@article {10852, title = {Total body irradiation and iron chelation treatment are associated with pancreatic injury following pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.}, journal = {Oncotarget}, volume = {9}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 Apr 13}, pages = {19543-19554}, abstract = {

Whereas many studies have addressed the risk of organ dysfunction following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), little is known about pancreatic susceptibility in this setting. We aimed to investigate the effect of iron overload (IO) and total body irradiation (TBI) on pancreatic function of children undergoing HSCT. We retrospectively evaluated children admitted between 2012-2016 fulfilling the following criteria: normal pancreatic iron concentration (PIC), regular pancreatic function before HSCT, availability of abdominal magnetic resonance imaging with gradient-recalled-echo sequences and a full set of biochemical markers of IO and pancreatic function performed before HSCT and at discharge. We divided the patients according to the use of TBI or myeloablative chemotherapy (MCHT) in the conditioning regimen. All patients with severe IO or moderate IO with a high risk of engraftment delay or transplantation-related complications underwent chelation therapy with deferoxamine (DFO) from the first day of conditioning to discharge. 63 patients had a HSCT in the study period, 13 did not fulfill the inclusion criteria; 50 (25 in each group) are included in the analysis, and did not show differences at baseline evaluation. At follow up testing the TBI group showed a significantly higher PIC (107,8{\textpm}100,3 μmol/g vs 28,4{\textpm}37,9 in MCHT group, p<0,0001). In the TBI group the patients who had DFO treatment had higher PIC (223,2{\textpm}48,8 μmol/g vs 55,7{\textpm}10,5 without DFO treatment, p<0,0001), and all patients having PIC >100 μmol/g at follow up had DFO-based chelation therapy, versus 26\% of those with lower PIC (p<0,0001). The number of patients presenting exocrine pancreatic dysfunctions one month after transplantation was significantly higher in the TBI group (48\% vs 4\%; p<0.0001). The mean pancreatic volume reduction was significantly greater in the TBI group (39,1\% vs 0,9\% in the MCHT group; p<0,05), and was significantly worse on those who received DFO therapy. Based on our data, we suggest that TBI is detrimental for pancreatic functions, and speculate that DFO may contribute to the rapid pancreatic IO observed in these patients.

}, issn = {1949-2553}, doi = {10.18632/oncotarget.24646}, author = {Maximova, Natalia and Gregori, Massimo and Simeone, Roberto and Sonzogni, Aurelio and Zanon, Davide and Boz, Giulia and D{\textquoteright}Antiga, Lorenzo} } @article {10545, title = {Higher growth, fat and fat-free masses correlate with larger cerebellar volumes in preterm infants at term.}, journal = {Acta Paediatr}, volume = {106}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 Jun}, pages = {918-925}, abstract = {

AIM: Smaller cerebellar volumes in very low-birthweight (VLBW) infants at term have been related to adverse cognitive outcomes, and this study evaluated whether these volumes were associated with a growth in body composition during hospital stays.

METHODS: We prospectively recruited 42 VLBW infants from an Italian neonatal unit between January 2013 and August 2015. Cerebellar volumes and body composition were measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and air-displacement plethysmography, respectively, at 40 weeks of gestational age and anthropometric and nutritional data were collected. We also included 20 term-born controls.

RESULTS: The mean gestational age and birthweight of the VLBW infants were 29.4 ({\textpm}1.9) weeks and 1120 ({\textpm}290) g. There was a positive correlation between cerebellar volumes and daily weight gain from birth to term (R = 0.26, p = 0.001), weight (R = 0.25, p = 0.001), length (R = 0.16, p = 0.01), fat mass (R = 0.15, p = 0.01) and fat-free mass at term (R = 0.20, p = 0.003). In multiple regression analysis, daily weight gain, mechanical ventilation and postconceptional age at MRI were independently associated with cerebellar volumes. Anthropometric data and cerebellar volumes were similar between VLBW and control infants.

CONCLUSION: Higher growth, higher fat mass and fat-free mass were associated with larger cerebellar volumes in VLBW infants at term.

}, keywords = {Body Composition, Cerebellum, Child Development, Female, Humans, Infant, Newborn, Infant, Premature, Infant, Very Low Birth Weight, Male, Nutritional Status, Organ Size, Prospective Studies, Regression Analysis}, issn = {1651-2227}, doi = {10.1111/apa.13829}, author = {Paviotti, Giulia and De Cunto, Angela and Zennaro, Floriana and Boz, Giulia and Travan, Laura and Cont, Gabriele and Bua, Jenny and Demarini, Sergio} }