OBJECTIVETo determine serum levels of resistin and visfatin in the patients with acute Kawasaki disease before and after intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) treatment.

METHODSA total of 50 children with acute Kawasaki disease were treated with IVIG for 48 hours between January 2011 and January 2013. As controls, 30 healthy children and 30 children with acute infectious diseases were included. Serum levels of resistin and visfatin were measured by ELISA both before and after the treatment.

RESULTSThe baseline serum levels of resistin and visfatin were significantly higher in patients with acute Kawasaki disease than in the two control groups of subjects (i.e., healthy children and patients with acute infectious diseases; P<0.05). In the 50 patients with Kawasaki disease, 38 were not responding and 12 were responding. Serum resistin levels before treatment were significantly higher in non-responders than those in responders (P<0.05). A significant decrease in serum levels of resistin after treatment was observed in IVIG responders (P<0.05). Serum visfatin levels were not significantly different between IVIG responders and non-responders (P>0.05). Additionally, serum resistin and visfatin levels were not significantly different between acute Kawasaki disease patients with and without coronary artery lesions.

CONCLUSIONSResistin and visfatin may play important roles in the development of Kawasaki disease and serum resistin may be used as a novel outcome indicator of the IVIG treatment.

Acute Disease ; Child, Preschool ; Cytokines ; blood ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins, Intravenous ; therapeutic use ; Infant ; Male ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome ; blood ; drug therapy ; Nicotinamide Phosphoribosyltransferase ; blood ; Resistin ; blood

OBJECTIVETo study the incidence of human cytomegalovirus (CMV) and human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) infection in pediatric patients with hemopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), and to explore the relationship between CMV and HHV-6 infection in pediatric patients with HSCT.

METHODSPediatric patients with HSCT in hemotology center of Beijing Children's Hospital were enrolled into this study from June 2007 to October 2009. Peripheral blood were collected every week after HSCT, and Fluorescent quantitation PCR and conventional PCR were used to detect CMV DNA load in serum and HHV-6 DNA in peripheral blood respectively. Genetic typing was conducted on HHV-6.

RESULTSFifty two pediatric patients with HSCT were enrolled into this study, and six hundreds and thirty six specimens were collected totally. CMV DNA was detected in fifty two specimens from twenty cases. The median time was 56 days after HSCT. The incidence of CMV infection was 38.5% (20/52) in all HSCT patients and 47.6% (20/42) in allogene HSCT patients. The incidence of late CMV infection was 22.2% (6/27) in allogene HSCT. Three patients died of CMV infection,and two died of CMV interstitial pneumonia. HHV-6 DNA was detected in thirty three specimens from fourteen cases. The median time was 23 days after HSCT. The incidence of HHV-6 infection was 26.9% (14/52)in all HSCT patients and 31% (13/42) in allogene HSCT patients. The genotype of HHV6 was all type B. HHV-6 DNA was positive in six of twenty cases with CMV infection. The incidence of co-infection was 30% (6/20).

CONCLUSIONSThere was a substantial incidence of CMV and HHV6 infection after HSCT. The relationship between earlier HHV6 infection and later CMV infection in pediatric patients with HSCT need further study.

Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cytomegalovirus ; genetics ; Cytomegalovirus Infections ; etiology ; immunology ; Female ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; adverse effects ; Herpesviridae Infections ; etiology ; immunology ; Herpesvirus 6, Human ; genetics ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Molecular Typing ; methods

OBJECTIVETo explore the values of autologous cytokine-induced killer cells combined with rhIL-2 for therapy of elderly patients with B-cell malignant lymphoma.

METHODSEighty-five elderly patients with B-cell malignant lymphoma were treated by cytokine induced killer cells combine with rhIL-2 (CIK+IL-2 group), 85 elderly patients with B-cell malignant lymphoma treated without cytokine induced killer cells combined with rhIL-2 were used as the control group. The patients in CIK+IL-2 group and control group were divided into 4 subgroups accerding to lymphoma types: group A: diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), group B: mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue type (MALT), group C: lymphoplas macytic lymphoma (LPL) and group D: hodgkin's lymphma (HL). The clinical effects, T-lymphocyte, β2 microglobulin level, quality of life and long-term survival were observed.

RESULTSThe levels of CD3+, CD3+/CD8+, CD3+/CD56+ after treatment in the 4 subgroups of CIK+IL-2 group were higher than levels before treatment and the control group (P<0.05); the levels of β2 microglobulin after treatment for the 4 groups were lower than before treatment and the control group (P<0.05); with 1 case death, 16 cases were turned from CRu and PR to CR; the CR rate was not significantly different among the 4 subgroups (P>0.05); the scores of physical performance, role function, cognitive function, emotional functioning, and social function after treatment in the 4 subgroups were higher than the those before treatment (P<0.05); the survival time of patients in the CIK+IL-2 group lasted for 8-76 months, their median survival time was (22.36±5.38) months; the survival of the control group lasted for 7-55 months, their median survival time was (16.15±3.62) months. The survival time of the CIK+IL-2 group was longer than that of the control group (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe treatment of aged patients with B-cell malignant lymphoma by autologous cytokine-induced killer cells combined with rhIL-2 can effectively improve the T-lymphocyte subsets, β2 microglobulin level and quality of life, and can prolong survival time of patients.

Aged ; Cytokine-Induced Killer Cells ; cytology ; Humans ; Interleukin-2 ; therapeutic use ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse ; therapy ; Quality of Life ; Recombinant Proteins ; therapeutic use ; T-Lymphocyte Subsets