE: Tumor rupture and bleeding at initial presentation of infants with neuroblastoma (NBL) is a rare, but life threatening condition and challenge in pediatric oncology. Here, we report successful multidisciplinary management of an abdominal compartment syndrome as a result of tumor rupture and bleeding in an infant with bilateral high risk stage 4 NBL. PATIENT CONCERNS: The patient was admitted to a cooperating hospital with vomiting, failure to thrive and a large mass in the abdomen and was then referred to our center. DIAGNOSES: Stage 4 NBL with MYC-N amplification and 1p36 deletion was diagnosed in an 11 months old girl. Due to rapid and massive tumor growth she developed abdominal compression with renal failure, severe bleeding, and tumor lysis syndrome (TLS). INTERVENTIONS: Surgical decompression by enterostomy, local, and systemic bleeding control with platelets and coagulation factors, antiinfective and TLS therapy were effective in stabilizing the patient's condition. This allowed initiation of the multimodal antineoplastic treatment according to protocol NB 2004. OUTCOMES: Mechanical ventilation was stopped after 11 days, the abdominal wall was closed 3 months after the start of therapy, and treatment according to the protocol be started and successfully completed. LESSONS: Only the immediate, coordinated multidisciplinary intervention managed to overcome the life-threatening abdominal compartment syndrome and its associated problems, eventually enabling successful curative treatment.

Reduced vs. standard dose native E. coli-asparaginase therapy in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: long-term results of the randomized trial Moscow-Berlin 2002.

PURPOSE: Favorable outcomes were achieved for children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) with the first Russian multicenter trial Moscow-Berlin (ALL-MB) 91. One major component of this regimen included a total of 18 doses of weekly intramuscular (IM) native Escherichia coli-derived asparaginase (E. coli-ASP) at 10000 U/m2 during three consolidation courses. ASP was initially available from Latvia, but had to be purchased from abroad at substantial costs after the collapse of Soviet Union. Therefore, the subsequent trial ALL-MB 2002 aimed at limiting costs to a reasonable extent and also at reducing toxicity by lowering the dose for standard risk (SR-) patients to 5000 U/m2 without jeopardizing efficacy. METHODS: Between April 2002 and November 2006, 774 SR patients were registered in 34 centers across Russia and Belarus, 688 of whom were randomized. In arm ASP-5000 (n = 334), patients received 5000 U/m2 and in arm ASP-10000 (n = 354) 10 000 U/m2 IM. RESULTS: Probabilities of disease-free survival, overall survival and cumulative incidence of relapse at 10 years were comparable: 79 ± 2%, 86 ± 2% and 17.4 ± 2.1% (ASP-5000) vs. 75 ± 2% and 82 ± 2%, and 17.9 ± 2.0% (ASP-10000), while death in complete remission was significantly lower in arm ASP-5000 (2.7% vs. 6.5%; p = 0.029). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that weekly 5000 U/m2E. coli-ASP IM during consolidation therapy are equally effective, more cost-efficient and less toxic than 10000 U/m2 for SR patients with childhood ALL.

THROMBOTECT - a randomized study comparing low molecular weight heparin, antithrombin and unfractionated heparin for thromboprophylaxis during induction therapy of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children and adolescents.

Thromboembolism is a serious complication of induction therapy for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. We prospectively compared the efficacy and safety of antithrombotic interventions in the consecutive leukemia trials ALL-BFM 2000 and AIEOP-BFM ALL 2009. Patients with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (n=949, age 1 to 18 years) were randomized to receive low-dose unfractionated heparin, prophylactic low molecular weight heparin (enoxaparin) or activity-adapted antithrombin throughout induction therapy. The primary objective of the study was to determine whether enoxaparin or antithrombin reduces the incidence of thromboembolism as compared to unfractionated heparin. The principal safety outcome was hemorrhage; leukemia outcome was a secondary endpoint. Thromboembolism occurred in 42 patients (4.4%). Patients assigned to unfractionated heparin had a higher risk of thromboembolism (8.0%) compared with those randomized to enoxaparin (3.5%; P=0.011) or antithrombin (1.9%; P<0.001). The proportion of patients who refused antithrombotic treatment as allocated was 3% in the unfractionated heparin or antithrombin arms, and 33% in the enoxaparin arm. Major hemorrhage occurred in eight patients (no differences between the groups). The 5-year event-free survival was 80.9±2.2% among patients assigned to antithrombin compared to 85.9±2.0% in the unfractionated heparin group (P=0.06), and 86.2±2.0% in the enoxaparin group (P=0.10). In conclusion, prophylactic use of antithrombin or enoxaparin significantly reduced thromboembolism. Despite the considerable number of patients rejecting the assigned treatment with subcutaneous injections, the result remains unambiguous. Thromboprophylaxis - for the present time primarily with enoxaparin - can be recommended for children and adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leukemia during induction therapy. Whether and how antithrombin may affect leukemia outcome remains to be determined.

Front-line imatinib treatment in children and adolescents with chronic myeloid leukemia: results from a phase III trial.

A total of 156 patients (age range 1.3-18.0 years, median 13.2 years; 91 (58.3%) male) with newly diagnosed CML (N = 146 chronic phase (CML-CP), N = 3 accelerated phase (CML-AP), N = 7 blastic phase (CML-BP)) received imatinib up-front (300, 400, 500 mg/m2, respectively) within a prospective phase III trial. Therapy response, progression-free survival, causes of treatment failure, and side effects were analyzed in 148 children and adolescents with complete data. Event-free survival rate by 18 months for patients in CML-CP (median follow-up time 25 months, range: 1-120) was 97% (95% CI, 94.2-99.9%). According to the 2006 ELN-criteria complete hematologic response by month 3, complete cytogenetic response (CCyR) by month 12, and major molecular response (MMR) by month 18 were achieved in 98, 63, and 59% of the patients, respectively. By month 36, 86% of the patients achieved CCyR and 74% achieved MMR. Thirty-eight patients (27%) experienced imatinib failure because of unsatisfactory response or intolerance (N = 9). In all, 28/148 patients (19%) underwent stem cell transplantation (SCT). In the SCT sub-cohort 2/23 patients diagnosed in CML-CP, 0/1 in CML-AP, and 2/4 in CML-BP, respectively, died of relapse (N = 3) or SCT-related complications (N = 2). This large pediatric trial extends and confirms data from smaller series that first-line imatinib in children is highly effective.

Minimal residual disease analysis by eight-color flow cytometry in relapsed childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Multiparametric flow cytometry is an alternative approach to the polymerase chain reaction method for evaluating minimal residual disease in treatment protocols for primary acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Given considerable differences between primary and relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia treatment regimens, flow cytometric assessment of minimal residual disease in relapsed leukemia requires an independent comprehensive investigation. In the present study we addressed evaluation of minimal residual disease by flow cytometry in the clinical trial for childhood relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia using eight-color flow cytometry. The major challenge of the study was to reliably identify low amounts of residual leukemic cells against the complex background of regeneration, characteristic of follow-up samples during relapse treatment. In a prospective study of 263 follow-up bone marrow samples from 122 patients with B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia, we tested various B-cell markers, adapted the antibody panel to the treatment protocol, and evaluated its performance by a blinded parallel comparison with the polymerase chain reaction data. The resulting eight-color single-tube panel showed a consistently high overall concordance (P<0.001) and, under optimal conditions, sensitivity similar to that of the reference polymerase chain reaction method. Overall, evaluation of minimal residual disease by flow cytometry can be successfully integrated into the clinical management of relapsed childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia either as complementary to the polymerase chain reaction or as an independent risk stratification tool. ALL-REZ BFM 2002 clinical trial information: NCT00114348.

Copy number genome alterations are associated with treatment response and outcome in relapsed childhood ETV6/RUNX1-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

The clinical heterogeneity among first relapses of childhood ETV6/RUNX1-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia indicates that further genetic alterations in leukemic cells might affect the course of salvage therapy and be of prognostic relevance. To assess the incidence and prognostic relevance of additional copy number alterations at relapse of the disease, we performed whole genome array comparative genomic hybridization of leukemic cell DNA from 51 patients with first ETV6/RUNX1-positive relapse enrolled in and treated according to the relapse trials ALL-REZ of the Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster Study Group. Within this cohort of patients with relapsed ETV6/RUNX1-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the largest analyzed for genome wide DNA copy number alterations to date, alterations were present in every ETV6/RUNX1-positive relapse and a high proportion of them occurred in recurrent overlapping chromosomal regions. Recurrent losses affected chromosomal regions 12p13, 6q21, 15q15.1, 9p21, 3p21, 5q and 3p14.2, whereas gains occurred in regions 21q22 and 12p. Loss of 12p13 including CDKN1B was associated with a shorter remission duration (P=0.009) and a lower probability of event-free survival (P=0.001). Distribution of X-chromosomal copy number alterations was gender-specific: whole X-chromosome loss occurred exclusively in females, gain of Xq only in males. Loss of the glucocorticoid receptor gene NR3C1 (5q31.3) was associated with a poor response to induction treatment (P=0.003), possibly accounting for the adverse prognosis of some of the ETV6/RUNX1-positive relapses.

Explorative analyses on the value of interim PET for prediction of response in pediatric and adolescent non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients.

BACKGROUND: This study is to evaluate the predictive value of FDG-PET (PET) in pediatric and adolescent patients suffering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma (pNHL) in comparison to information provided by conventional imaging methods (CIM). METHODS: Imaging was performed at baseline and at interim (after 2 cycles of chemotherapy). The response assessment in PET was carried out visually and semi-quantitatively, the latter one by use of percentage decrease in SUVmax from baseline to interim (ΔSUVmax). The PET-based results were compared to the findings by CIM. Progression-free survival (PFS) was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier curves (KM) and log-rank test. RESULTS: The final study included 16 patients (mean follow-up time, 60.2 months (range, 4.0 to 85.7 months)). Relapse occurred in four patients. Visual PET compared to CIM revealed higher sensitivity (3/4 vs 1/4) and NPV (6/7 vs 10/13), and equal PPV (3/9 vs 1/3), but lower specificity (6/12 vs 10/12) and accuracy (9/16 vs 11/16). False-positive findings in PET at interim were predominantly observed in patients presenting bulky disease (5/6), whereas CIM was true-negative in all of these cases. KM analyses revealed no significant differences in 5-year PFS neither for CIM (76.9% vs 66.7%; p = 0.67) nor for visual PET (85.7% vs 66.7%; p = 0.34) nor for ΔSUVmax (88.9% vs 57.1%; p = 0.12). CONCLUSIONS: The predictive value of iPET in pediatric patients suffering from NHL was limited due to considerably high amount of false-positive findings, especially in patients suffering from bulky disease. However, due to our limited sample size, final conclusions cannot be drawn and, thus, call for further evaluation of PET in pNHL in larger and more homogenous patient series.

Impact of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in childhood on fertility in adulthood: the FeCt-survey of childhood cancer survivors in Germany.

PURPOSE: Improved treatment for childhood cancer has led to better survival rates of 83 % today. However, long-term side effects including infertility of pediatric patients receiving oncologic treatment remain unclear. We examined the association of chemotherapy and radiotherapy with infertility in survivors of pediatric cancer. METHODS: A questionnaire on fertility was sent to adult survivors listed in the German Childhood Cancer Registry. Fertility status was defined based on information on attempts to conceive, pregnancies, births, menstrual cycle and previous fertility test results. RESULTS: Therapeutic data were obtained from treatment optimization trials. We included 618 childhood cancer survivors (384 women) who reported information allowing us to classify their current fertility status as 'fertile/probably fertile' or 'probably infertile'. Thirty-one percent of 83 female and 29 % of 117 male survivors reported infertility based on previous fertility tests. 'Probably infertile' adult survivors were more likely to have received pelvic radiotherapy (women: adjusted OR 20.24, 95 % CI 4.69-87.29; men: 12.22; 1.18-126.70) than those who were 'fertile/probably fertile'. Etoposide, particularly ≥5,000 mg/m(2) in women, and carboplatin and/or cisplatin in both sexes seemed to have independent risk potential for infertility. Similarly, cancer treatment during or post-puberty compared to treatment before puberty showed a trend toward increased infertility, particularly in male survivors. CONCLUSIONS: Patients and families need to be informed about fertility-preserving measures prior to and also after chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Use of allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation based on minimal residual disease response improves outcomes for children with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the intermediate-risk group.

PURPOSE: In children with intermediate risk of relapse of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), it is essential to identify patients in need of treatment intensification. We hypothesized that the prognosis of patients with unsatisfactory reduction of minimal residual disease (MRD) can be improved by allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT). PATIENTS AND METHODS: In the Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Relapse Study of the Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster Group (ALL-REZ BFM) 2002, patients with an MRD level of ≥ 10(-3) (n = 99) at the end of induction therapy were allocated to HSCT, whereas those with an MRD level less than 10(-3) (n = 109) continued to receive chemotherapy. MRD was quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction for clone-specific T-cell receptor/immunoglobulin gene rearrangements. RESULTS: The probability of event-free survival for patients with MRD ≥ 10(-3) was 64% ± 5% in ALL-REZ BFM 2002 compared with 18% ± 7% in the predecessor study ALL-REZ BFM P95/96 (P < .001). This was mainly achieved by reducing the cumulative incidence of subsequent relapse (CIR) at 8 years from 59% ± 9% to 27% ± 5% (P < .001). The favorable prognosis of patients with MRD less than 10(-3) could be confirmed in those with a late combined or isolated bone marrow B-cell precursor (BCP) -ALL relapse (CIR, 20% ± 5%), whereas patients with an early combined BCP-ALL relapse had an unfavorable outcome (CIR, 63% ± 13%; P < .001). CONCLUSION: Allogeneic HSCT markedly improved the prognosis of patients with intermediate risk of relapse of ALL and unsatisfactory MRD response. As a result, outcomes in this group approximated those of patients with favorable MRD response. Patients with early combined relapse require treatment intensification even in case of favorable MRD response, demonstrating the prognostic impact of time to relapse.

Eurythmy therapy in the aftercare of pediatric posterior fossa tumour survivors--a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric posterior fossa brain tumour survivors are burdened with extensive neurologic, emotional, behavioral and mental impairments. Even long-term common remediation therapies such as conventional physical therapy and occupational therapy do not warrant full recovery. Innovative complementary therapy strategies offer a new option that needs evaluation. EYT is a movement therapy that belongs to the field of mind-body therapies (MBTs). This holistic approach aims to promote self-regulation and self-healing powers e.g. in cancer patients. This pilot study is a first attempt to assess the feasibility, treatment adherence and impact of eurythmy therapy (EYT) in pediatric neurooncology. METHODS: Seven posterior fossa tumour survivors who each participated in 25 EYT interventions over 6 months were followed for an additional 6 months. The outcome parameters cognitive functioning, neuromotor functioning and visuomotor integration were assessed at baseline as well as six and 12 months afterwards. RESULTS: We found good adherence and improvements in cognitive and neuromotor functioning in all children and better visuomotor integration in 5/7 children after 6 months. After 12 months, neuromotor functioning and visuomotor integration diminished again to some extent. CONCLUSION: EYT in pediatric cerebellar tumour survivors is feasible and patients may profit from this new approach.

Outcomes of treatment for relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in children with Down syndrome.

Children with Down syndrome (DS) have a greater risk for developing both acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and significant adverse effects of chemotherapy. We investigated their outcome with, and tolerance of, treatment protocols for relapsed ALL optimized in the paediatric population without DS. Probability of survival and causes of treatment failure were determined for 49 children with DS and a matched cohort of 98 children without DS among 2160 children treated for relapsed ALL in clinical trials conducted by the Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster ALL Relapse Study Group between 1983 and 2012. Despite more favourable ALL relapse characteristics, children with DS experienced lower event-free (EFS) and overall survival (OS) than the control group without DS (EFS 17 ± 08% vs. non-DS 41 ± 06%, P = 0·006; OS 17 ± 09% vs. non-DS 51 ± 06%, P < 0·001). Children with DS developed more frequently fatal complications of treatment (34 ± 07% vs. non-DS 10 ± 04%, P < 0·001). During the last decade, EFS and OS were no longer significantly different in children with and without DS (EFS 31 ± 09% vs. 36 ± 09%, P = 0·399; OS 31 ± 12% vs. 53 ± 09%, P = 0·151). DS proved an independent prognostic factor of outcome after ALL relapse. Induction deaths and treatment-related mortality but not subsequent relapse were the main barrier to successful outcomes of relapse therapy in children with DS.

Symbolic patterns of heart rate dynamics reflect cardiac autonomic changes during childhood and adolescence.

Symbolic dynamics derived from heart rate variability (HRV) is able to reflect changes of cardiac autonomic modulations in healthy subjects. It has been shown that linear measures of HRV in children and adolescents monotonically increase or decrease (depending on the measure) with age whereas non-linear measures show a local extreme value at the age of 7 to 9 years. In this study, the age-related variations of dynamical features of the R-R interval series during childhood and adolescence were addressed. In particular, the binary symbolic dynamics reflecting the sequence of acceleration (='1') and deceleration (='0') of heart rate was examined. The R-R interval series of 409 healthy children and adolescents (age range: 1 to 22 years, 220 females) was analyzed with respect to the regularity of binary patterns of length 8 using Approximate Entropy (ApEn). Binary patterns were grouped to patterns sets according to the level of their regularity as assessed by ApEn. Pattern sets containing regular binary patterns occurred more often with increasing age whereas irregular binary patterns occurred less often. Specific regular binary patterns show an unexpected behavior. They occurred fewest in the group 7 to 9 years. Furthermore, regular binary patterns occur more often during daytime whereas irregular binary patterns occur more often during nighttime. In conclusion, the analysis of binary symbolic dynamics is able to reflect age-related changes during childhood and adolescence in spite of the considerable reduction of information involved. As many binary patterns are linked to sympathetic or parasympathetic modulations of the autonomic nervous system e.g. spectral analysis of HRV may be complemented by this kind of analysis.

Improvement of circadian rhythm of heart rate variability by eurythmy therapy training.

Background. Impairment of circadian rhythm is associated with various clinical problems. It not only has a negative impact on quality of life but can also be associated with a significantly poorer prognosis. Eurythmy therapy (EYT) is an anthroposophic movement therapy aimed at reducing fatigue symptoms and stress levels. Objective. This analysis of healthy subjects was conducted to examine whether the improvement in fatigue symptoms was accompanied by improvements in the circadian rhythm of heart rate variability (HRV). Design. Twenty-three women performed 10 hours of EYT over six weeks. Electrocardiograms (ECGs) were recorded before and after the EYT trial. HRV was quantified by parameters of the frequency and time domains and the nonlinear parameters of symbolic dynamics. Results. The day-night contrast with predominance of vagal activity at night becomes more pronounced after the EYT training, and with decreased Ultralow and very low frequencies, the HRV shows evidence of calmer sleep. During the night, the complexity of the HRV is significantly increased indicated by nonlinear parameters. Conclusion. The analysis of the circadian patterns of cardiophysiological parameters before and after EYT shows significant improvements in HRV in terms of greater day-night contrast caused by an increase of vagal activity and calmer and more complex HRV patterns during sleep.