Smedsherwood3853
What ethical implications, issues and concerns play a role in conducting follow-up studies of children born after assisted reproductive technologies (ART)?
Literature study and relevant experiences of academic medical centres in Brussels, Belgium, and Maastricht, the Netherlands were used to identify and analyse the most pertinent ethical implications, issues and concerns.
According to recommendations from the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, follow-up (ideally long term) of children conceived through medically assisted reproduction (MAR) should be an integral part of introducing new ART. With potentially risky new ART on the horizon, these recommendations need to be taken more seriously. Apart from practical barriers, such as funding, challenges for follow-up include securing active involvement of families of children conceived through MAR, starting with parents of young children, and ideally involving consenting adolescents and adults during a large part of their lives, possibly t is most critical when it concerns incompetent children, who should not be included in research with more than minimal burdens and risks if there is no reasonable expectation of benefit for themselves. With respect for autonomy, we argue that, when seeking voluntary consent for participating in follow-up studies that meet the condition of proportionality, professionals may encourage members of families of children conceived through MAR to partake in follow-up research.
Smoking is associated with the occurrence and progression of cardiovascular diseases, inflammatory disorders and malignancies.
To study the platelet indices, neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in smokers and their correlation with smoking pack-years.
A total of 110 smokers and 110 non-smokers were included. The smokers were grouped into three groups mild (<5 pack-years), moderate (5-10 pack-years) and heavy (>10 pack-years). The platelet count, plateletcrit (PCT), mean platelet volume (MPV) and platelet distribution width (PDW) were noted. The NLR and PLR were calculated and the statistical analysis was made using the Student's T-test, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Spearman's correlation coefficient.
The platelet count, PCT and PDW were significantly higher with mean values 218.56 ± 121.31 vs 203.23 ± 80.35 (p-value = 0.038), 0.27 ± 0.10 vs 0.26 ± 0.10 (p-value = 0.041) and 12.54 ± 1.45 vs 11.99 ± 1.70 (p-value = 0.001) in smokers and non-smokers, respectiveity in smokers.
Daratumumab is a CD38-targeting monoclonal antibody with established efficacy and safety in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). We report results of an early access protocol (EAP) of daratumumab monotherapy for RRMM in a cohort of Brazilian patients.
Patients with RRMM and ≥3 prior lines of therapy, including a proteasome inhibitor (PI) and an immunomodulatory drug (IMiD), or who were double refractory to both a PI and IMiD received daratumumab, 16 mg/kg, intravenously weekly for 8 weeks, biweekly for 16 weeks, and every 4 weeks thereafter until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, loss of clinical benefit, or study conclusion or if daratumumab became available with reimbursement.
Forty-nine patients received ≥1 dose of daratumumab. The median (range) duration of treatment was 6.4 (0.3-11.8) months, with a median (range) of 8 (1-13) treatment cycles. Grade 3/4 treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were reported in 38.8% of patients, most frequently neutropenia and pneumonia (10.2% each). Seven (14.3%) patients discontinued treatment due to TEAEs; 3 patients discontinued due to daratumumab-related TEAEs. Serious TEAEs occurred in 38.8% of patients. Infusion-related reactions were reported in 25 (51.0%) patients, were primarily grade 1/2, and the majority (23 patients) occurred during the first infusion. Twenty (40.8%) patients achieved a partial response or better; median progression-free survival was 8.25 (95% confidence interval, 5.55-17.54) months.
In this EAP, daratumumab monotherapy in Brazilian patients showed a safety and efficacy profile consistent with clinical studies of daratumumab monotherapy in patients with heavily pretreated RRMM. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02477891.
In this EAP, daratumumab monotherapy in Brazilian patients showed a safety and efficacy profile consistent with clinical studies of daratumumab monotherapy in patients with heavily pretreated RRMM. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02477891.There have been significant improvements in therapeutic options for relapsed multiple myeloma (MM) over the past two decades, with many novel agents including proteasome inhibitors, immunomodulatory agents, and more recently monoclonal antibodies demonstrating efficacy in this setting. However, there is a paucity of real-world data comparing outcomes seen in patients treated with novel agents as opposed to older agents. JHU395 cost We report a historical single center cohort of patients diagnosed with myeloma between the years 1991-2012 in order to explore possible differences in outcomes. A total of 139 patients who underwent stem cell transplantation were included in our study. In our study, 88 patients were treated with cyclophosphamide and steroids alone at relapse whereas 51 patients were treated with Len-Dex. In the multivariate analysis, TTNT was shorter for patients who received Cyclo compared to Len-Dex (HR=1.74; 95% CI, 1.01-2.99; p=0.04); however, we could not detect an overall survival benefit (HR=1.20; 95% CI 0.63-2.29; p=0.57). Adverse event rates were similar in the two groups. In this retrospective single center analysis, Len-Dex was associated with longer TTNT compared with Cyclo at first relapse following autoSCT in MM; however its effect on overall survival in this setting was less clear.
Inspiratory muscle training (IMT) has been shown to be an efficient method of improving exercise tolerance and inspiratory and expiratory muscle strength in several diseases. The effects of IMT on patients with sickle cell anemia (SCD) are relatively unknown. Our study aimed to evaluate the effects of IMT on adult SCD patients, regarding respiratory muscle strength (RMS) variables, lung function, exercise tolerance, blood lactation concentration, limitation imposed by dyspnea during daily activities and impact of fatigue on the quality of life.
This was a randomized single-blind study, with an IMT design comprising true load (TG) and sham load (SG) groups. Initial assessment included spirometry, volumetric capnography (VCap) and measurement of RMS by maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressure (PImax and PEmax). The Medical Research Council dyspnea scale and modified fatigue impact scale were also applied and blood lactate concentration was measured before and after the 6-minute walk test. After this initial assessment, the patient used the IMT device at home daily, returning every 6 weeks for RMS reassessment.
