Acute Myeloid Leukemia Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Acute Myeloid Leukemia, including details on aml, symptoms, treatment, information.

Acute myeloid leukemia presenting as one-and-a-half syndrome.

Hsu WH, Chu SJ, Tsai WC, Tsao YT

Department of Emergency Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 114, Taiwan, Republic of China.

One-and-a-half syndrome is a clinical disorder featuring extraocular movements characterized by horizontal conjugate gaze palsy with internuclear ophthalmoplegia. It usually results from a unilateral lesion of the midbrain, and the most common cause of this syndrome in young women is multiple sclerosis. We report the case of a 38-year-old woman diagnosed as having acute myeloblastic leukemia presenting with characteristic neurologic and imaging features of one-and-a-half syndrome. Hyperleukocytosis, cancer procoagulants, tissue factor expression, and the increased proteolysis of coagulation factors by leukemic cells may all contribute to the propensity for thrombotic vascular occlusion. The optimal treatment of acute brain infarction in acute leukemia patients with hyperleukocytosis remains unclear. However, this patient illustrates that leukapheresis alone can provide rapid and effective relief of visual symptoms without neurologic sequela. To achieve better outcomes and survival, clinicians must maintain a heightened awareness of this distinctly unusual manifestation.

Published 15 April 2008 in Am J Emerg Med, 26(4): 513.e1-2.
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Articles on Acute Myeloid Leukemia published 10 April 2008:

Detection of the STAT5B-RARA fusion transcript in acute promyelocytic leukemia with the normal chromosome 17 on G-banding.   Eur J Haematol, 80(5): 444-7.

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is characterized by chromosomal rearrangements of 17q21, leading to fusion of the gene-encoding retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARA) with a number of alternative partner genes. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 beta (STAT5B) is one of the alternative partners. We report a rare case of APL with STAT5B-RARA fusion transcript and the normal chromosome 17 on G-banding. Administration of all trans-retinoic acid improved disseminated intravascular ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Acute Myeloid Leukemia published 26 March 2008:

Dissection of mechanisms of Chinese medicinal formula Realgar-Indigo naturalis as an effective treatment for promyelocytic leukemia.   Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 105(12): 4826-31.

To enhance therapeutic efficacy and reduce adverse effects, practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescribe a combination of plant species/minerals, called formulae, based on clinical experience. Nearly 100,000 formulae have been recorded, but the working mechanisms of most remain unknown. In trying to address the possible beneficial effects of formulae with current biomedical approaches, we use Realgar-Indigo naturalis formula (RIF), which has been proven to be very effective in ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Acute Myeloid Leukemia published 20 March 2008:

GATA1-related leukaemias.   Nat Rev Cancer, 8(4): 279-87.

GATA1 is a prototypical lineage-restricted transcription factor that is central to the correct differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis of erythroid and megakaryocytic cells. Mutations in GATA1 can generate a truncated protein, which contributes to the genesis of transient myeloproliferative disorder (TMD) and acute megakaryoblastic leukaemia (AMKL) in infants with Down syndrome. Similarly, Gata1 knockdown to 5% of its wild-type level causes high incidence of erythroid leukaemia in mice. ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Gemtuzumab ozogamicin: an anti-CD33 immunoconjugate for the treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia.   Expert Opin Biol Ther, 8(4): 527-40.

BACKGROUND: Gemtuzumab ozogamicin consists of a semisynthetic derivative of calicheamicin, a potent cytotoxic antibiotic, linked to a humanized anti-CD33 monoclonal antibody. OBJECTIVES: To describe the pharmacology of gemtuzumab ozogamicin and to provide an overview of clinical trials in acute myeloid leukaemia. METHODS: Review and summary of publications on gemtuzumab ozogamicin indexed in the PubMed electronic database. RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS: Gemtuzumab ozogamicin has shown moderate activity ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Acute Myeloid Leukemia published 19 March 2008:

Randomization reveals unexpected acute leukemias in Southwest Oncology Group prostate cancer trial.   J Clin Oncol, 26(9): 1532-6.

PURPOSE: Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) study 9921 is a randomized, phase III, intergroup study to define the role of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with high-risk prostate cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We allocated 983 patients with prostate cancer with high-risk features to receive 2 years of androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) with or without six cycles of mitoxantrone (12 mg/m(2)) after prostatectomy. RESULTS: In January 2007, SWOG 9921 was closed to further accrual after three cases of ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Acute Myeloid Leukemia published 12 March 2008:

Re-expression of DNA methylation-silenced CD44 gene in a resistant NB4 cell line: rescue of CD44-dependent cell death by cAMP.   Leukemia, 22(3): 511-20.

In the acute promyelocytic leukemia cell line, NB4, activation of the CD44 receptor triggers apoptosis. This pathway does not operate in the retinoid-maturation-resistant NB4-LR1 subclone. In this work, we show that the CD44 gene is silenced in these cells. The molecular defect involves DNA methylation of cytosine phosphate guanine (CpG) island and underacetylation of histone H3 at CD44 promoter. The methylating inhibitor 5-aza-CdR and cyclic AMP (cAMP) reverse the CD44 gene silencing. Contrary ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Distinctive microRNA signature of acute myeloid leukemia bearing cytoplasmic mutated nucleophosmin.   Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 105(10): 3945-50.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) carrying NPM1 mutations and cytoplasmic nucleophosmin (NPMc+ AML) accounts for about one-third of adult AML and shows distinct features, including a unique gene expression profile. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs of 19-25 nucleotides in length that have been linked to the development of cancer. Here, we investigated the role of miRNAs in the biology of NPMc+ AML. The miRNA expression was evaluated in 85 adult de novo AML patients characterized for ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Acute Myeloid Leukemia published 10 March 2008:

5'RARA submicroscopic deletion from new variant translocation involving chromosomes 15, 17, and 18, in a case of acute promyelocytic leukemia.   Cancer Genet Cytogenet, 182(1): 50-5.

Submicroscopic deletions of the PML-RARA fusion genes constitute rare rearrangements in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). We describe a rare case of APL carrying a novel complex translocation involving chromosomes 15, 17, and 18 associated with a submicroscopic deletion of the 5' part of the RARA gene, as evidenced by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). A PML/RARA dual-fusion probe did not reveal the RARA-PML fusion signal on the der(17q), usually detected in the typical t(15;17). The ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

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