In long-term survivors of metastatic testicular cancer, we observed a significantly increased risk for occurrence of cardiac events accompanied by a persisting unfavorable cardiovascular risk profile. Accurate follow-up, focused on cardiovascular complications and aimed at intervention in these young cancer survivors, seems to be important.

No abstract

Experience of the Port-A-Cath implantable venous access system in 53 children with severe or moderate haemophilia A or B from seven centres in five countries is reviewed. The cumulative duration of follow-up was 1578 months (median 30 months, range 1-114). Of the devices implanted, 70% (37/53) were used without complications (median follow-up 32 months; range 1-114) and the remaining 30% (16/53) were associated with various types of complication: infection, bacteraemia or septicaemia in 56% (9/16) of cases, i.e. a rate of 0.07 per follow-up year or 0.19 per 1000 patient days, or various technical complications occurring after a median of 32 months (range 4-75) of uncomplicated use in the remaining 44% (7/16). Of the patients with inhibitors, 64% (7/11) manifested complications. Both doctors and parents considered that the Port-A-Cath device can be used with an acceptable frequency and severity of complications, and that it enables regular prophylactic or on-demand home treatment of children with haemophilia to be begun at an early age.

A library of 20 monodentate phosphoramidite ligands has been prepared and applied in rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation. This resulted in the identification of two ligands, PipPhos and MorfPhos, that afford excellent and in several cases unprecedented enantioselectivities in the hydrogenation of N-acyldehydroamino acid esters, dimethyl itaconate, acyclic N-acylenamides, and cyclic N-acylenamides. In addition, a method for the parallel enantioselectivity determination of eight acylated amines is presented.