Objective:To explore the variables associated with the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant during the epidemic in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN).Methods:A cross-sectional study. During the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant pandemic from December 15, 2022, to March 15, 2023, COVID-19 related data for patients with MPN who were treated at Peking University People′s Hospital were collected through an online questionnaire-based survey. All questionnaires and clinical data were checked by medical assistants. Logistic multivariate analysis was used to explore the prevalence and variables associated with the severity of COVID-19 in patients with MPN.Results:A total of 239 patients with MPN, including 90 (37.7%) presenting with essential thrombocythemia (ET), 50 (20.9%) with polycythemia vera (PV), and 99 (41.4%) with myelofibrosis (MF), were enrolled in the study. The 99 patients with MF included 87 (87.9%) with primary MF, 5 (5.1%) with post-PV MF, and 7 (7.1%) with post-ET MF. Overall, 239 (100%) patients reported that they experienced COVID-19 during the pandemic. Of these, 226 (94.6%) had mild disease, 4 (1.7%) had moderate disease, 7 (2.9%) had severe disease, and 2 (0.8%) had critical disease. Two (0.8%) patients with severe COVID-19 died, one of which suffered from MT and the other from PV. Multivariate analysis showed that older age ( OR=2.36, 95% CI 1.24-4.49), MF ( OR=10.22, 95% CI 1.13-92.80), or comorbidity ( OR=5.25, 95% CI 1.25-22.03) were associated with a significantly higher risk of developing moderate, severe, or critical COVID-19. Among patients with MF, higher risk stratification reflected an increased risk of developing moderate, severe, or critical COVID-19 ( P=0.034). Conclusion:During the omicron pandemic, older age, MF (especially higher-risk categories), and comorbidity were associated with a higher risk of developing moderate, severe, or critical COVID-19.

Objective: To assess the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms of multidrug resistance gene 1 (MDR1) with refractory epilepsy in children. Methods: Peripheral blood samples were collected from 200 children with epilepsy and 100 healthy controls. Genomic DNA was extracted and subjected to PCR amplification, agarose gel electrophoresis and target site sequencing. Genotypes of rs1922242, rs2235048, rs10808072, rs868755 and rs1202184 loci of the MDR1 gene were analyzed. Results: No significant difference was found in genotypic distribution and allelic frequencies of the rs1922242, rs2235048, rs10808072 and rs868755 loci between the drug-resistant and drug-sensitive groups. For the rs1202184 locus, a significant difference in genotypic distribution was found (P = 0.008). No significant difference was found in the frequencies of various haplotypes between the two groups. Conclusion Genotypes of the rs1202184 locus of the MDR1 gene are associated with refractory epilepsy in children, for which the AA genotype plays a dominant role.