Search

Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) with isolated deletion of chromosome 5q (MDS del5q) is a distinct subtype of MDS with quite favorable prognosis and excellent response to treatment with lenalidomide. Still, a relevant percentage of patients do not respond to lenalidomide and even experience progression to acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In this study, we aimed to investigate whether global DNA methylation patterns could predict response to lenalidomide. Genome-wide DNA methylation analysis using Illumina 450k methylation arrays was performed on n=51 patients with MDS del5q who were uniformly treated with lenalidomide in a prospective multicenter trial of the German MDS study group. To study potential direct effects of lenalidomide on DNA methylation, 17 paired samples pre- and post-treatment were analyzed. Our results revealed no relevant effect of lenalidomide on methylation status. Furthermore, methylation patterns prior to therapy could not predict lenalidomide response. However, methylation clustering identified a group of patients with a trend towards inferior overall survival. These patients showed hypermethylation of several interesting target genes, including genes of relevant signaling pathways, potentially indicating the evaluation of novel therapeutic targets. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00277-021-04492-1.

We report an outbreak of coronavirus disease with 74 cases related to a nightclub in Germany in March 2020. Staff members were particularly affected (attack rate 56%) and likely caused sustained viral transmission after an event at the club. This outbreak illustrates the potential for superspreader events and corroborates current club closures.

Background Detailed information on symptom duration and temporal course of patients with mild COVID-19 was scarce at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Aim We aimed to determine the longitudinal course of clinical symptoms in non-hospitalised COVID-19 patients in Berlin, Germany. Methods Between March and May 2020, 102 confirmed COVID-19 cases in home isolation notified in Berlin, Germany, were sampled using total population sampling. Data on 25 symptoms were collected during telephone consultations (a maximum of four consultations) with each patient. We collected information on prevalence and duration of symptoms for each day of the first 2 weeks after symptom onset and for day 30 and 60 after symptom onset. Results Median age was 35 years (range 18–74), 57% (58/102) were female, and 37% (38/102) reported having comorbidities. During the first 2 weeks, most common symptoms were malaise (94%, 92/98), headache (71%, 70/98), and rhinitis (69%, 68/98). Malaise was present for a median of 11 days (IQR 7–14 days) with 35% (34/98) of cases still reporting malaise on day 14. Headache and muscle pain mostly occurred during the first week, whereas dysosmia and dysgeusia mostly occurred during the second week. Symptoms persisted in 41% (39/95) and 20% (18/88) of patients on day 30 and 60, respectively. Conclusion Our study shows that a significant proportion of non-hospitalised COVID-19 cases endured symptoms for at least 2 months. Further research is needed to assess the frequency of long-term adverse health effects in non-hospitalised COVID-19 patients.

Summary Background In December, 2019, the newly identified severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in Wuhan, China, causing COVID-19, a respiratory disease presenting with fever, cough, and often pneumonia. WHO has set the strategic objective to interrupt spread of SARS-CoV-2 worldwide. An outbreak in Bavaria, Germany, starting at the end of January, 2020, provided the opportunity to study transmission events, incubation period, and secondary attack rates. Methods A case was defined as a person with SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed by RT-PCR. Case interviews were done to describe timing of onset and nature of symptoms and to identify and classify contacts as high risk (had cumulative face-to-face contact with a confirmed case for ≥15 min, direct contact with secretions or body fluids of a patient with confirmed COVID-19, or, in the case of health-care workers, had worked within 2 m of a patient with confirmed COVID-19 without personal protective equipment) or low risk (all other contacts). High-risk contacts were ordered to stay at home in quarantine for 14 days and were actively followed up and monitored for symptoms, and low-risk contacts were tested upon self-reporting of symptoms. We defined fever and cough as specific symptoms, and defined a prodromal phase as the presence of non-specific symptoms for at least 1 day before the onset of specific symptoms. Whole genome sequencing was used to confirm epidemiological links and clarify transmission events where contact histories were ambiguous; integration with epidemiological data enabled precise reconstruction of exposure events and incubation periods. Secondary attack rates were calculated as the number of cases divided by the number of contacts, using Fisher's exact test for the 95% CIs. Findings Patient 0 was a Chinese resident who visited Germany for professional reasons. 16 subsequent cases, often with mild and non-specific symptoms, emerged in four transmission generations. Signature mutations in the viral genome occurred upon foundation of generation 2, as well as in one case pertaining to generation 4. The median incubation period was 4·0 days (IQR 2·3–4·3) and the median serial interval was 4·0 days (3·0–5·0). Transmission events were likely to have occurred presymptomatically for one case (possibly five more), at the day of symptom onset for four cases (possibly five more), and the remainder after the day of symptom onset or unknown. One or two cases resulted from contact with a case during the prodromal phase. Secondary attack rates were 75·0% (95% CI 19·0–99·0; three of four people) among members of a household cluster in common isolation, 10·0% (1·2–32·0; two of 20) among household contacts only together until isolation of the patient, and 5·1% (2·6–8·9; 11 of 217) among non-household, high-risk contacts. Interpretation Although patients in our study presented with predominately mild, non-specific symptoms, infectiousness before or on the day of symptom onset was substantial. Additionally, the incubation period was often very short and false-negative tests occurred. These results suggest that although the outbreak was controlled, successful long-term and global containment of COVID-19 could be difficult to achieve. Funding All authors are employed and all expenses covered by governmental, federal state, or other publicly funded institutions.

Background: In December 2019, a newly identified coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in Wuhan, China, causing respiratory disease (COVID-19) presenting with fever

Patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) have a higher risk for the development of concomitant primary cancers such as multiple myeloma (MM) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). We report the case of patient initially suffering from MGUS of the IgG lambda subtype for more than 10 yr, which evolved to MM and MDS with deletion (5q) with severe pancytopenia. Due to pancytopenia, he received dose-reduced treatment with lenalidomide and dexamethasone. He achieved an ongoing transfusion independency after about 1 month of treatment. Bone marrow taken 14 months after start of treatment showed a complete cytogenetic response of the del(5q) clone and a plasma cell infiltration below 5%. In contrast to the development of MM in MGUS patients, the subsequent occurrence of MDS after diagnosis of MGUS is infrequent. Moreover, the biological association of MDS with MGUS is not sufficiently understood, but the non-treatment-related occurrence supports the pathogenetic role of pre-existing alterations of stem cells. Here, we summarize data on concomitant MDS and MGUS/MM with particular emphasis on molecular aspects.

Mobile savings and payment systems have been widely adopted to store money and pay for a variety of services, including health care. However, the possible implications of these technologies on financing and payment for maternal health care services-which commonly require large 1-time out-of-pocket payments-have not yet been systematically assessed in low-resource settings.The aim of this study was to determine the structural, contextual, and experiential characteristics of a mobile phone-based savings and payment platform, the Mobile Health Wallet (MHW), for skilled health care during pregnancy among women in Madagascar.We used a 2-stage cluster random sampling scheme to select a representative sample of women utilizing either routine antenatal (ANC) or routine postnatal care (PNC) in public sector health facilities in 2 of 8 urban and peri-urban districts of Antananarivo, Madagascar (Atsimondrano and Renivohitra districts). In a quantitative structured survey among 412 randomly selected women attending ANC or PNC, we identified saving habits, mobile phone use, media consumptions, and perception of an MHW with both savings and payment functions. To confirm and explain the quantitative results, we used qualitative data from 6 semistructured focus group discussions (24 participants in total) in the same population.59.3% (243/410, 95% CI 54.5-64.1) saved toward the expected costs of delivery and, out of those, 64.4% (159/247, 95% CI 58.6-70.2) used household cash savings for this purpose. A total of 80.3% (331/412, 95% CI 76.5-84.1) had access to a personal or family phone and 35.7% (147/412, 95% CI 31.1-40.3) previously used Mobile Money services. Access to skilled health care during pregnancy was primarily limited because of financial obstacles such as saving difficulties or unpredictability of costs. Another key barrier was the lack of information about health benefits or availability of services. The general concept of an MHW for saving toward and payment of pregnancy-related care, including the restriction of payments, was perceived as beneficial and practicable by the majority of participants. In the discussions, several themes pointed to opportunities for ensuring the success of an MHW through design features: (1) intuitive technical ease of use, (2) clear communication and information about benefits and restrictions, and (3) availability of personal customer support.Financial obstacles are a major cause of limited access to skilled maternal health care in Madagascar. An MHW for skilled health care during pregnancy was perceived as a useful and desirable tool to reduce financial barriers among women in urban Madagascar. The design of this tool and the communication strategy will likely be the key to success. Particularly important dimensions of design include technical user friendliness and accessible and personal customer service.

Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) have been developing as an emerging problem in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Since no data are available on the course of MDRO colonization after HCT, we investigated in this retrospective, single-center study, persistence and clearance of MDRO after HCT. From June 2010 to December 2015, 121 consecutive HCT patients were included. Patients received a MDRO screening before conditioning as well as surveillance cultures after HCT. In MDRO-colonized patients, surveillance specimens were taken until MDRO were no longer detectable. Thirty-three patients (27%) were found to be colonized by at least one MDRO at any time point until day 100 post HCT. Day 100 (2-year) non-relapse mortality (NRM) and overall survival (OS) of MDRO-colonized (MDRO+) versus non-colonized (MDRO−) patients were essentially the same. NRM is 15% (21%) versus 15% (24%). Two-year OS is 60 versus 55% for MDRO+ versus MDRO− patients. Out of the 33 MDRO+ patients, 21 cleared the MDRO. Median time to non-detectability of MDRO was 6 months. In 12 patients, the MDRO persisted. There was a significant (p

Over the past decade, the detective widow has become a well-established character in the little-explored subgenre of neo-Victorian crime fiction. In Tasha Alexander's Lady Emily series, the author argues, the detective widow investigates the gendered characteristics and com- plexities of Victorian widowhood while detecting the artistic crimes associated with historical fiction's imitations and adaptations of the past. In outlining the scope of the academic journal Neo-Victorian Studies, Marie-Luise Kohlke describes neo-Victorianism as "the contemporary fascination with reimagining the nineteenth century and its varied literary, artistic, socio-political and historical contexts"; this fascination is "perhaps most evident in the proliferation of so-called neo-Victorian novels" ("Aims and Scopes"). Fictional revisitings of the nineteenth century by authors such as A. S. Byatt, Michel Faber, Amitav Ghosh, and Sarah Waters have topped bestseller lists and have begun to form part of a neo-Victorian canon that, since the turn of the new millennium, has begun to receive significant critical attention. 1 Despite this burgeoning aca- demic interest in literary manifestations of the neo-Victorian, however, critics have largely neglected neo-Victorian crime fiction. 2 This essay considers the significance of one partic- ularly striking feature of recent examples in the subgenre: the figure of the detective widow. A dilettante sleuth, this character strives to break, or at least occasionally transgress, the boundaries of respectable femininity, not only through her investigative association with the crimes of others but also through her own deviant (if not criminal) intellectual pur- suits (usually in the form of certain reading and/or writing activities) as well as her partial disregard for mourning customs and other matters of social etiquette. This figure, who usu

Introduction: Postfeminism and Contemporary Hollywood Cinema Joel Gwynne and Nadine Muller PART I: POSTFEMINIST FEMININITIES 1. Neo-Feminism In-Between: Female Cosmopolitan Subjects in Contemporary American Film Ana Moya 2. Querying Postfeminism in Lisa Cholodenko's The Kids Are All Right Clara Bradbury-Rance 3. The Slut that Wasn't: Virginity, (Post)Feminism and Representation in Easy A Katherine Farrimond 4. The Girls of Zeta: Sororities, Ideal Femininity and the Makeover Paradigm in The House Bunny Joel Gwynne 5. Ageing Appropriately: Postfeminist Discourses of Ageing in Contemporary Hollywood Imelda Whelehan PART II: POSTFEMINIST MASCULINITIES 6. 'Chuck Flick': A Genealogy of the Postfeminist Male Singleton Benjamin A. Brabon 7. The Chick's 'New Hero': (Re)Constructing Masculinity in the Postfeminist 'Chick Flick' Amy Burns 8. Hollywood Fatherhood: Paternal Postfeminism in Contemporary Popular Cinema Hannah Hamad 9. Mancaves and Cushions: Marking Masculine and Feminine Domestic Space in Postfeminist Romantic Comedy Lauren Jade Thompson 10. 'We're not making forward progress': Postfeminist Hypermasculinity in Heat Vincent M. Gaine PART III: POSTFEMINISM AND GENRE 11. Towards a New Sexual Conservatism in Postfeminist Romantic Comedy Alexia Bowler 12. Hell is a Teenage Girl? Postfeminism and Contemporary Teen Horror Martin Fradley 13. 'A New Feminist Revolution in Hollywood Comedy'?: Postfeminist Discourses and the Critical Reception of Bridesmaids Helen Warner 14. Blood, Sweat and Tears: Women, Sport and Hollywood Katharina Lindner

Background: The soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) is established as a test for iron deficiency (ID). In chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), sTfR is not reliable for screening for ID as the latter is strongly dependent on tumor burden. Methods: We investigated whether the influence of the tumor load can be excluded or minimized using the sTfR/log ferritin ratio (TfR-F-Index) and the C-reactive protein (CRP)-adjusted TfR-F-Index in 87 patients with CLL. sTfR was measured nephelometrically (normal: 0.81–1.75 mg/L). A cut-off value of 1.5 for the TfR-F-Index and 0.8 for the CRP-adjusted TfR-F-Index, in patients with a CRP >5 mg/L, was used. Results: All Binet A patients had normal sTfR values (1.34±0.2 mg/L), TfR-F-Index (0.67±0.2) and a CRP-adjusted TfR-F-Index. In Binet B and C, sTfR and the TfR-F-Index were significantly increased compared to Binet A patients (p

The present report describes the clinical and laboratory profile of 82 previously healthy individuals who developed cytomegalovirus (CMV)-induced mononucleosis. Many of these patients posed initial diagnostic problems and were hospitalized with diagnoses such as fever of undetermined origin, active viral hepatitis, acute leukemia, probable systemic lupus erythematosus, autoimmune hemolytic anemia, and severe pancytopenia. These patients underwent a variety of diagnostic biopsies, including liver biopsies (6) and bone marrow aspirations (9). Four patients had exploratory laparotomies, 1 for a ruptured spleen, and another had a splenectomy following an erroneous initial diagnosis of agnogenic myeloid metaplasia. There was no apparent clinical response to a short course of steroid therapy in 3 of 5 cases and acyclovir in another. The vast majority of these patients demonstrated infectious mononucleosis-type reactive blood smears, negative heterophil antibody studies, mildly or moderately elevated aspartate aminotransferase activity, and evidence for subclinical hemolysis on serial specimens. The peak serum bilirubin levels were above 2.0 mg/dl in only 2 of 71 cases tested, both of the latter patients having significant hemolysis (hemoglobin values 8.6-9.3 g/dl). The CMV-IgM test had a high sensitivity for detection of CMV macroglobulins (positive in 81 of 82 cases). In contrast, complement-fixing antibodies to CMV showed diagnostic four-fold titer changes in only 39/82 cases (47.6%). Despite its great sensitivity, the CMV-IgM test is limited by a one-way crossreaction of acute Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-IM sera and spurious positive reactions in some sera due to the presence of rheumatoid factors. Based on EBV-specific serologic studies, the 82 patients with CMV-IM could be divided into 4 groups: 3 patients without antibodies to EBV; 2) 69 patients with uncomplicated serologic data indicative of long-past EBV infections; (3) 6 patients with unusual antibody profiles, e.g., anti-D responses; and (4) 5 patients, including 1 originally susceptible to EBV, with apparent dual CMV/EBV infections. At the conclusion of our study, final diagnoses and initial hematologic data were correlated in 750 cases in which CMV macroglobulins were searched for. The vast majority of patients with active CMV infections initially demonstrated either markedly or moderately reactive peripheral blood smears. These data support our impression that diagnostic tests for CMV, as well as for EBV, are seldom indicated in symptomatic previously healthy patients whose blood smears during the acute phase (first several weeks) of their illnesses are either nonreactive or minimally reactive.

Introduction: MDS with isolated deletion 5(q) accounts for approximately 5% of all MDS cases. A recent retrospective analysis has found a cumulative progression rate of 18% after 5 years in patients with MDS deletion 5(q) without an increased medullary blast count[1]. Retrospective analyses have indicated that mutations in TP53 have an adverse impact on the clinical course of affected patients and their response to Len treatment. Here we report on the results of the German multi-center, prospective Le-Mon-5 trial that investigated the safety and efficacy of lenalidomide (Len) in patients with MDS and isolated deletion 5(q). Methods: Le-Mon-5 is a trial of Len in patients with MDS with isolated 5q abnormality, a blast count of < 5% in the bone marrow, a platelet count > 50.000/µl and absolute neutrophil counts of > 500/µl in the peripheral blood. Patients were treated with the standard dose of 10 mg Len for 21 days q28 days. The primary endpoint was safety. Secondary endpoints included response according to IWG criteria (2000), time to response, duration of transfusion independency and incidence and time to AML-transformation, respectively. All patients gave written informed consent to the trial including additional molecular genetic analyses. Central cytologic, cytogenetic and histologic review was performed. Mutational analysis of TP53 was done by next generation sequencing (NGS). For generation of PCR amplicon libraries TP53 primer plate assays were used and technically validated within the IRON-II (Interlaboratory Robustness Of Next generation sequencing) study network. Amplicon sequencing of TP53 was performed on a Roche 454 GS Junior system. Mean coverage of sequenced exons was about 800-fold allowing an approximate detection sensitivity of 2% mutational burden. Results: A total of 91 patients were enrolled into the trial. Of those, 71 patients (male, n=13) were analyzed for TP53 mutations. Median age was 71 years (range 40-88 years). TP53 mutations prior to treatment initiation with Len were found in 7 patients (10%). There was no difference between the TP53 mutated (TP53mut) versus TP53 wildtype patients (TP53WT) with regard to age, IPSS risk, hemoglobin levels, absolute neutrophil counts and platelet counts at baseline. Transfusion independence was achieved in a significantly lower proportion of patients in the TP53mut group versus TP53WT group (43% vs. 62%, p=0.036). Moreover, median survival was significantly shorter in the TP53mut group as compared to TP53WT group (533 days vs. not reached, p=0.0002). No difference was seen with regard to cytologic and cytogenetic response. Data on evolution into AML are currently being collected. Of 2 patients we had follow-up samples available. Both patients showed no difference with regard to the mutation frequency after a follow-up of 4-17 months on Len treatment (27% and 51%, respectively), although one of the patients achieved a complete cytogenetic response during Len treatment. Conclusions: Using the NGS technique on a routine basis, we achieved high quality runs with a high mean coverage of analyzed exons of TP53. Presence of TP53 mutations adversely affected response to Len with regard to transfusion independence. Moreover, TP53mut patients had a shorter overall survival as compared to TP53WT patients underlining the prognostic relevance of TP53 mutations in this patient cohort. Therefore, mutation analysis of TP53 might guide treatment decisions in the future, e.g. consideration of combination regimens. Since the TP53 clone obviously prevails during Len treatment, careful monitoring for signs of transformation should be performed. Disclosures Platzbecker: Celgene Corp.: Honoraria, Research Funding. Götze:Celgene Corp, Novartis Pharma: Honoraria. Schlenk:Celgene Corp.: Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Haferlach:MLL Munich Leukemia Laboratory: Employment, Equity Ownership. Bug:Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding. Germing:Celgene Corp.: Honoraria, Research Funding. Nolte:Celgene Corp., Novartis Pharma: Honoraria, Research Funding.