Objective To summarize the MRI manifestations of immunosuppressive drugs associated encephalopathy after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in children with aplastic anemia. Methods Fifteen patients with immunosuppressive drugs associated encephalopathy after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for aplastic anemia during January 2014 to October 2016 were analyzed retrospectively. There were 7 males and 8 females, aged from 3 to15 years old, with the median age of 7 years old. Ten cases presented dizziness and headache while other 4 cases presented blurred vision, blind and gaze. Only one case suffered from seizure and loss of consciousness. MRI patterns including distribution, morphology and signal intensity were analyzed after treatment. Follow up MRI were performed after reducing drug dose and symptom remission. The duration of immunosuppressive drugs associated encephalopathy of the 15 cases were 1-14 months, with 6 months in 9 cases. Results Focal lesions were found in 11 cases, in which the deep nuclei were involved in one case and the white matter was involved in 10. Four patients showed both cerebral cortex and white matter lesions, including cerebellum and brainstem invasion in one patient. No corpus callosum lesions were found. Various degree of brain atrophy was found in all patients. Cortical lesions showed swelling and involved subcortical white matter presented as arc shape or strip-like lesions. Patchy patterns were found in deep white matter. Thin layer shaped lesions were found in the periventricular white matter. Small flake-like lesions were found in the brain stem and the cerebellum. The lesions showed hypointensity on T1WI, equal or high signal on T2WI. T2WI FLAIR showed equal or high signal;DWI in the cortex and subcortical white matter lesions showed iso-or high signal, while other lesions were isointense. Eight cases acquired clinical relief in short term without obvious improvement on MRI image. Both clinical symptoms and imaging findings improved in 6 cases. One case showed clinical relief but progression on MRI. Conclusions MRI is an effective way to find immunosuppressive drugs-related encephalopathy in children with aplastic anemia after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. It can help the diagnosis and provide the information for clinical treatment.

Objective To summarize the MRI manifestations of immunosuppressive drugs associated encephalopathy after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in children with aplastic anemia. Methods Fifteen patients with immunosuppressive drugs associated encephalopathy after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for aplastic anemia during January 2014 to October 2016 were analyzed retrospectively. There were 7 males and 8 females, aged from 3 to15 years old, with the median age of 7 years old. Ten cases presented dizziness and headache while other 4 cases presented blurred vision, blind and gaze. Only one case suffered from seizure and loss of consciousness. MRI patterns including distribution, morphology and signal intensity were analyzed after treatment. Follow up MRI were performed after reducing drug dose and symptom remission. The duration of immunosuppressive drugs associated encephalopathy of the 15 cases were 1-14 months, with 6 months in 9 cases. Results Focal lesions were found in 11 cases, in which the deep nuclei were involved in one case and the white matter was involved in 10. Four patients showed both cerebral cortex and white matter lesions, including cerebellum and brainstem invasion in one patient. No corpus callosum lesions were found. Various degree of brain atrophy was found in all patients. Cortical lesions showed swelling and involved subcortical white matter presented as arc shape or strip-like lesions. Patchy patterns were found in deep white matter. Thin layer shaped lesions were found in the periventricular white matter. Small flake-like lesions were found in the brain stem and the cerebellum. The lesions showed hypointensity on T1WI, equal or high signal on T2WI. T2WI FLAIR showed equal or high signal;DWI in the cortex and subcortical white matter lesions showed iso-or high signal, while other lesions were isointense. Eight cases acquired clinical relief in short term without obvious improvement on MRI image. Both clinical symptoms and imaging findings improved in 6 cases. One case showed clinical relief but progression on MRI. Conclusions MRI is an effective way to find immunosuppressive drugs-related encephalopathy in children with aplastic anemia after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. It can help the diagnosis and provide the information for clinical treatment.

PURPOSE: An older female predominance has been reported among chronic cough patients in Western countries, which is considered to be associated with a higher cough sensitivity in females. However, the characteristics of Chinese chronic cough patients remain unclear. This study aimed to explore the age and sex distribution as well as their relationship with cough reflex sensitivity to capsaicin in Chinese chronic cough patients. METHODS: We analyzed the demographic features of 1,882 consecutive chronic cough patients who attended our cough clinic in Guangzhou, China. Cough sensitivity to capsaicin, which was defined as the lowest concentration of capsaicin causing 5 coughs or more (C5), was measured in 539 of the 1,882 patients and 68 healthy volunteers. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 43.0 ± 13.7 years and patients aged <50 years accounted for more than two-thirds of the study population. Around 87% of the patients were never-smokers. The proportion of females (51.5%) was almost equal to that of males (48.5%). The pattern of the age and sex distribution was consistently reflected within most common causes of chronic cough, while a female predominance was shown in patients with cough-variant asthma and patients aged ≥50 years. Female patients had higher cough sensitivity to capsaicin than male patients (log C5: 1.58 ± 0.84 vs. 2.04 ± 0.84 μmol/L, P = 0.001), and patients aged ≥50 years had higher cough sensitivity to capsaicin than patients aged <50 years. CONCLUSIONS: In China, patients with chronic cough have a roughly equal sex distribution and a middle-aged predominance, irrespective of a higher cough sensitivity to capsaicin in females and older patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02591550
Age Distribution ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Asthma ; Capsaicin ; China ; Cough ; Female ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Male ; Reflex ; Sex Distribution