BACKGROUND

Despite the widespread prevalence of pattern hair loss, treatment options remain limited. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a promising alternative but is hindered by high costs and a lack of standardized protocols. In the Philippines, only one FDA-approved PRP kit is available, leading to interest in whether Acid Citrate Dextrose Solution A (ACD-A) tube could provide equivalent results. Additionally, international research on different anticoagulant preparations is lacking, with no studies conducted in the Philippines.

To determine if the efficacy and safety of PRP therapy using ACD-A and Sodium Citrate (SC) PRP Kit are equivalent in the treatment of adult pattern hair loss.

A single-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, equivalence trial. Participants were randomly assigned to either a control group or a treatment group receiving ACD-A or SC PRP Kit preparations. Treatments were administered monthly for six sessions. Hair growth was assessed at baseline and after each session using global photography, hair classification system, and trichoscopy.

A total of 48 participants completed the study, divided into three groups of 16 participants each. Mean hair density scores for the ACD-A and SC KIT groups, along with 95% confidence intervals for mean differences at various timeframes, fell within the equivalence margin of ±16 hair follicles/cm2. Minimal adverse effects were observed throughout the study.

ACD-A produces results equivalent to the SC PRP Kit in terms of hair growth and patient satisfaction. Both preparations are safe, with only minor adverse effects, making ACD-A a viable alternative for PRP treatments of pattern hair loss.

Clearance is a key concept in pharmacokinetics, but it is not easy to understand for beginners. This tutorial aims to help beginners by using the analogy of a vacuum cleaner clearing the dust from the air in a room. The air, the volume of the air, the dust and the vacuum cleaner are used to represent the plasma, the volume of distribution, the drug and the eliminating organ, respectively, in the human body. Because the capacity of a vacuum cleaner (eliminating organ) is an inherent feature that is independent of the concentration of dust (drug), the elimination rate (eliminated amount/time) of dust (drug), which is proportional to its concentration in the air (plasma), cannot reflect this inherent capacity correctly. Clearance estimates the volume of the solvent (air or plasma) cleared by the organ per unit time rather than the amount of the solute (dust or drug) removed. Therefore, clearance has the unit of volume/time. Just as the air is cleared of dust, but is not eliminated by the vacuum cleaner, the plasma is cleared of drug, but is not eliminated from the human body.
Dust ; Human Body ; Pharmacokinetics ; Plasma ; Vacuum*

A previously healthy 44-year-old male was admitted with the chief complaint of intermittent gross hematuria. On initial ultrasonographic and CT examination, a grossly protruding intravesical tumor was noted and, under the impression of a malignant bladder tumor, transurethral resection was performed. The histological findings were spindle cells with elongated cytoplasm with rare mitotic figures distributed in myxoid stroma, consistent with diagnosis of inflammatory pseudotumor of the bladder. The benign nature of this tumor warrants conservative surgical management, usually consisting of transurethral resection or partial cystectomy. No reports of metastasis have been reported following complete excision. Therefore, any suspicion and recognition of this entity is imperative to avoid performing an irreversible radical procedure.
Adult ; Bladder Diseases/surgery ; Bladder Diseases/pathology* ; Case Report ; Granuloma, Plasma Cell/surgery ; Granuloma, Plasma Cell/pathology* ; Human ; Male

BACKGROUND: Leukoreduction can reduce the risk of HLA alloimmunization, recurrent febrile nonhemolytic transfusion reactions, and several transfusion-transmitted infectious diseases, including cytomegalovirus infection. Transmission of the new influenza A (H1N1) virus through transfusion may be a concern. We evaluated the effect of filtration with a leukoreduction filter on H1N1 genomes. METHODS: To evaluate the effect of filtration by a leukoreduction filter on H1N1 genomes, we analyzed pre- and post-filtered samples from nasopharyngeal swabs and 10 positive plasma samples using real time RT-PCR. RESULTS: The 10 samples (nasopharyngeal swabs and plasma) contained H1N1 RNA, and filtration with a leukoreduction filter reduced these levels (threshold cycle values from 31.42+/-2.06 to 38.84+/-1.47 in nasopharyngeal swabs, from 35.63+/-2.19 to 39.38+/-2.65 in plasma samples). CONCLUSION: Filtration with a leukoreduction filter can reduce H1N1 genome levels, but may not be completely sufficient for total eradication of this pathogen.
Blood Group Incompatibility ; Communicable Diseases ; Cytomegalovirus Infections ; Filtration ; Genome ; Influenza, Human ; Plasma ; RNA ; Viruses

Cell reactions to metastatic tumors in the regional lymph nodes were studied by light and electron microscope in 20 cases; i.e. reactive hyperplasia (3), tuberculosis (3), metastatic carcinomas from the breast (4), from the stomach (2), from the lung (2), metastatic epidermoid carcinoma (2), metastatic malanoma (2), and reticulum cell sarcoma (2). The lymph node response was usually germinal center predominence type and the pyroninophilic cell response was a similar pattern of nonspecific germinal centers with prominent reactive hyperplasia. In two cases of undifferentiated tumors, one from the breast and another from the lung, large numbers of pyroninophilic cells were found within the tumor tissue. However, the majority of lymphoid cells surrounding tumor cell or tumor masses were pyronin negative lymphocytes. Electron microscopic observations revealed that the cells surrounding tumor cells were mostly medium sized lymphocytes, occasionally blast cells and mature plasma cells. The contact border between the tumor cells and the surrounding cells was mostly tight and smooth, but occasionally loose with irregular processes, and widely separated in the case with plasma cells. Degenerative changes of adjacent cytoplasm of either the tumor cells or the lymphocytes were not frequent, but in some instances focal degeneration of adjacent cytoplasm, particularly on the side of the lymphocytes, was noted.
Human ; Lymph Nodes/ultrastructure* ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Lymphocytes/ultrastructure ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neoplasms/ultrastructure* ; Plasma Cells/ultrastructure

We investigated the acute effect of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) on the activity of polymorphoneuclear leukocyte (PMN). We selected 6 patients of growth hormone deficient and 5 normal control children. In both groups, 0.15 IU/kg of rhGH was administered subcutaneously. The plasma growth hormone level were measured by radioimmunoassay on 0, 2, and 6 hours after administration of rhGH. To determined PMN activity, peripheral blood PMN were separated by discontinuous density-gradient centrifigation. Isolated PMN were stimulated hy fMLP and PMA and then respiratory burst activity of PMN was determined. The average growth hormone level of growth horrnone deficient and normal group were increased to the level of 41.6+/-23.7 and 96.3+/-46.5 ng/ml respectively, 2 hours after rhGH injection and decreased to the level of 18.5+/-10.6 and 42.2+/-5.5 ng/ml respectively, 6 hours after rhGH injection. Superoxide (O ) production by PMN which was stimulated by PMA was increased from 9.98+/-5.18 to 38.67+/-19.19 (x 10'cpm) after 6 hours of rhGH injection in control group children. It seemed that administration of the rhGH do not made a any effects acutely on PMN activity in growth hormone deficient group. But in a normal control children, extemal administration of rhGH acutely increased activity of PMN.
Child* ; Growth Hormone ; Human Growth Hormone* ; Humans* ; Leukocytes ; Neutrophils* ; Plasma ; Radioimmunoassay ; Respiratory Burst ; Superoxides

;Small, dense low density lipoprotein (LDL) has been suggested to be highly atherogenic as a result of their low-binding affinity to LDL receptors, their prolonged plasma half-life and low resistance to oxidative stress. Although marine n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have beneficial effects for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, there is little information on detailed fatty acid composition in LDL particles. In the present study, LDL subfractions were isolated from the plasma of 45 clinically healthy Japanese women by density gradient ultracentrifugation using a light fraction of 1.025-1.034 g/ml (LDL-I), an intermediate fraction of 1.034-1.044 g/ml (LDL-II), and a dense fraction of 1.044-1.060 g/ml (LDL-III). A clear relationship between the frequency of fish intake and increases in plasma n-3 PUFAs was apparent. Although plasma n-3 PUFAs in women with small-sized LDL using non-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (GGE) did not show a significant difference, n-3 PUFAs and n-3 PUFAs/n-6 PUFAs in dense LDL-III subfraction increased in the small-sized LDL group using GGE, compared to those with buoyant LDL particles. The result of enriched n-3 PUFAs in dense LDL subfraction suggests that n-3 PUFAs may help prevent atherosclerosis in the arteries of Japanese women with small-sized LDL.
Low density lipoprotein cholesterol measurement ; Lower case en ; Human Females ; Japanese language ; Plasma

Plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL) of the oral cavity is an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-related lymphoma. The immunophenotype of this disease is associated with poor expression of B-cell markers but a positive reactivity for plasma cell markers. PBL is highly aggressive and responds poorly to treatment. Although originally described in the oral cavity, this disease can occur in other body niches. Here, we describe a very rare case of PBL in the anal canal of a 40-year-old woman with human immunodeficiency virus infection. The malignant cells were positive for Epstein-Barr virus and human herpes virus 8.
Adult ; Anal Canal ; B-Lymphocytes ; Female ; Herpesvirus 4, Human ; HIV ; Humans ; Lymphoma ; Mouth ; Plasma Cells ; Viruses

We report a 48-year-old man with laryngeal cancer who received a massive cisplatin toxic overdose without intravenous prehydration through an error in prescription. He received 400 mg/m2 of cisplatin over a 4-day period. On day 4, he exhibited a broad range of cisplatin toxicities and emergency plasma exchange was started. From day 5 through 19, he underwent 9 cycles of plasma exchange and his plasma cisplatin concentration decreased from 2,470 ng/ml to 216 ng/ml. He completely recovered without any sequelae. No previous reports exist in the English literature of survival without complication after the administration of such a high cisplatin dosage without prehydration.
Antineoplastic Agents/*poisoning ; Case Report ; Cisplatin/*poisoning ; Human ; Male ; Middle Age ; Overdose/therapy ; *Plasma Exchange

Female ; Hepatitis, Viral, Human ; therapy ; Humans ; Liver, Artificial ; Male ; Plasma Exchange ; methods ; Treatment Outcome