Omega‐3 fatty acids were evaluated to determine how their anti‐inflammatory properties affect wound healing. Twelve Beagle dogs were divided into two groups of six. Group I was fed an n‐3 fatty acid enriched diet (n‐3 FAED) with an n‐6 to n‐3 fatty acid ratio of 0.3, and group II was fed a control diet (CD) with a ratio of 7.7. Open and sutured cutaneous wounds were created on the trunk of the dog, and evaluated by laser Doppler perfusion imaging, tensiometry, planimetry, histopathology, and eicosanoid content. At 5 days, the n‐3 FAED‐fed dogs had significantly less epithelialization of the open wounds (P = 0.0343) and significantly less oedema in sutured wounds (P = 0.015). There were also tendencies of less tissue perfusion (P = 0.086), lower PGE2 levels (P = 0.0756) and negative wound contraction in open wounds at 5 days. The n‐3 FAED used in this study did not appear to have any outstanding long‐term negative effect on wound healing.

Summary:In an attempt to reduce the high relapse rate associated with ABMT, five children with high-risk first CR and 19 in second or subsequent CR lacking matched family allogeneic donors underwent ABMT with chemopurged bone marrow utilizing verapamil (VPL), vincristine, and VP-16. Patients were conditioned with TBI, VPL bolus and infusion with VP-16 and cyclophosphamide. The first cohort of patients (n = 4) received only cyclosporin A (CsA). The second cohort (n = 7) received CsA and alpha interferon (total = 11 with post-transplant immunotherapy alone.) The third cohort (n = 13) received CsA and six alternating cycles of ␣IFN and chemotherapy and six additional cycles of chemotherapy (vincristine, VP-16, Ara-C, prednisone) followed by G-CSF (post-transplant immune chemotherapy (PTIC)). The 2-year DFS is 42 ؎ 10% (90% confidence interval (CI) is 26.5-58.5%) and 2-year overall survival is 54 ؎ 10% (90% CI is 37.5-70.5%). Furthermore, patients receiving PTIC (n = 13) vs immunotherapy alone (CsA ؎ ␣IFN) (n = 11) had a substantially better 2 year DFS and OS: 69 ؎ 13% vs 13 ؎ 12% and 85 ؎ 10% vs 25 ؎ 15% (P = 0.008 and P = 0.06, respectively). These results suggest that the use of ABMT with chemopurging, combined with PTIC is well tolerated and may be an alternative new approach in the treatment of a subset of children with high-risk first CR or у second CR ALL who lack closely matched family-related allogeneic donors. Bone Marrow Transplantation (2001) 27, 145-153.