Methods and Findings in Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology

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Over the last decade, there has been a dramatic decline in the frequency of organ failure, infection, and severe acute CVHD as causes of non-relapse mortality after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Gastrointestinal CVHD, however, remains a significant obstacle to survival. Patients who present with non-progressive symptoms of the upper gut phenotype of GVHD seldom progress to severe CVHD, but may have a prolonged course, they can be successfully treated with prednisone 1 mg/kg/day for a limited time, along with topical and oral glucocorticoid...

Chronic graft versus host disease (GVHD) is still the main cause of long-term non-neoplastic morbidity and mortality in patients receiving an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Treatment consists of a combination of corticosteroids and calcineurin inhibitors. There is no standardized therapy for cases in which this treatment fails. Recent experimental studies and clinical trials in humans have yielded promising results for imatinib, an inhibitor of tyrosine kinase enzymes involved in the pathogenesis of fibrosis...

The NIH classification intends to standardize the diagnostic criteria for chronic CVHD and to establish prognosis groups that will help to identify patient risk and thus decide on the most appropriate treatment. This study assesses the predictive value of this classification and analyzes new prognostic factors in a series of 820 patients receiving allogeneic grafts at three sites: Hospital Universitario de Salamanca, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, in Barcelona, and Karolinska Institutet, in Stockholm...

Pegylation implies progress in filgrastim therapy. The addition of one molecule of polyethylene glycol (PEG) increases the drug's half-life by reducing renal excretion. A single dose of pegfilgrastim is equivalent to a daily administration of G-CSF for recovering from neutropenia after cancer chemotherapy. Pegfilgrastim is also useful to mobilize hematopoietic stem cells. Several studies have researched its efficacy in this context, in patients with myeloma or lymphoma. Outcomes suggest that it has an efficacy similar to daily G-CSF...

At this time, allogeneic transplantation should be offered only within the context of clinical trials. The likelihood of achieving prolonged complete remission with standard therapy with new drugs and autografting renders allogeneic transplantation unadvisable as first-line treatment in most patients. In this situation, the procedure must be reserved only for young patients with very poor prognostic factors or with progression of the disease offer receiving first-line treatment. After the first relapse, it should be applied to patients with an adverse cytogenetics and early relapse (< 18 months) after optimized treatment that includes new drugs and autologous transplantation...

Our team conducted an original procedure of hematopoietic transplantation of umbilical cord blood (UCB) from an unrelated donor. The procedure consists of co-infusing hematopoietic stem cells selected from the blood of a third-party donor; it is conceived as a tool to shorten the engraftment period without preventing the engraftment of the UCB, even when using units with relatively low cell content and a low HLA compatibility. Between 1999 and 2008 we performed 64 transplantations in 60 adult patients (35 men and 25 women) with a median age of 34 years (range: 76-60) and a median weight of 70 kg (range: 43-95), all of whom were diagnosed with a high risk hematologic neoplasm (leukemia in most cases)...

Primary Immune thrombocytopenia or idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is an acquired immune disorder presenting with abnormal hemorrhagic symptoms resulting from a decrease in the number of platelets. The disorder used to be attributed to increased destruction of platelets mediated by antibodies. In the past few years, the description of its etiopathology has changed. A deficiency in the marrow production of thrombocytes has been demonstrated; because it is associated with increased peripheral platelet destruction, the deficiency cannot be compensated...

Patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) experience progressive and irreversible paralysis as a result of the continued loss of motor neurons, which leads to death in less than five years. To date, there is no treatment that can change the progression of this disease. Bone marrow stem cells have shown neural regenerative and neural repairing properties. Specifically, our group showed in a murine model of the disease that these cells, when injected in the spinal cord, can rescue motor neurons through the secretion of GDNF...

The search for an unrelated donor must be based on the HLA typing of the donor and the host. PCR techniques have facilitated high-resolution HLA typing, but they have also elicited questions about the real impact of the various disparities on the progress of the graft Thus, whereas a donor used to be accepted based on HLA-A and B Identity determined by serology and HLA-DRB1 through molecular biology techniques, now a donor is required to have a 70/70 Identity for loci HLA-A, B, C, DRB7, and DQB7. Furthermore, the real effect of the disparities in the sixth locus of the major histocompatibility complex-HLA-DPBT-is still in doubt...

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) remains the greatest source of morbidity-mortality in allogenic transplant patients. Although in most cases the more easily obtainable clinical and laboratory test parameters suffice to confirm the diagnosis and establish the stage of the disease biopsies of the affected organ are sometimes needed. At present there is great Interest in the study of factors allowing a prognosis of the course and type of response to treatment in patients with CVHD. In this sense, It would be necessary to objectively Identify and validate biomarkers capable of predicting biological or pathological processes in patients with cVHD...

In the last decade there has been increasing awareness of the importance of thymus gland function in the reconstitution of host immunity following hematopoietic transplantation. A functional thymus contributes to foster T compartment reconstitution, with an increased diversity of T receptor rearrangement, and a more physiological distribution of the functional subpopulations. Palifermin, a keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) approved for reducing the incidence and severity of oral mucositis, has been proposed as a possible strategy for improving thymus function and immune reconstitution after hematopoietic transplantation...

Fungi of the genus Aspergillus are found everywhere in the natural environment; they cause invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA), an infectious complication common in immunocompromised individuals, which has a mortality rate of up to 90% in patients with hematological malignancy. The first line of defense of innate immunity is the recognition of Aspergillus conidia by dendritic cells or alveolar macrophages. DC-SIGN is an integrin directly involved in this recognition; its degree of expression in immune cells and its functionality may be partly determined by genetic variations...

Oncolytic viruses represent a new treatment modality that may help overcome some of the most important limitations of classical radio- and chemotherapy. This new technique is based on conditioned replication of the viral genome only in cells with the genetic alterations characteristic of tumor lesions. This facilitates the selective lysis of tumor masses concomitant to viral autoamplification. As a result, the pharmacodynamic parameters involved are completely different from those of antitumor drug substances...

Gateways to Clinical Trials is a guide to the most recent clinical trials in current literature and congresses. The data in the following tables has been retrieved from the Clinical Trials Knowledge Area of Thomson Reuters Integrity(SM), the drug discovery and development portal, https://www.thomsonreutersintegrity.com. This issue focuses on the following selection of drugs: 17-Hydroxyprogesterone caproate; Abacavir sulfate/lamivudine, Aclidinium bromide, Adalimumab, Adefovir, Alemtuzumab, Alkaline phosphatase, Amlodipine, Apilimod mesylate, Aripiprazole, Axitinib, Azacitidine; Belotecan hydrochloride, Berberine iodide, Bevacizumab, Bortezomib, Bosentan, Bryostatin 1; Calcipotriol/hydrocortisone, Carglumic acid, Certolizumab pegol, Cetuximab, Cinacalcet hydrochloride, Cixutumumab, Coumarin, Custirsen sodium; Darbepoetin alfa, Darifenacin hydrobromide, Darunavir, Dasatinib, Denibulin hydrochloride, Denosumab, Diacetylmorphine, Dulanermin, Duloxetine hydrochloride; Ecogramostim, Enfuvirtide, Entecavir, Enzastaurin hydrochloride, Eplerenone, Escitalopram oxalate, Esomeprazole sodium, Etravirine, Everolimus, Ezetimibe; Fenofibrate/pravastatin sodium, Ferric carboxymaltose, Flavangenol, Fondaparinux sodium; Glutamine, GSK-1024850A; Hepatitis B hyperimmunoglobulin, Hib-MenC, HIV-LIPO-5; Immunoglobulin intravenous (human), Indacaterol maleate, Indibulin, Indium 111 (¹¹¹In) ibritumomab tiuxetan, Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent vaccine, Inhalable human insulin, Insulin glulisine; Lapatinib ditosylate, Leucovorin/UFT; Maraviroc, Mecasermin, MMR-V, Morphine hydrochloride, Morphine sulfate/naltrexone hydrochloride, Mycophenolic acid sodium salt; Naproxen/esomeprazole magnesium, Natalizumab; Oncolytic HSV; Paliperidone, PAN-811, Paroxetine, Pegfilgrastim, Peginterferon alfa-2a, Peginterferon alfa-2b/ribavirin, Pegvisomant, Pemetrexed disodium, Pimecrolimus, Posaconazole, Pregabalin; Raltegravir potassium, Ranelic acid distrontium salt, Rasburicase, Rilpivirine hydrochloride; Sertindole, Sivelestat sodium hydrate, Sorafenib, Sumatriptan succinate/naproxen sodium, Sunitinib malate; Tafluprost, Telithromycin, Temsirolimus, Tenofovir disoproxil fumavate, Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine, Teriparatide, Ticagrelor, Tigecycline, Tipranavir, Tirapazamine, Trimetrexate; Ulipristal acetate; Valganciclovir hydrochloride, Vicriviroc, Vorinostat; Yttrium 90 (90Y) ibritumomab tiuxetan...

Administration of antihistamines 2-4 weeks before the pollen season showed a greater inhibitory effect on nasal allergy symptoms in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis. However, the mechanism of slow-onset effects of preseasonal treatment with antihistamines remains unclear. Here, we investigated the effect of preseasonal prophylactic treatment with antihistamines on nasal symptoms and the expression of histamine H₁ receptor (H1R) mRNA of the nasal mucosa in patients with cedar pollen pollinosis. During the peak pollen period, the expression of H1R mRNA in the nasal mucosa and the scores of sneezing and watery rhinorrhea in patients receiving preseasonal prophylactic treatment with antihistamines were significantly suppressed in comparison with those in the patients without treatment...

Advances in mass spectrometry instruments have led to increased utilization of high performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and it would be necessary to standardize blood quantification of immunosuppressant drugs. The aim of the study was to validate and assess the robustness of an LC-MS/MS method for quantification of tacrolimus in whole blood using the Waters Masstrak™ Immunosuppressant Kit. After protein precipitation from whole blood samples, chromatographic separation was performed in 2 min...

It has been well established that histaminergic neurons innervate densely the anterior hypothalamus and regulate several functions through the histamine H₁ receptor (H1R). However, the physiological function of the histaminergic neurons in other regions including the posterior hypothalamus has not been fully investigated. Recently, we have found a selective c-Fos expression in the caudal part of the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (cARC) by food deprivation under scheduled feeding in rats. In this study, we histochemically examined the correlation of this c-Fos expression with the activation of histaminergic neurons in this region using an anti-H1R antibody...

Cerebral salt wasting (CSW) frequently occurs concomitantly with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). CSW induces excessive natriuresis and osmotic diuresis, reduces total blood volume, aggravates cerebral vasospasm and causes cerebral ischemia after SAH. This study examined the inhibitory effect of hydrocortisone on CSW in rat SAH models. Hydrocortisone had an inhibitory effect on CSW because hydrocortisone functioned in a dose-dependent manner to inhibit the increase in sodium excretion and sodium/potassium ratio after SAH onset...

One of the approaches for the treatment of bipolar disorder involves the coadministration of lithium, a mood stabilizer, with α₂-adrenoceptor antagonists possessing an antidepressant effect. Since lithium accelerates the recovery of α₂(D)-adrenoceptors following their irreversible inactivation with N-ethoxycarbonyl-2-ethoxy-1,2-dihydroquinoline (EEDQ), our aim was to examine if it could be to some changes in Adra2A gene expression which codifies these adrenoceptors. Animals were treated with lithium chloride (120 mg/kg i...