Iranian Journal of Blood and Cancer
Year:2014 | Volume:6 | Issue:3|Papers Count:7

Background: Platelet preparations have been used for a wide variety of clinical applications such as hemorrhage, tissue engineering and cellular therapy. Platelet concentrates can be prepared by the apheresis method or from the whole blood using the Buffy-coat or Platelet-rich plasma methods. The purpose of this study was to compare four variations of platelet-rich plasma method based on double centrifugation protocol to identify the optimal centrifugation conditions with greatest platelet recovery and highest enrichment capacity for preparing platelet concentrates.Materials and Methods: Blood samples were obtained from 145 donors, chosen randomly from the donation department at the Tehran Blood Transfusion Center, Tehran, Iran. Four variations of platelet-rich plasma methods were selected for preparation of platelet concentrates. Platelet counting analysis was performed on samples and platelet enrichment and platelet recovery were calculated by investigating the correlation between the number of platelets in the whole blood, platelet-rich plasma and platelet concentrates.Results: Platelet count analysis revealed that the method performed with 2100 ´g for 2.30 min in the first centrifugation step and 4150 ´g for 6 min in the second centrifugation step had the highest platelet enrichment (5.59fold) and greatest platelet recovery (78.63%).Conclusion: Within the limits of this study, it can be concluded that 2100 ´g for 2.30 min in the first centrifugation step and 4150 ´g for 6 min in the second centrifugation step yielded the greatest platelet recovery and highest enrichment capacity and is a good choice for preparing platelet concentrates.

Background: It is not clear whether the use of volumetric peristaltic infusion pumps, affect the quality of the erythrocytes during packed cell transfusion or not. In the present study in vitro quality of red blood cells was assessed after using this type of infusion pumps in a prospective study.Materials and Methods: In this study 60 units of packed red cells were examined before and after passing through volumetric peristaltic infusion pumps. The shelf life of each bag was up to 7 days, and the transfusion rate was set to 40 milliliter/hour. Pre- and Post- infusion pump samples were analyzed for erythrocyte morphology and hemoglobin, potassium, lactate dehydrogenase and bilirubin levels. Samples obtained before the blood going through the infusion pumps were considered as the reference.Results: Infusion pump did not significantly increased the free hemoglobin, potassium, total bilirubin and lactate dehydrogenase increment, or fragmentation of the red blood cells, compared to the reference.Conclusion: Due to insignificant increase in free hemoglobin caused by erythrocyte destruction after passing through the volumetric peristaltic pumps in this in-vitro study, we suggest that these pumps can be safely used for transfusion of fresh packed cells. However clinical in-vivo studies on children and neonates are strongly recommended to ensure the safety and effectiveness of this new method of transfusion.

Background: β-thalassemia is an autosomal hemoglobinopathy with inconsistent universal distribution. Among patients with thalassemia diverse non-siderotic complications distinctly influence the attribute of life, including zinc deficiency due to varied etiologies.The objective of the present study was to determine zinc levels in patients with β-thalassemia major and its correlation with maternal characteristics, hematological parameters, liver enzymes, serum ferritin, duration of chelation and number of transfusions among Pakistani patients.Patients and Methods: Seventy-five β-thalassemia major patients on desferrioxamine were enrolled from August 2010 to July 2012. CBC, liver function tests, serum ferritin, HbsAg and Anti-HCV were evaluated. Zinc level was measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometer.Results: The mean age of patients was 10.57±3.5 years. Forty one (54.7%) and 34 (45.3%) patients were males and females respectively. The frequency of zinc deficiency was 24%. We established positive correlation between zinc deficiency and longer duration of chelation (P<0.001) and also with anemia (P<0.001). No correlation could be established with other parameters.Conclusion: Our study revealed that hypozincemia is not unusual in β-thalassemic patients on desferrioxamine. We propose zinc levels should be regularly measured primarily in anemic patients with long duration of chelation.

Background: Recently, some new viruses have been identified for their association with hepatitis which Torque Teno Mini Virus being among them. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of Torque Teno Mini Virus in healthy individuals and hepatitis B and C patients in Isfahan, Iran.Materials and Methods: One hundred serum samples of healthy individuals from Isfahan Blood Transfusion Organization were collected. A total of 25 human serum samples from hepatitis B and 25 samples from hepatitis C infected patients were also collected from Mahdieh diagnostic laboratory in Isfahan, Iran. Viral DNA was extracted and Torque Teno Mini Virus DNA was detected using a nested PCR with primer sets designed for a conserved region of the Torque Teno Mini Virus genome. PCR and Reverse transcriptase PCR were used for detection of HBV and HCV respectively.Results: Torque Teno Mini Virus -DNA was detected in 17% of healthy individuals. It also was detected in 20% and 48% of serum samples from hepatitis B and C infected individuals, respectively. The frequency of Torque Teno Mini Virus was significantly higher in hepatitis C patients versus healthy individuals (P<0.05). Also, the frequency of TTMV in hepatitis C patients was significantly higher than hepatitis B patients (P<0.05).Conclusions: The difference in Torque Teno Mini Virus frequency between the hepatitis C and healthy group was significant (P<0.05). The etiology of the higher infection rate in hepatitis C individuals needs to be determined.

Background: The present study evaluated treatment outcomes and the treatment indexes among Glanzmann’s patients in Mofid Children’s Hospital, Tehran, Iran.Patients and Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was performed to evaluate the treatment protocols on 15 Glanzmann’s patients with bleeding therapeutic records in Mofid Children’s Hospital, Tehran, Iran, from 2006 to 2011.Results: The total recombinant factor VIIa used was 137mg and the total infused platelet concentrates was 68 units, with platelets used in order being: apheresis platelets, leukoreduced pooled platelets, leukoreduced platelets, and random donor platelets with 35, 16, 13 and 4 units respectively. In 90% of bleeding sequences, leukoreduced platelets were available and the average admission per patient was 3.46 times, the average leukoreduced platelets consumption per patient was 4.26 units and the average use of recombinant factor VIIa per patient was 9.13mg. Other Indexes included the average hospitalization per patient per year of 0.69% times, the average consumption of non- random platelet per patient per year of 0.85% units, the average consumption of recombinant factor VIIa per patient per year of 1.83mg, the average consumption of non random platelet for any hemorrhage incidence or elective surgery of 1.3 units, and the average consumption of recombinant factor VIIa for any hemorrhage incidence of 2.8mg.Conclusion: By extracting the consumption of therapeutical products to treat Glanzmann’s thrombasthenia in our center we could estimate the future treatment needs of our medical center. More thorough investigation of patients from different age groups is recommended to achieve more reliable results.

Background: Hemophilia B is an X-linked hereditary disorder of blood coagulation system which is caused by factor IX (FIX) deficiency. Factor IX is a plasma glycoprotein that participates in the coagulation process leading to the generation of fibrin. Replacement of factor IX with plasma-derived or recombinant factor IX is the conventional treatment for hemophilia B to raise the factor IX level to therapeutic range. Recently, gene therapy has been regarded as a promising approach to treat hemophilia B. This study was aimed to express the factor IX in human amniotic membrane-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hAM-MSCs).Materials and Methods: Human amniotic membrane-derived mesenchymal stem cells were isolated and characterized from amnion membrane. Factor IX from commercially available plasmid was sub-cloned into pcDNA3.1 vector. Recombinant pcDNA3.1-FIX construct was confirmed by PCR, enzymatic digestion and DNA sequencing. Mesenchymal stem cells were transfected with the recombinant vector. Expression of factor IX was determined by RT-PCR, ELISA and its biological activity assay was performed using aPTT.Results: Isolated hAM-MSCs expressed specific mesenchymal stem cells markers and were able to differentiate to osteocytes and adipocytes lineages. hAM-MSCs expressed hrFIX at mRNA and protein level. The maximum amount of hrFIX was 120 ng/ml at 72 hrs after hAM-MSCs transfection. This hrFIX was biologically active (11% activity), formed fibrin clot in aPTT test and caused more than two fold decrease in clotting time.Conclusion: The hAM-MSCs expressing factor IX would be useful for gene therapy of hemophilia B. However further studies are required to prove these finding.

Rosai-Dorfman disease or sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy is a rare disorder that typically manifests as lymphadenopathy and systemic symptoms whose etiology remains poorly elucidated. The diagnosis is based on immunohistochemistry. Its treatment is poorly defined but the prognosis is usually favorable.Here we report a 14 year old boy who presented with massive bilateral cervical lymphadenopathy. Histopathological examination demonstrated lymphophagocytosis (emperipolesis) consistent with a diagnosis of Rosai-Dorfman disease. The clinical and histological aspects of the disease are discussed as a rare cause of lymphadenopathy.