Background: The current research seeks to present a comparative study of the effect of filgrastim and pegfilgrastim in the treatment of fever and neutropenia in leukemia patients.
Materials and Methods: The present study is a blind randomized clinical trial. The study population is comprised of 120 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who were admitted to the hospital due to mild febrile neutropenia during 2019. Included patients were divided into two groups. Filgrastim (10 micrograms/ kilogram, daily subcutaneously) and pegfilgrastim (100 micrograms per kilogram of a subcutaneous dose) were used for groups, respectively. Fever monitored every 6 hours, and neutrophil count was performed every 48 hours. The questionnaire designed in the study included age, type of drug side effects, number of days of neutropenia, and fever cessation time. Then, the data were analyzed by SPSS software.
Result: Leukemic children with fever and neutropenia (N=120) were included in the study, which was 59 (49.1%) male and 61 (50.9%) female by the mean age of 79±44 months. The mean days of neutropenia correction in the filgrastim and pegfilgrastim groups were 5 and 4 days, respectively, which was not significantly different (p =0.08). There was no correlation between patients’ complications and types of treatments (p>0.05). Muscular pain was the most common complication observed among 4 cases and 1 case following filgrastim and pegfilgrastim administration, respectively. Furthermore, hyperleukocytosis following pegfilgrastim consumption was observed in two cases.
Conclusion: There was no significant correlation between the duration until the cessation of fever and the number of neutropenia days in the two groups receiving pegfilgrastim and filgrastim. Therefore, the fever and neutropenia improve with pegfilgrastim earlier than filgrastim; besides, fewer injections, patient comfort, and less musculoskeletal pain can be observed.
Effective treatment of inherited bleeding disorders has become available from plasma in the last 50 years. Plasma-derived medicinal products are used in Iran in a wide variety of clinical problems. Some of these products are manufactured by Iranian voluntary donor plasma in contract to European pharmaceutical company. The safe preparation of plasma products is important; including screening blood donors, testing plasma for infectious pathogens. A perspective of the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) is to increase worldwide supply of safe affordable factor replacement therapy.
The cover image is based on the Research Article Complications in patients with transfusion dependent thalassemia: A descriptive cross-sectional study by Mohammad Faranoush et al., https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.1624
Severe congenital neutropenias (SCNs) are the rare heterogenous group of preleukemia bone marrow failure syndromes characterized by impaired differentiation of neutrophilic granulocytes and, as a result, severe chronic neutropenia.Patients with SCN are predisposed to recurrent, often lifethreatening bacterial and/or fungal infections beginning in the first months of life.Molecular abnormalities in 10 genes have been identified that are responsible for SCNs.The pathophysiological mechanisms of SCNs are the subject of extensive investigation and are not fully known.The current review aims to summarize the studies exploring the biological role of SCNassociated genes and the effects of mutant genes in neutropenia pathogenesis.We mainly focus on the genetic mutations that lead to SCN1 to SCN9 and X-linked SCN (XSCN) to shed more light on the pathophysiology of these diseases.
Background: The study on the control and treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus, as a growing metabolic disease in the world, is important. Oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species in uncontrolled diabetes can play a role in the consequences of diabetes such as neuropathy and nephropathy. The presence of minerals as bioactive compounds in the diet and their role in antioxidant enzymes can play a role in reducing the oxidative effects of diabetes. Electron beam therapy as an adjunct method can be effective in reducing free radicals and oxidative stress. Objective: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of electron beam therapy on glucose, oxidative markers and some minerals, as bioactive compound, in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods: The study was performed on 30 volunteers with type 2 diabetes mellitus and 30 healthy volunteers as a control group. Serum samples from diabetic and control groups were assayed for glucose, hydrogen peroxide, reactive oxygen species and minerals such as iron, zinc, copper, magnesium and selenium binding protein before and after electron beam irradiation. ATP levels and NAD/NADH ratio were also evaluated. The mentioned parameters were measured by ELISA and calorimetric methods according to the relevant kit protocol. Electron beam therapy was performed using a linear accelerator. The used amount of energy was 9 MeV. The depth of treatment was 1.5 cm.Results: The results of electron beam therapy showed that the concentrations of glucose, reactive oxygen species, hydrogen peroxide, copper and iron were significantly (P value < 0.05) reduced in diabetics. Zinc levels in this group increased significantly (P value < 0.05). In control group, ATP levels were significantly (P value < 0.05) increased by electron beam therapy.Conclusion: According to the obtained results, electron beam therapy can be effective in reduction of oxidation indexes and thus reducing oxidative stress. Electron beam therapy can be effective in reducing the consequences of diabetes mellitus. Keywords: Electron beam therapy, Oxidative stress, Mineral, Type 2 diabetes mellitus
Background: Chronic and debilitating diseases induce several psychiatric consequences. The current research determines the prevalence of depression in hemophilia patients. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of 80 hemophilia patients referred to Mohammad Kermanshahi Hospital in Iran in 2020. The subjects were selected using the sampling method. The data collection tool includes a demographic information checklist, clinical and medical records, and Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II). Data analysis was performed using frequency, percentage, and Chi-square tests. Results: The results demonstrated that the prevalence of depression in hemophilia patients was 57.5%. Furthermore, the prevalence of depression was not associated with age, education, occupation, marital status, type of hemophilia, disease severity, age of onset (i.e., disease diagnosis age), orthopedic complications, and monthly bleeding episodes ( P-Values > 0.05). However, among the patients who consumed narcotics, only 25.8% were not depressed; on the other hand, 53.1% of those who did not consume narcotics were. A clear statistically significant correlation between narcotics use and the prevalence of depression was presented (P-Value < 0.01). Conclusions: The present study reveals a significant prevalence of depression among hemophilia patients, with a notable correlation observed between depression rates and the use of narcotics drugs.