Haematologica
-
Comparative Study
Cryopreservation of human platelets using dimethyl sulfoxide and glycerol-glucose: effects on "in vitro" platelet function.
The technique of freezing blood platelets could be very useful in the transfusion support of thrombocytopenic patients. The best method of platelet cryopreservation still remains an object of debate, though it has been suggested that dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is more effective than glycerol-glucose as a cryopreservative. However, few studies have directly compared platelets cryopreserved with different methods. ⋯ We suggest that cryopreservation with glycerol-glucose or DMSO induces similar defects of platelet function. The damage is severe, but platelets are still able to respond to strong stimulation.
-
A retrospective analysis on HODGKIN'S DISEASE (HD) was finalized to see if changing the management and therapy during the years we improved the cure rate of lymphomas and reduced the incidence of side effects due to therapy. Up to twenty years' experience was based in two major therapeutic periods: the first included patients observed between 1970 and June 1980 and the second between July 1980 and December 1987. Significant differences between the two periods were the reduction of splenectomies as staging procedure, the reduction of radiation dose and extension and the sequential use of MOPP/ABVD instead of MOPP alone. ⋯ The modifications of therapy of HD have produced improvements concerning the prognosis of pts; these improvements are due mainly to the reduction of late side effects such as acute leukemia and second solid tumor, and to the increase of remission rate and cure rate of the lymphoma.
-
Following irradiation alone, secondary acute leukemia is extremely uncommon; following chemotherapy alone, the risk is increased, but not as much as when continued maintenance chemotherapy or combined modality treatments are used. ⋯ A Cox's Linear Logistic Model that was performed did not demonstrate that the treatment categories, age, sex, and splenectomy were prognostic factors. Because all ANLL was observed in patients who were treated with extended-field RT plus MOPP and who had undergone splenectomies at diagnosis of HD, further research with larger numbers of patients and longer follow-up should be pursued. Thus with such additional data, clinicians could come to appreciate fully the statistical significance of our interesting observations.