- Home
- Medical news & Guidelines
- Anesthesiology
- Cardiology and CTVS
- Critical Care
- Dentistry
- Dermatology
- Diabetes and Endocrinology
- ENT
- Gastroenterology
- Medicine
- Nephrology
- Neurology
- Obstretics-Gynaecology
- Oncology
- Ophthalmology
- Orthopaedics
- Pediatrics-Neonatology
- Psychiatry
- Pulmonology
- Radiology
- Surgery
- Urology
- Laboratory Medicine
- Diet
- Nursing
- Paramedical
- Physiotherapy
- Health news
- Fact Check
- Bone Health Fact Check
- Brain Health Fact Check
- Cancer Related Fact Check
- Child Care Fact Check
- Dental and oral health fact check
- Diabetes and metabolic health fact check
- Diet and Nutrition Fact Check
- Eye and ENT Care Fact Check
- Fitness fact check
- Gut health fact check
- Heart health fact check
- Kidney health fact check
- Medical education fact check
- Men's health fact check
- Respiratory fact check
- Skin and hair care fact check
- Vaccine and Immunization fact check
- Women's health fact check
- AYUSH
- State News
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands
- Andhra Pradesh
- Arunachal Pradesh
- Assam
- Bihar
- Chandigarh
- Chattisgarh
- Dadra and Nagar Haveli
- Daman and Diu
- Delhi
- Goa
- Gujarat
- Haryana
- Himachal Pradesh
- Jammu & Kashmir
- Jharkhand
- Karnataka
- Kerala
- Ladakh
- Lakshadweep
- Madhya Pradesh
- Maharashtra
- Manipur
- Meghalaya
- Mizoram
- Nagaland
- Odisha
- Puducherry
- Punjab
- Rajasthan
- Sikkim
- Tamil Nadu
- Telangana
- Tripura
- Uttar Pradesh
- Uttrakhand
- West Bengal
- Medical Education
- Industry
High dose romiplostim shows promise in patients of refractive aplastic anaemia
According to the findings of a recnt study published in British Journal of Haematology , the use of a higher starting dose of romiplostim followed by dose titration was effective and well tolerated in the treatment of patients with AA refractory to IST.
Aplastic anaemia (AA) is a haematopoietic stem cell disorder characterised by pancytopenia and hypocellular bone marrow (BM).
Romiplostim is a Fc‐peptide fusion protein (peptibody) that signals and activates intracellular transcriptional pathways via the TPO receptor.8, 9 The possible mechanism of haematopoietic recovery by romiplostim or eltrombopag is stimulation of haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs), as the TPO receptor is expressed on HSPCs. A previous dose‐finding study has suggested that romiplostim is effective in patients with refractory aplastic anaemia (AA) and 10 µg/kg once weekly was recommended as a starting dose.
In this Phase II/III, multicentre, open‐label study, romiplostim was administered subcutaneously at a fixed dose of 10 µg/kg once weekly for 4 weeks (weeks 1–4) followed by weekly doses (5, 10, 15 and 20 µg/kg) titrated by platelet response for up to 52 weeks (weeks 5–52). A total of 31 patients with AA who were refractory to immunosuppressive therapy (IST) and thrombocytopenia (platelet count of ≤30 × 109/l) were enrolled.
On data analysis, the following facts emerged.
- The primary efficacy endpoint of the proportion of patients achieving any haematological (platelet, neutrophil and erythrocyte) response at week 27 was 84% [95% confidence interval (CI) 66–95%].
- Trilineage response was 39% (95% CI 22–58%) at week 53. The most common treatment‐related adverse events (AEs) were headache and muscle spasms (each 13%).
- All AEs were mild or moderate except for three patients with Grade 3 hepatic AEs; no AEs necessitated romiplostim discontinuation.
- Two patients developed cytogenetic abnormalities, of whom one returned to normal karyotype at last follow‐up.
"A limitation of the present study was the recruitment of a relatively small number of patients, as well as the inclusion of a somewhat heterogeneous patient population with respect to their disease severity. However, recruitment of patients with refractory AA is restricted given the rarity of the condition. Long‐term follow‐up data will be required to confirm the durability of response and monitor for potential clonal evolution." wrote the team.
Primary source: British Journal of Haematology
For the full article follow the link: https://doi.org/10.1111/bjh.17190
Dr Satabdi Saha (BDS, MDS) is a practicing pediatric dentist with a keen interest in new medical researches and updates. She has completed her BDS from North Bengal Dental College ,Darjeeling. Then she went on to secure an ALL INDIA NEET PG rank and completed her MDS from the first dental college in the country – Dr R. Ahmed Dental College and Hospital. She is currently attached to The Marwari Relief Society Hospital as a consultant along with private practice of 2 years. She has published scientific papers in national and international journals. Her strong passion of sharing knowledge with the medical fraternity has motivated her to be a part of Medical Dialogues.
Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751